Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past couple of months, HBO’s The Last Of Us has skyrocketed to new heights for video-game adaptations.
That being said, the coming seasons of the new HBO hit series must be narratively consistent to stick the landing.
What I Expect in Season 2 of The Last of Us
To clarify, I don’t mean “narratively consistent,” in a way that future seasons adapt the video game on a 1:1 basis. Season one deviated from the game in ways that I found surprising and ultimately enjoyable. Characters from the game received more backstory. Additionally, the world, in general, was seen struggling with the cordyceps fungus in ways the game never showed.
One such change in the narrative storytelling in the game versus season one of the series, was the use of flashbacks. The Last Of Us: Part 1 uses no flashbacks during its 30 plus hour story. The only exception is the Left Behind DLC, showcasing Ellie and Riley’s night of fun-turned-horror in an abandoned mall.
The Last Of Us: Part II is where the video game series starts to use flashbacks as a story-telling narrative, pretty much from the get-go. However, this is a tonal shift from the linear, fixed narrative of Part I.
Part II Narrative
I believe the showrunners should do the inverse for adapting the narrative of Part II. Tell the story linearly. There are a ton of flashbacks in Part II, and I don’t think they will translate well because you get to play as two different main characters. Both protagonists are on parallel story arcs until they clash in the middle, only to separate again.
Part II has an incredible story – a story that will play out throughout multiple seasons. It’s been difficult to confirm exactly how many seasons we’ll see. Add on rumors of Naughty Dog developing The Last Of Us: Part III, and you have to wonder how long the series will last on HBO.
There was a seven-year gap between Part I and II in the video game series. I highly doubt HBO wants to wait over the better part of a decade for their newest hit to wrap up. Still, there will likely be a plethora of episodes in the next few years, and how the showrunners adapt them will be key to the series’ success.
Even though there’s been recent news of more infected showing up in season two, I’m most excited for how the two warring factions in Part II are handled as they’re integral to the story and come into direct conflict with the main cast of characters.
