Ahead of The Last of Us Season 2 premiere on HBO, fans should prepare for controversy, regardless of what direction the sophomore outing takes.
The Last of Us' first go-round on HBO was almost universally beloved by fans and critics, being hailed as one of the greatest video game adaptations of all time with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 96% from critics and 88% from audiences.
The post-apocalyptic masterpiece did face review-bombing toward Episode 3 due to its focus on the queer love story of Bill and Frank.
Is The Last of Us Season 2 Doomed for Backlash?
While The Last of Us was extremely well-regarded, the 2020 sequel, The Last of Us Part 2, received backlash for its storyline, characters, and other narrative issues (more on exactly why later). Coming off a successful first season on HBO, The Last of Us is now stuck with controversial source material for Season 2.
As The Last of Us sets to adapt Part 2, the team has been left with a decision that means they may be doomed for backlash: loyally adapt the story and suffer the same controversy, or make changes and upset fans of the original.
Showrunner Craig Mazin has been open that Season 2 will adapt a "controversial" story just as he feels "all the good ones are." As such, the franchise creator seems to be expecting that, just as the Part 2 game was divisive among fans of the first chapter, the HBO follow-up may be destined for the same.
Mazin has hinted that the series will "be doing some things exactly the way" they were done in the game while others are handled "differently." The first season on HBO was not afraid to deviate from its source material while maintaining the core of the story, and Season 2 appears likely to be the same.
The Last of Us Season 2's Controversial Source Material
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2.
To start with perhaps The Last of Us Part 2's most controversial decision, Joel (played in the HBO series by Pedro Pascal) is killed early on by a new character, Abby, as revenge for him killing her father Jerry at the end of the first game.
While some have argued Joel deserved to die for his murders of, by all accounts, good people, others feel his death in the story felt unearned, taking place too early in the story and at the hands of a character who fans only just met.
Craig Mazin teased he "can neither confirm nor deny" whether Joel will die in Season 2. He also discussed his philosophy for adaptations, pointing out that there is "an expectation that the adaptation will hit the main source material points and that is mostly what happens."
After the brutal death of Joel with a golf club, fans would expect to spend the rest of The Last of Us 2 playing as Ellie and seeking to take down Abby. However, the second half of the sequel is spent playing as Abby, exploring her perspective and personality while aiming to make the player empathize with her.
If the HBO series takes the same route, Kaitlyn Dever's Abby could become the leading figure of The Last of Us eventually. While the twist could resonate with some audiences, it's tough to imagine viewers empathizing with the woman behind the beloved Pedro Pascal's murder.
While Abby was portrayed in The Last of Us 2 as a muscular, physically imposing figure, the HBO adaptation will deviate from that. Executive producer Neil Druckman recently confirmed Abby's physique has changed for the series and actress Kaitlyn Dever has not bulked up due to "different priorities" in the story.
The ending also faces plenty of backlash as, despite going on a game-long mission to get her revenge and kill Abby, Ellie opts to spare Joel's killer.
There are plenty of other criticisms against Part 2 from gameplay perspectives that obviously wouldn't be relevant to the on-screen adaptation. But another criticism the team will have to overcome in retelling The Last of Us sequel is its pacing, which many argue is rushed and inconsistent.
The Last of Us creators have teased plans for a multi-season extension to the HBO show, suggesting Part 2 may play out over more than one season. This extra room to maneuver may help alleviate some of the second game's pacing problems, but some controversial story decisions may linger and remain divisive.
