Did The Big Death In Last of Us Season 2 Ultimately Deliver A Killing Blow To the Series As A Whole?

Streaming Wars is simply a play sentiment column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. Check retired the past introduction No, Netflix Isn't Saving Hollywood (But It Isn't Killing It, Either)

This file contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Last of Us connected HBO Max arsenic good arsenic The Last of Us Part II game.

When Joel was brutally killed successful the 2nd occurrence of HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, it confirmed what galore fans of the games expected was coming. But arsenic the play progressed aft that point, Joel’s decease came and went without immoderate significance. Replacing it was, for me, a certainty: what was a arguable determination for the The Last of Us crippled franchise would beryllium to beryllium a sidesplitting stroke for the tv series.

Now, I recognize that an adaptation fundamentally deviating from its root worldly tin beryllium polarizing successful and of itself, but the HBO bid simply did not request to termination Joel to successfully archer its story.

First and foremost, I deliberation it’s important to enactment that there’s a crushed that this file is being written astatine the extremity of the play alternatively than instantly aft Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) decease successful Episode 2. I did want to beryllium wrong, for immoderate that sentiment mightiness beryllium worth. I dutifully watched the remainder of the season, hoping that the show’s writers would find a mode to reset their communicative and transportation connected their communicative successful immoderate benignant of meaningful way. But, contempt the champion efforts of Bella Ramsey and newcomers Isabela Merced, Kaitlyn Dever and Young Mazino, there’s small to beryllium done erstwhile your blockbuster show’s archetypal play was afloat reliant connected a narration that nary longer exists. The show’s assemblage — which is made up of plentifulness of folks who person ne'er played the games — signed up for a bid that nary longer exists.

The Last Of Us Series Messes With Canon, But the Wrong Parts

The Last of Us has implemented a bid of communicative elements that deviate from the game, and alteration successful impact, but person broadly served the mean shift. Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlet) Season 1 occurrence wasn’t conscionable the champion of the series, it was 1 of the champion episodes of tv that year, it hasn’t mattered at each that Dever’s Abby isn’t jacked the mode she is successful the game, Season 1 had tendrils alternatively of spores, Stalkers play much of a relation successful the bid than they did during gameplay, etc.

But the Big Joel Death Scene™ features some 1:1 scenes and large canon divergence, and the halfway occupation with the bulk of Season 2 is that the bid stayed loyal wherever it shouldn’t person and diverted wherever it should person remained existent to story. In sidesplitting Joel and revealing Abby’s motives from the start, The Last of Us bid removed immoderate crushed for the assemblage to instrumentality successful Season 3.

In the game, players stuck astir erstwhile it came clip to play Abby due to the fact that they needed to cognize wherefore the hellhole she did what she did. By the clip that accusation is revealed, Abby had go absorbing capable for radical to support playing. In the series, since Abby’s motivations were revealed beauteous overmuch successful the bid premiere, each viewers person to look guardant to present is wondering who’s going to sprout who oregon who is going to forgive who first. And, with respect to what I cognize is simply a agelong adored franchise, I’m forced to inquire wherefore should the tv assemblage care?

The bid either needed to support Joel alive, choosing to person Abby bushed him wrong an inch of his beingness and person Ellie judge that helium was dormant earlier leaving Jackson connected her revenge tour, oregon permission Abby’s motives a mystery. Joel whitethorn person been the inciting incidental that made the forgiveness meaningful successful the game, but let’s not unreal it’s the lone mode to get to the desired extremity result. This bid has wildly talented writers attached. It tin beryllium done. Meanwhile, portion the enigma of Abby’s motivations wouldn’t person been capable to support maine astir personally, I tin spot wherefore it would entreaty to a broader tv audience. Now though, we’re each stuck successful an impending aboriginal of nary catharsis.

Not One, Not Two, But Three Shows successful One [Derogatory]

Ellie spent overmuch of this play insisting she’s not similar Abby contempt her rising assemblage number and akin obsession. This volition stay a throughline for the upcoming play (or seasons, if co-creator Craig Mazin has his way) adjacent though Ellie volition proceed to marque rash decisions connected her quest for revenge. All of this volition travel aft Ellie’s existent pickle, arsenic we near her with Abby’s weapon pointed squarely astatine her face.

Season 2’s unusual “cliffhanger” is different 1:1 propulsion from the game, arsenic this is the infinitesimal wherever you displacement from playing Ellie to playing Abby. This means that we tin apt expect the cardinal absorption of the bid to displacement yet again, giving america not 1 show, not 2 shows, but a astonishment 3rd show.

The happening astir these absorption and position shifts is that they wholly could person worked if they had billed The Last of Us arsenic an anthology bid with the wide wrap-around (the communicative attraction surrounding the idiosyncratic stories that ties everything together) being the apocalypse they’re each sharing. But due to the fact that this was presented arsenic a accepted prestige series, determination are rules and expectations arsenic to however the communicative is meant to play out. Storytelling rules are made to beryllium broken, but Season 2 does not animate immoderate religion that the remainder of The Last of Us bid volition win successful doing so.

Television has ever played with the decease of the mentor. It’s a trope that often offers much meaning than most, forcing the protagonist to yet instrumentality said mentor’s lessons to bosom oregon different reckon with the devastation of their loss. The quality present is that determination is typically a broader ensemble to trust connected to debar shaking up the halfway of the series. We get a small spot of that from Season 2 successful Merced’s Dina and Manzino’s Jesse, but they aren’t meaningfully established earlier the halfway narration of the bid is destroyed. By introducing them aboriginal — and past giving america small crushed to attraction astir them until aft that inactive — the instauration of the bid remains fractured successful a mode that seems beyond repair. But that fracture was ever avoidable.

Season 1 acceptable the anticipation for tv viewers that this was a amusement astir Joel and Ellie. Season 2 haphazardly shifted that absorption to a communicative astir Ellie, Dina and their quest for revenge against Abby. All signs constituent to Season 3 being told from Abby’s position arsenic she rescues defecting Seraphites Lev and Yara 3 days earlier murdering Jesse and holding Ellie and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) astatine gunpoint.

While I cannot accent capable that Kaitlyn Dever is doing large enactment with the worldly she has been given, what crushed bash folks person to instrumentality astir astatine this point? Television viewers with nary cognition of the games aren’t going to bargain into the amusement abruptly being told from the position of idiosyncratic that they’ve been fixed nary crushed to attraction about. I americium from the extracurricular looking successful erstwhile it comes to the game, but it doesn’t look apt that the WLF vs. Seraphites warfare was engaging capable to ticker a 2nd clip successful TV form, adjacent with Isaac’s (Jeffrey Wright) expanded engagement successful the series. Is determination capable involvement successful seeing Ellie and Abby’s anticlimactic ending to support viewers already successful the cognize around?

It’s All a Competition

Games arsenic a mean person plentifulness of hurdles, but they person the payment of less releases than tv by a singular borderline and, whether the assemblage loves oregon hates a game, it’s already bought and paid for. The Last of Us Part II whitethorn beryllium plentifulness arguable (all of the champion creation is!) but a cardinal origin successful immoderate tv show’s occurrence is giving the assemblage a crushed to instrumentality occurrence aft episode. The communicative format's perpetually shifting position is simply a tremendous hurdle successful and of itself. Add successful The Last of Us’ wildly abbreviated seasons, agelong hiatuses, and Season 2’s lackluster story, and you’ve got yourself 1 hellhole of a pickle erstwhile it comes to getting fans backmost for Season 3.

The remainder of The Last of Us Part II’s arc is 1 focused connected forgiveness and however being hellbent connected revenge tears everything apart. Sometimes the travel connected the mode to an already well-known ending is worthy it for the thrust (looking astatine you, Andor)! But fixed that The Last of Us Season 2 featured precisely 1 compelling occurrence focused connected a flashback with its present long-dead protagonist, is that travel worthy it? The formed definite is doing their damndest to guarantee that’s the case, but volition that beryllium capable for the audience?

Season 2’s penultimate occurrence whitethorn person been great, and Neil Druckmann has confirmed that we’ll person much Joel flashbacks to come, but it’s conscionable not a bandaid to the show’s problem. No magnitude of beardown performances oregon stellar accumulation worth tin hole a nonaccomplishment to accommodate your communicative to a caller medium. Joel ain’t coming backmost to beingness and there’s nary putting Abby’s uncover backmost successful the proverbial bag. The Season 2 finale was lackluster astatine best, the remainder of the play wasn’t overmuch better, and knowing wherever the communicative heads adjacent forces maine to wonderment if The Last of Us’ champion days are down it.

It’s a canine devour canine satellite successful the onshore of TV, and people’s clip is simply a zero-sum game. With specified precocious contention and waning involvement from viewers, possibly it’s conscionable clip to instrumentality the amusement to look astatine a beauteous water portion it rides retired its past moments earlier losing itself to the infection…