Discover what will happen in seasons 2 and 3 of The Last of us

First of all I want to give credit to Gwen Pemberton that thanks to his article on the subject gave me the idea to write mine, so if you want an opinion without spoilers I invite you to read his article:
You're Missing the Point of The Last of Us

Ok, get ready, now because what I'm going to tell you is not only a game for me, but a tremendous emotional experience.

I know that many complained when it came out, saying “they changed the characters”, that “the story is not what I expected” ... but I swear that if you play it without prejudice, it is the most raw, human and real that you will live in a video game. But I'm warning you right now: it's not a happy game. It is a post-apocalyptic drama with all the letters. And yes, it's going to hurt.

The story starts a few years after the first game (5 to be exact). Ellie is 19 years old, she lives with Joel in Jackson, a fairly organized community in the mess of the world. They are relatively well off. Joel is more of a father than a protector at this point, and Ellie has her own circle: her friend (and something else) Dina, her ex Jesse (Dina's ex), and the sense that she's trying to find who she is. Everything is more or less in balance... until Abby enters.

Abby is a new character who at first you don't quite know who she is or what she wants. But what you find out quickly is that she comes with a group to Jackson, captures Joel, and that's when we discover her true motive, revenge. Abby brutally kills Joel in front of Ellie. And I'm not exaggerating, it's a raw scene, hard to watch. Ellie screams, cries, begs... and Abby kills him anyway. And that's where it all kicks off. Up to this point there's no spoiler since we've seen this in the series.

Ellie is broken. She can't let go. She doesn't care that they're in the middle of the end of the world, that there are infected, that there are violent factions everywhere. Nothing. She just wants revenge. And she goes to Seattle with Dina to track down one by one those who were with Abby that night.

And that's where the game gets interesting, and that's where the spoilers start, if you don't want to know anything, save the post and read it at the end of the season. Now here we go, the story gets interesting because it's not just a “kill the bad guys and that's it”. Ellie is eliminating each member of the group, but the game doesn't let you enjoy it as if it was something cool. It makes you feel each death. You see how those people had relationships, stories, friends, even dogs they loved. They're not generic enemies. They're people. And every time Ellie moves forward on her mission, you start to question if it's really the right thing to do.

And just when you think you're getting to the climax of the story, that Ellie is going to confront Abby...

BOOM! Total perspective shift. You'll start playing Abby. Yes, the same one who killed Joel (At the beginning you play with her, but it's a very short journey which doesn't let you understand the character).

And it's weird at first. You don't want to. It's understandable, you hate it. But the game doesn't give you a choice. And the crazy thing is, as you play with her, you'll start to understand her. Her dad was the doctor Joel killed at the end of the first game, the one who was going to use Ellie to create a cure. To Abby, Joel was the guy who ruined the world. His story is no less valid, just different.

Abby also has a brutal arc. She's part of a paramilitary group called the WLF (Wolves), but ends up helping two guys who come from a rival faction, the Seraphites (you'll recognize them as the whistlers). One of them, Lev, is trans and on the run from his own community. Abby puts her life on the line for them, protects them, cares for them. There you'll begin to see her as more than Joel's killer. You see the person.

And this is where The Last of Us II shines: it makes you play two sides of the same story, two perspectives that intersect, that clash, that contradict each other. Ellie and Abby are at war, but at heart, they are two people devastated by loss. Two who only want justice, even though what they do takes them further away from their humanity.

The climax is brutal. Ellie and Abby confront each other in a very hard scene where Jesse also loses his life at Abby's hands. He forgives Ellie once again, he lets her live. But Ellie can't let him go. Years later, when she already has a life with Dina and a baby (Jesse's son with Dina), she finds out Abby's location and leaves everything to look for her. That's the extent of his obsession. It's as if the revenge is no longer for Joel, but for not being able to forgive herself.

The ending is hard-hitting. Ellie finds Abby in a horrible state, imprisoned, malnourished. And Ellie kills all the enemies that imprison her in order to free Abby only to fight with her. And when she's about to kill her, she remembers a moment with Joel: “him playing guitar, smiling, vulnerable.”

And there, Ellie lets go. She doesn't kill Abby. Not because she has magically redeemed herself, but because she has nothing left to lose. She's come so far that she understands that killing Abby isn't going to bring anything back.
Ellie returns home... and Dina is gone. Joel's guitar, her last remaining link to him, she can't play it because in the fight with Abby she lost two fingers. She is alone. Empty.

That's The Last of Us Part II. A game that doesn't treat you as a spectator, but forces you to feel, to question, to put yourself in everyone's shoes, even those you hate. It makes you reflect on revenge, forgiveness, pain, identity, empathy.

On top of that, it's visual madness. The level of detail in the settings, the facial expressions, the weather effects, everything is polished to the max. And the music pufff. Pure pain in guitar form.

Ah, now the HBO series. It is true that it has made changes, for example, in chapter 2 of this second season the battle that occurs in Jackson against the Infected, in the game does not happen, plus who is with Joel when he is captured is not Dina as it happens in the series, but Tommy, his brother.

So I wouldn't be surprised to see other changes. The adaptation is very faithful in spirit, although it changes some things. It expands side stories, gives more space to characters that in the game had less time, and is a great way to compare how a story can be told from two different points.

And with all that context, you're going to understand even more why the second game was so divisive. and why for many (like me), it's a masterpiece.

So get ready for this story to break your soul a little bit.

A third season has already been confirmed, so don't be surprised if this season doesn't cover the whole story, since there is no third game at the moment (because it looks like it's also on the way).