Before HBO’s “The Last of Us” premiered in January, followers of the long-lasting survival horror recreation anxiously awaited its launch, questioning if this adaptation would fall into the identical lure that so many video-game diversifications had by not staying devoted to its supply materials.
Although the present has undoubtedly taken some inventive liberties, followers of the video games and newcomers to the franchise have been impressed, a lot in order that gross sales for the “The Last of Us: Part I” recreation have skyrocketed, and the HBO sequence has already been picked up for a second season.
Since the primary season of “The Last of Us” follows the primary recreation’s story, the second season might cowl “The Last of Us: Part II”‘s occasions. So take a look at what occurs within the “The Last of Us: Part II” recreation to get an thought of what could occur in HBO’s “The Last of Us” season two.
A Tragic Change in Point of View
“The Last of Us: Part II” was an enormous success when it got here out. It received Game of the Year in 2020 like its predecessor did in 2013. Praised for its progressive nature with a number of girls leads and a lesbian protagonist, Ellie, it supplied numerous range that the gaming business nonetheless tends to draw back from. All that mentioned, the sport was nonetheless controversial upon launch, primarily due to its plot.
In “The Last of Us,” gamers performed Joel, a middle-aged man who will get caught escorting Ellie throughout the nation however ultimately involves see her as a daughter (he is portrayed by the unbelievable Pedro Pascal within the TV sequence). There’s a restricted portion of the sport the place gamers play the 14-year-old Ellie and a DLC that options her because the playable character.
Considering Joel’s beloved within the fandom, followers anticipated to play Joel once more in “Part II,” not the plot that the creator, Naughty Dog, went with. Ultimately, gamers solely get to play Joel for a short while in the beginning of the sport, at which level Joel confesses to his brother, Tommy, that he saved Ellie from the Fireflies who needed to kill her for a possible treatment. After the opening prologue, gamers are tossed right into a now-adult Ellie’s viewpoint.
Within the primary few hours of the almost 24-hour-long recreation, Joel dies in a brutal and bloody style. This determination was divisive amongst followers. The preliminary shock of Joel’s loss of life got here out of nowhere, leaving many followers indignant and condemning the sport. Some even refused to complete the sport in any respect.
Joel’s Death, Explained
“Part II” introduces Abby Anderson, the daughter of the physician who was going to kill Ellie in “The Last of Us.” As it seems, Abby’s been searching Joel ever since Joel’s rampage by way of the hospital on the finish of the primary recreation. The ultimate battle within the recreation was Joel mowing down the complete hospital filled with Fireflies, together with Marlene, to save lots of Ellie. “Part II” follows the logical path that such an act would anger individuals. In this case, Abby, an analogous age to Ellie, misplaced her father. Also, Joel probably price the world a possible treatment for cordyceps.
The ending of “The Last of Us” was a tough tablet to swallow as a result of, naturally, the participant desires to save lots of Ellie from a horrible destiny. The Fireflies do not even know that killing her will assist them produce a treatment in any respect. It was by no means a positive factor. Still, in saving Ellie, Joel could have dashed the world’s solely probability of discovering a treatment. Both choices are horrible, however a call wanted to be made. “Part II” follows up by forcing Joel to face the blowback of his actions.
The recreation forces gamers to play Abby for half the runtime as she first meets Joel and is not positive who he’s. Joel saves her from a hoard of zombies and helps her get to security. It is not till Joel and Tommy introduce themselves that she realizes she’s lastly discovered the person she’s been searching. She knocks out Tommy and proceeds to torture Joel, slowly beating him to loss of life with no rationalization to the participant as to why it is taking place. Ellie arrives through the beating, and he or she’s held down and compelled to look at as Abby kills Joel by crushing his head with a golf membership.
Ellie Seeks Revenge
Ellie and Joel’s relationship is strained and distant at first of the sport as a result of she finds out Joel lied to her when he mentioned her immunity could not assist the Fireflies, and he or she by no means will get an opportunity to patch issues up earlier than Abby kills him. Being held down and compelled to look at as a stranger murdered her father determine breaks one thing in her. Abby and her mates argue about killing Ellie however in the end go away Ellie and Tommy alive as a result of they have been solely there for Joel.
Ellie leaves their settlement in Jackson along with her pregnant girlfriend, Dina, in pursuit of Abby. Determined to get revenge on the girl who killed Joel, Ellie stops at nothing to attain this. The pair monitor Abby to Seattle, the place Abby’s settlement is. The longer Ellie goes, the extra unreasonable she turns into in her bloodlust. Eventually, Dina can now not get by way of to her. Unfortunately, Tommy cannot get by way of to her both, and her pursuit results in Abby taking pictures Ellie’s buddy Jesse within the head.
Ellie and Abby’s Showdown
Eventually, Ellie finally ends up alone, unwilling to surrender on her mission. Her want to get to Abby causes her to cross a number of strains, together with murdering a number of of Abby’s mates, certainly one of whom was pregnant on the time. When Abby and Ellie face off on the finish of the sport, there’s numerous bloodshed and hatred between them. When given the chance to kill Abby, Ellie lastly decides to not. A little bit boy who Abby’s defending swears that if she hurts Abby, he’ll by no means cease till he finds her, persevering with this limitless cycle of unnecessary violence. Ellie decides to cease and returns dwelling to Dina and her child.
“The Last of Us: Part II”‘s Meaning
The “The Last of Us: Part II” recreation is advised from two views. It continuously shifts the participant between Ellie and Abby’s tales. As the participant controls Abby, they study of her historical past and why she is searching down Joel: she’s searching for him out for killing her father. In that means, she serves as a mirror for Ellie’s mission to avenge Joel in flip.
The time spent with Abby is supposed to perform just a few issues, together with displaying how her life hasn’t improved since killing Joel. In reality, killing Joel set off a sequence response of her individuals being severely harm by her revenge spree. It’s additionally meant to supply a unique perspective so followers might choke down the truth that there are limits to being a superb particular person on the planet of “The Last of Us.” In a world overrun by zombies, the place individuals are determined to outlive, they’ll do horrible issues that will be condemned as evil in the actual world. Abby is not a foul particular person. She cares about and protects her individuals and works laborious to maintain her settlement working. She felt justified in murdering Joel, however doing so by no means gave her closure.
Most importantly, Abby is supposed to be a cautionary story for Ellie. Revenge by no means accomplishes something, it solely perpetuates unnecessary violence. Abby misplaced a lot as a result of she could not let Joel go, and if Ellie dedicated to murdering Abby, she would simply be persevering with the endless want for vengeance.
Although Ellie did cross many strains throughout her makes an attempt to get to Abby, Abby’s errors, combined along with her personal, taught her (and the participant) a worthwhile lesson.