This doesn't feel real as I'm typing it, but the PS5 released over five years ago. I am one of the lucky ones that has had a console since launch day, and I've played through a lot of different games in the last five years.

Some games were simply fun to play or made me laugh with friends, but didn't stick with me after the credits rolled (if I made it to the credits). And then, some games consumed my thoughts and made me want to stay up way too late or abandon all my responsibilities to play them, thanks to mesmerizing worlds, gripping stories, and/or addictive combat.

Luckily, there are some highly rated gems I still haven't played yet (top of list is Astro Bot), but the 12 titles below will always be some of my favorite games.

Changes are afoot for “The Last of Us” season 3. For one (spoiler warning!), a pretty major character met their maker in the second season, but that’s not the only cast shuffle the post-apocalyptic HBO hit has in store for fans.

Based on the seminal action-adventure video game developed by Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann (more on him in a minute!) for Naughty Dog, the survivalist drama has been thus far following the harrowing journey of Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey), an orphaned teenage girl who discovered she was immune from the zombie-forming Cordyceps brain infection that had devastated mankind around her.

However, for the show’s third installment, protagonist duties will instead be filled by Bella’s rival Abby Anderson (played by Kaitlyn Dever), the former Firefly and surgeon’s daughter who brutally exacted revenge against Ellie’s father figure, Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal), in “TLOU” season 2.

The third season will rewind from that explosive confrontation and show how Abby and the Washington Liberation Front got to that game-changing moment.

As for relinquishing their main character energy for the upcoming season, series star Bella Ramsey discussed the changes on a July 2025 episode of the Variety Awards Circuit podcast. They said of her character’s involvement in the new episodes: “I sort of know, but I can’t tell you, I’m afraid.”

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For many fans, Ellie has been the heart and soul of “The Last of Us” since day one. So hearing she won’t be the main character in season 3 might sound like a big change to some. But honestly, I’m not surprised. Having played the second game, this shift makes perfect sense. Instead, the next season will focus on Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever.

The game itself split the story into parts: starting with Ellie’s revenge, then shifting to Abby’s perspective, and finally bringing their stories together in a powerful third act. It looks like the show is following that same approach, focusing on Abby’s story next before their paths cross again.

At an Emmys FYC event (h/t The Hollywood Reporter), co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann shared more details about “The Last of Us” season 3. Druckmann said: “The decisions [we made] are just what the story required, and even now, it’s like I can’t believe that they let us structure the series in this way. Meaning like we just ended season two, and season three is going to be starring — spoiler alert — Kaitlyn.”

He then continued: “I was sure that they wouldn’t let us do this when we started adapting this, but they’ve leaned into what makes, I believe, the story special. And allowed us not only the time but the creative freedom to be able to take these swings, and I think the audience really appreciates that.”

Of course, that’s not to say Ellie won’t appear at all. It’s likely she’ll still play a significant role, especially since her story and Abby’s are so deeply intertwined. The way the game handled their narratives showed just how connected their journeys are even when the focus shifts between them.

So fans can probably expect to see Ellie’s presence throughout season 3, but from a different angle or in a supporting role as Abby takes the lead.

Spoilers ahead for both "The Last of Us" season 2 and the Part II game.

What we can expect to see in ‘The Last of Us’ season 3

Season 2 ended right at that explosive confrontation between Ellie and Abby, so it makes sense that season 3 will rewind a bit to show Abby’s path leading up to that moment in the theater.

The finale took us back to “Seattle Day One,” which pretty much confirms that season 3 will follow Abby through that same timeline, picking up after Joel’s death and diving into her life within the Washington Liberation Front (WLF).

Just like in the game, the show is set to peel back the layers of Abby’s story and explore her motivations, what she’s lost, and the emotional weight she carries. We’ll see her from a new angle: as someone dealing with her own grief. The more time we spend with her, and the more we learn about the people she loves and protects, the harder it becomes to see her as just the enemy.

“It’s more of a water season than a fire season,” Druckmann said at the FYC event, as Mazin backed that up, saying “It’s a wetter season than a hotter season.”

So, what exactly does a “weter season” mean? It’s a pretty poetic way to describe a shift in tone and it actually lines up with what we know so far. If season 2 was all fire (like anger and revenge), then season 3 being “wetter” might suggest something slower. Maybe we’ll see a more emotionally driven story, one that deals with the weight of grief especially from Abby’s side.

Mazin said: “I think plot armor is a real problem and in a show where we try and keep things as grounded as possible, and we want people to feel in real danger, then yes, sometimes the people that we can’t imagine dying die. Because, for me, this is not a show about revenge, it’s a show about grief. Well, how are we supposed to grieve if nobody we truly, truly are invested in dies?”

Not only is that true for Joel, but since “The Last of Us” is built around grief, the same applies to Abby, who’s still mourning her father years later. We’ll likely see more of that pain through flashbacks, especially during her time with the Fireflies and the bond she shared with him.

While it might feel strange for some fans who’ve always rooted for Ellie, this change opens the door to exploring new emotional ground. Abby’s perspective is complex and harrowing, which makes the story richer and more layered.

Mazin has suggested season 3 may be longer than season 2 to better accommodate Abby’s extensive arc, and a fourth season may still be needed to complete the overall story. So don’t expect a neat wrap-up just yet, as it’s clear the showrunners are taking their time to let the narrative breathe.

So while Ellie may not be front and center next season, the story is far from over — though we probably won’t see season 3 until sometime around 2027.

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With “The Last of Us” season 2 now finished (and leaving fans divided in its wake), attention has quickly turned to what’s next.

The second season picks up with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) living in Jackson. But that peace is short-lived, as Ellie sets out on a brutal path after a devastating loss. Along the way, we’re introduced to new characters, including Abby Anderson (Kaitlyn Dever), whose connection to Joel changes everything.

Season 2 adapts only the first portion of “The Last of Us Part II,” ending on a major cliffhanger that leaves much of the game’s narrative still to be explored. With HBO confirming the show’s renewal and even teasing the possibility of a fourth season, the adaptation is clearly far from over.

Below, we break down everything we know so far about “The Last of Us” season 3, including casting, possible story direction, release speculation, and how it all ties into the source material.

Heads up: spoilers ahead for both "The Last of Us" season 2 and the Part II game. If you're not caught up, now’s a good time to watch before reading.

'The Last of Us' season 3 release speculation

Since “The Last of Us” season 1 debuted in 2023 and season 2 followed in 2025, it’s reasonable to assume season 3 might arrive after another two-year gap.

In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, co-creator and lead writer Craig Mazin confirmed that writing for season 3 hasn't started yet. With season 2 now wrapped, the writers' room is expected to kick into gear soon, but as of now, nothing is set in stone.

If the production follows a similar schedule to previous seasons, a 2027 premiere seems like a realistic estimate.

'The Last of Us' season 3 potential cast

Season 3 is expected to dive into Abby’s storyline in Seattle, unfolding her perspective during the time Ellie and Dina were tracking her. That means we’ll likely see members of Abby’s original crew again, which includes Owen (Spencer Lord), Mel (Ariela Barer), Manny (Danny Ramirez) and Nora (Tati Gabrielle).

Two key figures in Abby’s storyline from the second game are Lev and Yara, siblings from the Seraphite faction who play a major role in her arc. While their inclusion in season 3 hasn’t been officially confirmed, it would be surprising if they were left out given how integral they are to Abby’s development and the emotional weight of her journey.

Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Isabela Merced (Dina) are almost certain to return, along with Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, whose presence in the show has been expanded, making him a more prominent (and intimidating) figure than in the game. Tommy (Gabriel Luna) is also guaranteed to return.

As for characters like Joel and Jesse (Young Mazino), who didn’t survive season 2, there's a chance they could show up in flashbacks, but don't get your hopes up.

Here's a speculative list, which we'll continue to update over the coming months:

• Bella Ramsey as Ellie
• Kaitlyn Dever as Abby
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy
• Isabela Merced as Dina
• Spencer Lord as Owen
• Ariela Barer as Mel
• Danny Ramirez as Manny
• Tati Gabrielle as Nora
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac
• Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan
• Rutina Wesley as Maria

What could 'The Last of Us' season 3 be about?

Catherine O’Hara, who portrayed Gail in season 2, recently told Variety that season 3 will be the “Abby story.” This aligns perfectly with what fans have long anticipated, as the game itself is divided into two distinct parts, each following Ellie and Abby on their respective journeys before their fateful reunion.

"The Last of Us" creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, also confirmed that it will focus on Abby, saying (h/t The Hollywood Reporter): "The decisions [we made] are just what the story required, and even now, it’s like I can’t believe that they let us structure the series in this way. Meaning like we just ended season two, and season three is going to be starring — spoiler alert — Kaitlyn.”

With season 2 concluding on their intense confrontation, season 3 is set to explore Abby’s journey leading up to the moment she finds Ellie in the theater.

The season 2 finale rewound to “Seattle Day One,” so season 3 will likely follow Abby as she navigates the aftermath of killing Joel and her role within the Washington Liberation Front (WLF).

Season 3, like the game, will dig deeper into Abby’s side of the story, showing what drives her, what she’s lost and the battles she’s fighting, inside and out. As we get to know her and see the people she cares about, it gets harder to see her as just the villain. You might find yourself unexpectedly rooting for her, or at the very least, understanding her in a way you didn’t before.

Viewers can also expect to see the complexities of the WLF's conflict with the Seraphites (also nicknamed "Scars") and gain insights into the origins of the cult-like group and the motivations of key figures like Isaac.

If the show closely follows the structure of the game, Ellie’s screen time in season 3 may be limited. However, given Ramsey’s central role in the show so far, it’s possible the showrunners could include additional scenes or flashbacks to keep her involved in some capacity, even if she’s not the main focus.

With the pacing of the show and how season 2 only covered half of the second game, it’s likely that the game’s intense third act (including Ellie and Abby’s emotional journeys after the theater showdown) will be reserved for season 4. This would allow season 3 to fully explore Abby’s side of the story without rushing key developments, and give the final chapter the space it needs to land with the same emotional weight as it did in the game.

Will we get 'The Last of Us' season 4?

A fourth season of “The Last of Us” is not only likely but has been deemed essential by the show's creators. Co-showrunner Craig Mazin told Collider that completing the narrative of the second game would be impossible within just three seasons:

“There's no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we'll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth.”

He also said: "We thought ahead to season 3 and season 4, to try to get as much visibility as we can, so that we don't end up in a situation where we're sitting down and getting into details for a season and then going, 'Oh, man, if only we hadn't had that person say that one line or be in that spot or wear that jacket, this would be so much cooler.'"

While HBO has officially confirmed season 3, a formal announcement for season 4 has yet to be made. However, the show's creators have expressed their intention to extend the series to a fourth season to ensure a comprehensive adaptation of the game's storyline.

Therefore, while awaiting official confirmation, it's clear that the creative team envisions a four-season arc to faithfully bring the game's narrative to the screen.

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"The Last of Us" season 2 finale has just wrapped up and we're covering it here — live!

The seventh and final episode of the season just finished on HBO and Max. Hopefully you caught it live, but if you didn't, boot up the streaming service and start watching now.

It's been an arguably rocky road to get here to the season finale. We got some hints that things might be a bit more mixed this season when early reviews came in, but after the season 2 premiere, I was happy with what I got.

My colleague Rory Mellon was also happy with the "almost perfect" premiere, but wished it had been a two-episode premiere so the show could immediately get to its "shocking moment."

We got that moment in episode 2, but since then, the show has shifted away from the games in a big way. It's even led Rory to shift from viewing the show as almost perfect to declaring that HBO is "getting it all wrong."

Whether or not you love or hate the show is certainly hotly debated at this point, and I sit somewhere in the middle. It remains a largely excellent show, but I get fans' frustrations with the adaptive choices.

So without further ado, let's dive into our live reactions to all the major moments from tonight's epic "The Last of Us" season 2 finale, recapping the episode and discussing who survived and who we expect to see more of going forward.

Spoilers for "The Last of Us" season 2 ahead. There may also be spoilers for things that have happened "The Last of Us Part II," but only from parts of the game that the show has already covered.

Welcome to ‘The Last of Us’ season 2 finale — here’s what you may have missed so far this season

Before we dive into predictions and what’s happened to the show’s most important characters, let's do a quick recap on what’s happened in “The Last of Us” season 2 so far. Final spoiler warning — from here out, anything that’s happened in the show is on the table.

The season picks up five years after the events of season 1. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) are still living in Jackson, but it’s clear there’s been a division between the two. We’ll learn why later in the season, but for now, we can only speculate that it’s related to what happened at the end of season 1, where Joel massacred a hospital full of Fireflies.

One of those Fireflies was a doctor, Jerry Anderson, and it’s revealed to us that his daughter Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) wants vengeance. She gets that vengeance in the second episode, when fate and a horde of infected drive her and some of her friends straight into Joel’s path, and she drives a golf club straight into Joel’s head.

Ellie and her budding love interest Dina (Isablea Merced) both witness this horror, and so when they return to Jackson and heal from the encounter, they’re ready to get vengeance of their own. But the rest of Jackson is still reeling from an attack from the same infected horde that drove Abby and Joel together, so they do not join her.

Ellie and Dina ultimately make it to Seattle, where Abby and her friends in the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) are trying to return to their normal lives — a civil war with a band of religious fanatics known as the Seraphites.

So now, Ellie and Dina have to avoid the ongoing conflict and infected if they want to get to Abby and her friends.

That doesn’t go smoothly. Ellie gets bitten trying to protect Dina. She reveals to Dina that she’s immune, and Dina reveals that she’s pregnant with her ex, Jesse’s (Young Mazino) child. The overwhelming emotions of the moment finally allow them to realize their feelings for each other, and they hook up.

While it’s great that they can finally be a couple, there’s still the whole revenge quest to finish. They ultimately catch a break when they discover one of Abby’s friends, Nora (Tati Gabrielle), is at a nearby hospital.

Dina gets wounded on the approach to the hospital, but luckily Jesse arrives out of nowhere to save the day. That gives Ellie the chance she needs to get Nora — which she does, beating the WLF soldier mercilessly with a pipe to find Abby’s location in the city.

That’s as far as we’ve made it in Seattle, but in last week’s episode, we got some incredible flashbacks. We get an incredible moment in a science museum between Ellie and Joel, revealing that the relationship between them didn’t immediately break down after season 1.

Sadly, we also learn why the relationship between them deteriorated, because we see Joel finally forced to reveal to Ellie that he lied to her about what happened at the Firefly hospital. She then reveals she wants to try and forgive him, but we already know she’ll never get that chance.

With Joel gone, Ellie is now truly the last of us

Ellie hasn’t exactly had an easy life, and in season 2, things have only gotten harder. Across this second season, we’ve seen her get into numerous scrapes, but the thrust of Season 2’s story revolves around her and the fallout from Joel’s death.

Despite the duo growing apart during their years together in Jackson (she’d grown skeptical and eventually challenged him for the truth of what really happened with the Fireflies), Joel still meant a lot to her.

Our story kicked into gear when Abby got her revenge on Joel and brutally beat him to death before Ellie’s very eyes. Ellie swore she’d kill Abby, and she subsequently left Jackson (with Dina in tow) to do just that.

Ellie and Dina have grown closer on that journey; Ellie’s revealed to Dina that she’s immune, and Dina, in turn, has let slip she’s pregnant, and the pair are preparing to form a family unit together. On their journey, they’ve crossed paths with WLF soldiers (locked in combat with the Seraphites), more Infected, and set up a sort of base inside a Seattle theater.

Aside from the flashback episode, we last saw her returning to the theater after heading to the Lakehill hospital on her own in search of Nora and info on Abby’s whereabouts. — Martin Shore

Nobody can fill Joel’s boots, but Dina holds her own

Joel’s death in episode 2 left a massive hole in the show that couldn’t be completely filled by any one character. Still, I have grown to appreciate Dina (Isabella Merced) as Ellie’s new primary scene partner.

In episode 1, Dina comes across as flirtatious and flighty — not a serious person. That side of Dina adds some much-needed levity and brings out a similar side to Ellie. Their burgeoning romance is a welcome spark in what can be a dark, heavy show.

Of course, kissing at the dance becomes a distant memory after Joel is brutally killed, with Dina as a witness for some of it. And when Ellie wants to go after Abby, Dina is right there with her. In fact, I don’t think Ellie would’ve gotten as far without her.

Though they are just a few years apart, Dina seems much more mature and wise — an interesting turnabout from how she comes across in episode 1. When it comes down to it, flirty, flighty Dina disappears and map-wielding, supplies-gathering, practical Dina emerges.

As the finale looms, we now know Dina is pregnant. She’s also very injured. But neither fact has stopped her from supporting Ellie in this quest for vengeance. The only question is if Dina can stop Ellie from going too far. - Kelly Woo

The curious case of Tommy Miller

*Spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 video game follow*

Perhaps one of the biggest oddities surrounding “The Last of Us” season 2 has been the absence of Tommy (Gabriel Luna), Joel’s brother, since episode 3, “The Path.” If your first experience with The Last of Us has been via the TV show, then Tommy sticking around in Jackson while Ellie and Dina head to Seattle to track down Abby might not seem all that strange, but if you’ve played The Last of Us Part 2 game, you’ll know this is a major change.

In the game, Tommy journeys to Seattle first, with Ellie and Dina following in his trail of destruction and death. However, in the TV show’s second season, Tommy has played a largely peripheral role. He's presented as more of a family man (he has a wife in the game, but no child) and a leader of the community with a key position on the Jackson council. Which isn’t to say he’s not had his moments. His time to shine came in the blockbuster siege of Jackson shown in episode 2, and that flamethrower sequence remains a season highlight.

Since then, Tommy has been left behind to continue rebuilding Jackson following the attack, but we learned in episode 5 that he’s come along with Jesse to find Ellie and Dina in a bit of a role reversal compared to the game (though he didn’t appear on screen). It’s a change that has been controversial among fans of the game, and for me, Luna plays the role so well, so I’m glad that at least he should have a larger role to play in the season 2 finale episode. — Rory Mellon

Jesse has been there when Ellie (and Dina) need him most

Jesse is a real fan-favorite character for The Last of Us video game fans, and Young Mazino has certainly done the role justice through “The Last of Us” season 2. Introduced in the first episode, “Future Days,” he’s presented as a dependable friend, and one part of a developing love triangle also involving Ellie and Dina.

After being absent from the fourth episode of the season, he came back into the frame shortly afterward, coming in clutch to save Ellie and Dina when they found themselves in a sticky situation in an abandoned warehouse overflowing with mutated infected. His dramatic eleventh-hour appearance was a real fist-pumping moment, and in a sophomore season that hasn’t quite hit the height of its predecessor, Jesse is a character that’s been translated over to the television medium in just the right way (at least, in this TLOU fan's opinion).

What’s next for Jesse in this finale? Well, I suspect he’ll be the voice of reason, trying to convince Ellie that her revenge mission will only lead to more death and dire consequences. But Ellie isn’t the type to listen to reason, certainly not when she’s carrying the intense pain of Joel’s tragic death. He’s also unaware that Dina is currently pregnant with his child, so when that particular cat is out of the bag, it’ll be interesting to see how his priorities shift. — RM

Abby came in like a wrecking ball — and we haven’t seen her since

In the first two episodes, Abby was shaping up to be a major character. The show even made an effort to give us her backstory and reveal her motivations behind killing Joel, something the game doesn’t do until much later.

Yet, she’s been absent ever since we saw her brutally murder Joel. That is keeping with what Neil Druckmann chose to do in “The Last of Us Part II,” but that makes the show’s decision to give us more of Abby’s backstory perplexing.

On the one hand, it gives those who have only ever seen the show a deeper villain. On the other hand, given that we still abandon the character after Joel’s death, we’re not capitalizing on the decision to make her a more complex character, and for fans of the games, it was a notable deviation that ruffled some feathers.

While I would have liked to have seen more of Abby this season, given the choice to initially expand on her character in the first episode, I’m confident now that we’ll get to see her again this episode. She may even prove to be the most important character of the episode, if showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann hold to the source material.

The Tom’s Guide Streaming team reflects on the season so far — here are our 5 favorite moments from season 2

Rory Mellon — Senior Editor, Entertainment:

I suspect the common consensus for season 2’s best moment will be the large-scale siege on Jackson in episode 2, but as a passionate fan of “The Last of Us” games, this TV show invention just didn’t work for me. The 3-month time skip in the next episode really didn’t help matters either, robbing us of the chance to see the real fallout of such a devastating attack.

Instead, I’m going for a subtler moment, which was the decision to use original Ellie voice actor, Ashley Johnson’s, quietly-raging cover of Shawn James’ “Through the Valley” to close out the flagship second episode. It was an awesome easter egg for video game fans, and a great way of blending the two mediums. In a season that’s often left me confused (and even rather annoyed), this music choice created a powerful moment that gave me chills.

Kelly Woo — Managing Editor, Streaming:

I’m going with Joel and Ellie’s trip to the natural history museum. It’s a totally normal father/daughter birthday outing — except nothing is normal in their world. I just loved seeing Ellie be a carefree kid as she climbed onto that dinosaur and into the Apollo module and Joel be a proud, loving dad. Moments of happiness are rare in “The Last of Us,” and it ended up being one of the last ones they experienced together.

Martin Shore — Staff Writer, Streaming:

I think I’d be lying if I didn’t point to the Battle of Jackson. Sure, plenty of people have picked holes in some of Jackson’s defensive strategies, but I’m a sucker for a goot setpiece, and this was truly thrilling stuff, up there with some of HBO’s very best.

Alyse Stanley — Weekend Editor:

Season 2 has splintered off from the games in several ways, but easily my favorite new addition is the opening flashback in episode 6 between Joel and his father. We’ve already seen how Joel bludgeons his way through emotions, but he didn’t invent this approach: He inherited it from his abusive dad, who learned it from his own. And now Ellie’s showing signs of being caught in that same cycle of violence. It’s heartbreaking, but it paints a clearer picture of how far back the damage goes.

Malcolm McMillan — Editor, Streaming:

The Battle of Jackson and Astronaut Ellie would both be worthy picks here. But for me, the moment that sticks with me is the first showdown between Ellie and a Stalker in the grocery store in Jackson. It’s a perfectly executed action sequence, only slightly undercut by the fact that the Stalkers haven’t continued to play a grave threat as the season’s gone on.

Here are our predictions for the season 2 finale

Note: this section has some game spoilers, but only based on what we expect to be brought from the game into this episode.

Rory Mellon — Senior Editor, Entertainment:

I’ve played “The Last of Us Part II” video game several times, so I consider myself pretty well versed in the story currently being adapted by the TV show. I could make a “safe” prediction based on that prior knowledge.

However, the HBO show has proved itself unafraid to make significant changes several times, so I’m going to make a bolder guess here and say the show takes another major divergence and that character death in the Seattle theatre won’t happen. Instead, the show will plot a new course as we enter an Abby-focused season 3.

Kelly Woo — Managing Editor, Streaming:

I’ve never played the games, but it’s clear that the episodes so far have driven to what can only be a showdown between Ellie and Abby. Knowing a third season is in the works (and possibly a fourth), I doubt one kills the other. So, I fear for the others in this setpiece: Dina, Jesse, and Tommy (currently in Seattle but off-screen so far). This is the season finale, so someone important has to die.

Martin Shore — Staff Writer, Streaming:

Look, most of us who’ve played the games are thinking this season ends with that one scene, so I don’t want to dwell on it any further. Instead, I’m actually intrigued to see how we cover the final beats leading up to that theater confrontation.

Going by how her journey pans out in the game, Ellie’s still got to cross paths with a couple more members of Abby’s crew, and if that scene’s coming up, I’m predicting an even grimmer end for those other foes.

Alyse Stanley — Weekend Editor:

If the finale doesn’t end with Abby’s confrontation with Ellie and Jesse at the theater, I’ll be surprised. It’s a succinct and explosive way to bring Abby back into the fold if season 3 ends up being the shift to her perspective that all signs point to it being.

Malcolm McMillan — Editor, Streaming:

Those who know “The Last of Us Part II” are likely expecting a certain showdown and a certain character's death. I think we get that in this episode, and that the episode ends with Abby waking up three days earlier, now our main character. The show will then cut to black and roll credits.

That’s my prediction — I’m calling my shot.

We’re just 20 minutes away from the season 2 finale

“The Last of Us” season 2 finale is just mere minutes away. In under 20 minutes, you’ll be able to watch on HBO or Max.

It’s a 60-minute finale, so it won’t be an extra-long episode. But now’s the time to go to the bathroom, make sure the TV is set up and you’re logged into Max or tuned into HBO.

When you get back, we’ll be reacting live to everything from this (hopefully) epic finale.

We're live!

The show theme plays one last time this season, meaning it's time to buckle up for what could be a wild ride

Close your eyes if you're squeamish

Jesse is going full field medic on Dina's arrow wound right now and it is not a pretty sight. If you can't handle an arrow sticking through a leg, you may want to look away

Ellie is back

Ellie returns. Jesse accosts her about where she's been and she ignores it to go check on Dina right away

Abby’s location revealed — but there’s a catch

We now know where Abby is, but not what the directions mean. Ellie tortured Nora until Nora revealed two words — “wheel whale” — in an attempt to give up Ellie's location. She was already infected by that point, and Ellie just left her there.

Ellie just told Dina a shocking revelation

Ellie just told Dina what happened in Salt Lake City. She's clearly wracked with guilt about everything — being saved even though it dooms the world, leaving Nora there, what Joel did to Abby's father.

Dina doesn't chastise her or freak out, but it's clear she's no longer thirsting for vengeance. She simply tells Ellie, “We need to go home,” and Ellie doesn't argue back

Jesse knows he's going to be a father

Things are still visibly awkward for Ellie and Dina, but it's being set aside for now. Tommy is at the rendezvous point and Ellie and Jesse are leaving Dina behind while they go on ahead to bring him back. The hope is that it's an uneventful trip and they're back before sundown.

On the walk, though, Jesse reveals that he knows Dina is pregnant. Except, he didn't actually know, and now he's … struggling to process things.

One thing he has processed? They need to get out of Seattle. Now.

Ellie and Jesse are close to Tommy now

Ellie and Jesse are now two blocks away, but get caught in a skirmish between the WLF and a Seraphite. Ellie wants to intervene but Jesse reminds her that it's not their place and they could help anyway.

Has Abby gone AWOL?

Now we switch to Isaac, who, it seems, has something major planned in the war against the Seraphites. It's going down tonight and Abby, Owen and Mel have seemingly disappeared and Isaac is pissed.

Why is he pissed? Because he's pretty sure that he is going to die in the upcoming battle, and he thinks Abby is the only one to lead the WLF once he does

Where's Tommy?

Ellie and Jesse have made it to the rendezvous, but Tommy isn't there. What is there is a children's book that Ellie picks up for Dina.

That sparks an emotional conversation with Jesse, where he reveals he loved a girl who swung through Jackson for a few weeks, but let her go because he had responsibilities.

Ellie responds with anger, it before the conversation gets much further, they overhear the WLF panicked about a sniper. Thinking it must be Tommy, they head out to find him.

Ellie spots Abby’s possible location

We've potentially found Tommy, but we've also found a problem.

Ellie spots a whale and a wheel — the aquarium. Ellie wants to go there now, but Jesse says that they need to go to Tommy and neither of them is backing down.

Jesse and Ellie split up after a bitter argument

Wow. Jesse just dropped a bombshell on Ellie.

As a member of Jackson's leadership, he voted not to go after Abby earlier in the season.

This revelation causes Ellie to lose it. She tells Jesse that her community was Joel, not Jackson, and that she is going to avenge her community. Jesse tells her good luck and leaves.

Ellie overboard

Ellie grabs a small boat with an outboard motor and heads for the aquarium. But before she can get there, a giant wave capsizes her craft and pops back up without her in it

Ellie lives … for now

Ellie has made it to shore, only to be found by a Seraphite child. The child then brings other to kill Ellie, but they have to run when their village sounds the alarm that intruders — likely Isaac and the WLF — have arrived.

Our brief detour is over

Ellie is now back in the boat, headed to the aquarium, as we see what looks like Isaac and the WLF bombing the Seraphite village.

Who will find who first?

Ellie has arrived at the aquarium and find the remains of medical supplies. Someone has been treated for a wound here, and recently.

But she hasn't found is Abby — or (unbeknownst to her) Owen or Mel.

Ellie finds Owen and Mel

A set of footprints leads Ellie to Owen and Mel arguing over one of Abby's battle plans. Ellie pulls a gun on them, and tells them to point on a map where Abby is … or suffer the consequences.

Three kills with one bullet

And suffer they do. Owen reaches for a gun and Ellie shoots. It kills Owen.

But then we see the bullet also hit Mel. And that Mel's pregnant, which is something fans of the game had wondered would hold true in the show given Mel didn't seem pregnant in episode 2 in Jackson.

Mel begs Ellie to save her unborn child, and while Ellie is willing to try, she can't figure it out before Mel dies.

The cavalry's here

Tommy and Jesse arrive to find Ellie distraught over Mel's corpse. Tommy grabs

They get her back to the theater, and then regroup and plan their retreat back to Jackson.

Jesse is down

Abby has found them and she is pissed. She attacks Tommy, which causes Jesse and Ellie to run out with guns drawn.

But Abby is the faster shot and hits Jesse, killing him instantly. She then turns on Ellie, realizes who Ellie is, and after a heated exchange, she pulls the trigger.

Cut to black.

It's Abby's world now, we're just living in it

Abby wakes up after the cut to black and we find her in Seattle — three days earlier.

Now, it's time for season 3, and time for Abby to become our main character.

This finale did what it needed to do — but I’m worried how some people will react

This finale delivered exactly what I expected. Ellie found where Abby was hiding, found Owen and Mel instead, and killed them both in horrifying fashion. No, it wasn’t exactly like the video game, but I think I might have preferred this version more. Regardless, the end result was a devastated Ellie, shaken to her core about killing Mel’s unborn child.

Speaking of impactful deaths, Abby shooting Jesse was perfectly executed. If you’re a fan of the games, you should feel like it was done properly. If you have only watched the show, then it should have been a true shock when Abby drops him with a single shot without any preamble.

But now, we’ve officially shifted to Abby as our main point-of-view character, and I’m worried about how fans of the show that don’t know the games are going to feel about the change. Fans of the game will be looking forward to it, and I certainly don’t think Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann should be doing it any differently at this point, I just hope people don’t give up on the show now that it’s next season might not feature Pedro Pascal or Bella Ramsey.

What we expect from Abby in season 3

For those who’ve played "The Last of Us Part II," it seems pretty clear that season 3 is headed for a major narrative shift. And as an Abby apologist (my girl did nothing wrong, your honor), I’m already excited for fans of the show to hate it as much as fans of the games did the first time around.

Abby hasn’t shown up in season 2 since Joel met his bloody end at her hands. But if season is anything like The Last of Us 2, she’ll take center stage while Ellie’s story takes a backseat.

Without spoiling too much for those who haven’t played the games, season 3 will likely dive deep into Abby’s arc, following her return to Seattle after killing Joel. With her quest for revenge complete, she helps her fellow WLF soldiers wage war against the Seraphites, the religious cult introduced in season 2 episode 3.

But when a rescue mission leads her deep into Seraphite territory, she gains a new perspective on the battle she’s fighting. It’s one lesson that Ellie, still hellbent on hunting her down, could stand to learn as well. — Alyse Stanley

This season's most shocking moment may have come in last week's penultimate episode

This season finale had no shortage of shocking moments. It's been a shocking season overall, for those who've never played the games.

But even if you played the games, last week's penultimate episode dropped a bombshell revelation, though it took a second for me to register it.

In the games, there's no definitive ruling on whether or not the Fireflies could produce a cure with a 100% guarantee. Even last season, it didn't quite feel like it was a lock.

But last week, Joel revealed to Ellie that yes, they would have definitely made a cure, and she was the only one that could have provided it. This is something game creator Neil Druckmann has confirmed in subsequent interviews, and it adds an extra layer to Joel's earth-shattering decision to kill everyone in the Salt Lake City hospital.

Will season 3 be the series finale?

HBO hasn’t officially announced a season 4 renewal (as of the time of writing), but we’ve heard several times over that those involved think it’ll be a four-season affair.

The last time we heard this was the plan was in a recent interview with showrunner Craig Mazin, who said that “there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season” and that he hopes the team “earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth.”

Admittedly, we’re already through quite a lot of The Last Of Us Part II’s original story. Given that the Seattle theater is the staging ground for a climactic confrontation between the two leads that leads to a mid-story perspective change, I can’t necessarily see how the material that’s left stretches to a fourth season.

If we assume season 3 will primarily tell Abby’s story leading up to the theater confrontation, that would theoretically mean we end season 3 with just the Santa Barbara chapter (wherein Ellie follows a tip from Tommy and tracks Abby down again in California) left.

Is that stretch enough to sustain a full prestige TV drama? I’m not so sure, but we’ll be keeping an eye out for news of the show’s future and how they’ll wrap this story up regardless. — MS

Do we think we’ll get much more from Ellie before the end of season 3

In theory, no. If the show follows the game's lead, then season 3 should be pretty heavy on Abby, making her the main point-of-view character.

Especially, if we’re going to get a season 4. That’s when, theoretically, it’d make more sense to check back in with Ellie.

With the way season 2 ended, there’s just now way they don’t spend at least the first two episodes solely with Abby, whether Mazin and Druckmann decide to deviate and explore the world of “The Last of Us” beyond what’s covered in the games. I also think it’s more likely that, when we deviate from Abby, it’ll be to explore more of Isaac’s past and the war between the WLF and the Seraphites, than to see what’s happened to Ellie.

I do think we see Ellie again in season 3, though. At the very least, I’d be shocked if she didn’t appear in the season 3 finale.

I’m a "Last of Us" superfan. The PlayStation duology ranks among my favorite video games of all time, and I was hugely impressed by the first season of the HBO show. Sadly, I’ve had a less enthusiastic response to “The Last of Us” season 2.

I’ve been left feeling largely disappointed by the show’s long-awaited return, as each episode makes more and more significant changes to the source material that, in my opinion, don’t benefit the overall story.

It’s not that “The Last of Us” season 2 has been especially bad, it’s just not hit the heights of season 1, and hasn’t resonated with me in the way The Last of Us Part 2 video games did, and continues to do so to this very day.

Nevertheless, with the finale set for this weekend (airing on HBO and Max on Sunday, May 25), I’m preparing to watch with an open mind and the hope that the season can be salvaged at the death. For that to happen, here are the three things I want to see in “The Last of Us” season 2, episode 7.

But first, a quick spoiler warning: this article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 game and may contain spoilers for future episodes of the HBO show.

Bring Tommy back into the fold

One of the most curious changes that the HBO show has made compared to the original video game is its handling of the character of Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna in the show).

In the Part 2 game, Tommy is the one who first heads out to Seattle to find (and kill) Abby, with Ellie and Dina following in his wake. Alternatively, in the world of the show, Tommy is a pillar of the community in Jackson and a family man with a young child. He stays behind to rebuild the makeshift town following its attack by a horde of infected, with Ellie and Dina trekking to Seattle on their own to find Abby.

I wasn’t a fan of this change, but with the die now cast, at the very least, I want Tommy to be properly brought back into the mix. The good news is Tommy's reemergence appears almost certain. We know he's now on the board, as Jesse revealed in episode 6 that the other Miller brother accompanied him to Seattle.

Tommy’s role should be sizeable in the finale, and that’ll make me very happy.

Don’t change Jesse’s fate

"The Last of Us" as a franchise has never been scared of shock character deaths, and arguably the most out-of-the-blue kill in the series to date is that of Jesse.

There’s no buildup to this murder. Instead, Ellie and Jesse hear somebody breaking into their theater base, sprint to confront this intruder (revealed to be Abby), and in a split second, Jesse is snuffed out via a bullet to the head.

It was a moment that left me nearly breathless when playing the game for the first time. I was initially convinced that Jesse hadn’t just died in such a sudden way. But in the world of "The Last of Us," key characters don’t always get heroic deaths or dramatic send-offs. This apocalyptic world is much too brutal for every character to go into the dark night with a fitting swansong.

The show needs to keep this important moment intact, and fortunately, I think it most likely will. While season 2 has made a boatload of changes, it has, at least so far, kept the narrative broad strokes the same, and I hope it won’t go as far as to alter a key character's untimely fate.

Keep Abby’s iconic line

OK, so I’ll fully acknowledge this one is a bit of a nitpick, but I was super disappointed that Joel’s iconic line just before his brutal murder at Abby’s hands (“Why don't you say whatever speech you got rehearsed, and get this over with.") was removed in favor of one that lacked the same punch.

The much-anticipated theatre confrontation between Abby and Ellie, which all signs point towards being the bookend of “The Last of Us” season 2, contains an equally iconic moment, when Abby, shocked to discover the person hunting her and her friends down is Ellie and Tommy, spits out “we let you both live and you wasted it” before raising her gun to shoot. Cut to black.

It’s a real fan-favorite line, and I’ll be pretty miffed if this dialogue is also removed (or significantly reworked). Here’s hoping the show opts to keep this intense scene pretty much unchanged.

When you land on perfection the first time, why alter things the second time?

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Going into “The Last Of Us” season 2 finale this weekend, we already know that we’re returning to this post-apocalyptic drama for a third chapter.

Ahead of the show’s return, HBO confirmed that “The Last Of Us” had already been renewed for a third outing.

We’d already heard rumblings that the show would be sticking around — HBO exec Francesca Orsi said it was “looking like four seasons” would be required to do the story justice in February — and a new interview makes that plan sound even more rock-solid than before.

Speaking to Collider, “The Last Of Us” showrunner Craig Mazin feels like the show’s going to need more room to breathe, as he rather conclusively said, “there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season.”

Craig Mazin believes ‘The Last Of Us’ needs four seasons to finish the story

Asked about the length of the next season, Mazin had the following to say: “I think there’s a decent chance that Season 3 will be longer than Season 2, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different.

“The thing about Joel’s death is that it’s so impactful. It’s such a narrative nuclear bomb that it’s hard to wander away from it. We can’t really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story. I’m not sure that will necessarily be true for Season 3.

"I think we’ll have a little more room there. But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome,” he added.

Granted, this isn’t too much of a surprise, either; back in February, Mazin and “The Last Of Us” co-creator Neil Druckmann coyly danced around a four-season arc while chatting to Entertainment Weekly.

“I think it’s pretty likely that our story will extend past a season 3,” Mazin said at the time. “How far past? I can't say. And that's not to say that there are not other stories that could be told, but this story is the one that Neil and I are telling.”

Druckmann, by comparison, simply said the team “have a plan” for the show at that time, chiming in with “we couldn’t tell you right now exactly how many episodes or how many seasons it would take to get there.”

So, while none of this officially constitutes a season 4 renewal from the folks at Warner Bros. Discovery, all signs point to the fact that Ellie, Joel and Abby’s story will be stretching beyond the third season. As and when official confirmation comes in, we’ll be sure to share that news.

“The Last Of Us” season 2 finale airs this Sunday on HBO and Max at 9 p.m. ET. If you’re watching in the UK, you can watch from 2 a.m. on Monday, May 14 on Sky Atlantic and the Sky-backed streamer, NOW.

If you’re looking to plan your post-finale viewing, check out our round-up of the best HBO Max shows for tons more recommendations to help you make the most of that streaming subscription.

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I love The Last of Us Part 2. I loved it in June 2020 when I played it for the first time at launch. I loved it more when I replayed it in 2021. And returning to its harrowing world via The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, on PS5 in 2024 and Steam Deck OLED this year, has only served to solidify it as one of my favorite video games of all time. It might even rank in the top spot.

I also really enjoyed “The Last of Us” on HBO, and named the first season (which covered the events of the first The Last of Us video game) the best video game adaptation ever. I should also adore “The Last of Us” season 2, considering it’s adapting what I believe to be even stronger source material.

And yet, four episodes into the popular HBO show’s much-anticipated return, I’m becoming increasingly frustrated. It’s not that “The Last of Us” season 2 is bad per se. In isolation, it’s prestige television at its most … prestigious. But as somebody who holds the game series close to their heart, I’m becoming ever more annoyed at the sheer number of changes.

I understand it’s an adaptation for an entirely different medium, some things will be different, as they were in season 1, but the fundamental issue this time around is almost none of the changes (and some are substantial) are serving to tell the story in a more interesting, or more engaging, way. Instead, they’re taking a story I love and making it much worse.

Spoilers for "The Last of Us" season 2 and The Last of Us Part 2 follow.

Going off script

“The Last of Us” season 2’s premiere kept the same high standard up from the first season, yes, there were changes to the way things play out in the video game, but they were minior, and for me, made sense within the context of TV and video games being different animals.

It was episode 2, “Through the Valley,” where my alarm bells started ringing, and that harsh noise has only gotten louder ever since. Let’s address the bloater in the room first: The showpiece siege of Jackson was a highlight moment for many viewers, including some of the Tom’s Guide staff members. But I couldn’t help but feel it added little beyond spectacle.

In the video game, Jackson remains an unbreached safe haven, whereas in the show, we see it overrun by rabid infected, with the town suffering significant casualties. The cynic in me feels like this blockbuster siege was added merely as an oversteer to address the complaints of “not enough zombies” that plagued the show’s first season.

From my perspective, it served little narrative purpose, and the subsequent episodes, which include a three-month time skip, have made the fallout basically a non-event.

Now that the action has shifted to Part 2’s central setting of Seattle, the entire siege sequence basically amounts to little more than some cool shots for the trailer and some flattering comparison to "Game of Thrones'" iconic Hardhome battle scene. Oh, and I guess it swelled the budget.

Away from Jackson, the show also butchered the game’s most (in)famous moment: the brutal death of Joel. Even putting to one side the bizarre decision to stage it in a brightly lit and very airy room, rather than the dank and claustrophobic basement setting of the game, episode writer Craig Mazin (also a co-showrunner) made some truly baffling decisions.

By having newcomer Abby (an excellent Kaitlyn Dever) spell out her backstory and motivations before proceeding to beat Joel to death with a golf club, viewers have been robbed of any mystery surrounding the character. In the game, finding out why Abby killed Joel feels like just as much motivation for Ellie’s revenge mission as settling the score.

In the world of the show, there is no mystery; we know who Abby is, and we know why she obsessively pursued and brutalized Joel. There is nothing to discover anymore. It’s all just a countdown to the inevitable confrontation between Abby and Ellie. The whole thrust of Part 2’s first half has been lost in an apparent effort to spell things out immediately to viewers.

Plus, reworking Joel’s most memorable line from the game (“Why don't you say whatever speech you got rehearsed, and get this over with.”) to something comparatively weaker (“shut the f**k up and do it already”) is a small sin, but one that I’m frankly still salty about.

It’s only getting worse

Episode 2 is currently the show’s highest-rated episode on IMDb, so I was willing to accept that I was making a mountain out of a molehill with my grumbles over the changes and just roll with things, but the alterations have only become more head-scratching ever since.

The relationship timeline of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) has been shifted to have them profess their mutual attraction after they arrive in Seattle to hunt Abby and her co-conspirators, which has only served to blunt Ellie’s fantastic character arc in the game.

For example, in the game, when Dina reveals she’s pregnant, Ellie reacts with hostility; she's furious that Dina will be a “burden” to her mission to avenge Joel. In the show, it becomes a moment of celebration as she quips, “I’m gonna be a dad,” and the two consummate their romance. It cheapens what is supposed to be Ellie’s spiral into a very dark place.

In the show, the decision to travel to Seattle feels less like the rash call made by somebody blinded by fury and hatred, and instead, a fun excursion for two young lovers.

That’s not to say the show can’t make changes, but these changes should be for the better or in service of the larger story being told, and so far, precious few of them appear to be doing that.

There’s also a litany of other changes that haven’t quite sat well with me, from the fact Ellie has seemingly revealed to Jesse (Young Mazion) that she made up with Joel the evening before this death — which will rob the show of the game’s ultimate moment of catharsis — and the inclusion of new character Gail (Catherine O’Hara) whose appearance has done little more than spell out character motivations that are blindingly obvious in the first place.

How faithful is too faithful

My increasingly negative takes on “The Last of Us” season 2 have sparked something of a debate with the Tom’s Guide team. Exactly how faithful an adaptation should be has become a fiercely debated question, and I’m a little surprised how wide-ranging the answers have been.

While I acknowledge that a TV take on a video game will by necessity rework parts of the source material, and I appreciate the broad strokes are being kept in tact (fortunately, the rumors that Joel’s death would be removed or significantly delayed were indeed false), I believe that any changes need to justify themselves. Not just be changes for the sake of it.

Take “The Last of Us” season 1’s most celebrated episode, “Long, Long Time,” This was a ground-up reworking of the character of Bill (Nick Offerman), more significant than any changes made so far in season 2 to The Last of Us Part 2’s story. And I loved it.

Why? Because it was a change for the better that added so much emotional depth to a bit part player in the original game. It was a prime case of a change that made the world of "The Last of Us" that much richer.

If the tweaks to the story seen so far in “The Last of Us” season 2 had a similarly positive impact, I’d be onboard with them. But at present, I feel like we’re being presented with a significantly weaker version of Part 2’s story, which is hardly a compelling reason to keep watching.

If I wanted to consume a worse version of Part 2's story, I could just read the awful fan fiction already online from fans who were so bitter about Joel’s death that they tried to rewrite the game to suit their own preference.

The show can still make positive changes. Episode 4, “Day One,” giving us more time with WLF leader Isaac (Jeffrey Wright, reprising his role from the game), is one such example. But when so many of the additions, both big and small, feel like subtractions, it’s getting increasingly hard for me to see the positives in a show I was previously super excited about.

In all this consternation about storyline alterations, I've not even touched upon some of season 2's larger issues, like the very wonky pacing. Spending three episodes (almost half the season) in Jackson appears increasingly ill-judged.

While I can appreciate the need for setup, taking so long to get Ellie (and Dina) to Seattle has resulted in a season now beyond the halfway point, but only just leaving the starting grid. At the current pace Part 2's story is being adapted, we're going to need about four seasons to get through to the game's climax.

The ends justify the means

Before concluding this increasingly lengthy ramble, I feel it’s important to acknowledge two key potential rebuttals to my complaints.

Firstly, I am absolutely aware that I’m extremely close to The Last of Us Part 2. The game took on a special significance in my life when it launched during a particularly difficult period for lots of people (I’m sure you don’t need reminding why 2020 was a rough year for many). I'm very protective of it.

When you have such a fondness for a source material, you’re going to be more critical in general, and there is likely an element of me merely wrinkling my nose at any changes. To non-gamers, these "issues" might not even register.

Secondly, “The Last of Us” season 2 is four episodes into a seven-episode run, with this adaptation of the Part 2 game already confirmed to span more than a single season. There is, of course, still time for things to come together, and for the additions like the attack on Jackson and newcomers like Gail to become relevant and play a major (and satisfying) part in the show’s end game.

I’m not going to write off HBO’s “The Last of Us” just because its second season has had a rocky start, and even with all my issues, there’s still an awful lot to like about the show including it’s phenomenal set design and the remarkable cast bringing characters I love to life. Special shout-out to Isabela Merced, who completely carried episode 4 on her back.

Right now, I’m pretty worried about where “The Last of Us” will go next, but even if it continues down a path that I don’t personally care for, I can always comfort myself with yet another playthrough of The Last of Us Part 2. It’s not going anywhere after all.

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"The Last of Us" season 2 has been surprisingly controversial. After watching episode 3, I'm concerned that the controversy isn't without merit.

Last week, the show killed off its big star, Pedro Pascal. Joel's death is a key moment in the game and something that had to happen. I think most fans, whether casual or diehard, breathed a sigh of relief when the show finally had its shocking moment play out on HBO, thankful that showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann weren't afraid to kill their darlings.

But that moment did spark some controversy because of how it happened. Instead of staying true to the games, significant changes were made in how that went down, though some iconic moments were kept.

That riled up some diehard fans of the game and reopened a debate over what an adaptation should or should not do.

Now, normally, I'm pretty open to letting creators take liberties in an adaptation. I didn't use to be, but as I read, watch and learn more, I've come to realize that the differences between shows, movies, games and books mean that adapting from one form to the other requires change.

But episode 3 introduced two major shifts that have me concerned the adaptations this season might significantly alter the story of the show compared to the game. And that has me worried.

Spoilers for 'The Last of Us' beyond this point

Has 'The Last of Us' changed Tommy too much?

In "The Last of Us: Part II," the day after Joel is brought back to Jackson to be buried, his brother Tommy goes on a quest for revenge. He heads off towards Seattle to chase down Abby, and hot on his heels are Ellie and Dina.

After tonight's episode, though, we know that the show is changing things in a big way. It's three months later before anyone even sets off after Joel, and when they do, it's just Ellie and Dina, with Tommy staying behind in Jackson.

Now, to be fair, that latter change makes sense in the context of the show. Tommy is not just a leader in Jackson, he's the leader in Jackson. He also has a child, which any parent knows makes running off with reckless abandon a painful choice to make.

But those are not traits of the character in the game, at least, not to this degree.

Initially, these changes felt like adding depth to a character, but now that they're impacting core plot points, I'm starting to be concerned that Mazin and Druckmann (the latter in particular) are perhaps rewriting the story to fit their present vision of the fictional world. It's a thing that happens (see: Lucas, George) but can be incredibly frustrating to fans that fell in love with a different vision.

I do think Tommy eventually goes to Seattle in the show, now tailing Ellie and Dina instead of the other way around. But by possibly making his mission to protect Ellie rather than avenge Joel and diminishing the immediacy of the hunt for Abby, the story feels distinctly different.

I also think it's further evidence that this trend of the show deviating in notable ways isn't going away.

Ultimately, 'The Last of Us' doesn't need to be a good adaptation to be a great show

Now, despite my alarmist take above on "The Last of Us" starting to flounder as an adaptation, I think it's still a great show — because it wasn't created just for the fans of the games.

Anecdotally, those who haven't played the games don't seem to have really any issues with the choices made this season, and I get why. The choices, while not in line with the narrative of the games, are in line with the world Mazin and Druckmann have created.

So I don't think that this show will be a disaster. While even taking the adaptive elements out of it, this episode was probably my least favorite of the show so far, yet I have no doubt this will be a show of the year contender for many, myself included.

Fans of the game, I hear you. I even sympathize with you, and after tonight, I see your point of view more than ever.

But I think after tonight, it may be time to let go of the games as a point of reference. It's clear Mazin and Druckmann have a different vision in mind, and while it's not the same as the one you fell in love with, it's still producing incredible television.

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Last night, "The Last of Us" season 2 officially entered hallowed ground in the pantheon of great shows.

Hopefully, you'll pardon my mixed metaphors. Still, after watching "Through the Valley," it's clear to most (but not all!) people that HBO's zombie apocalypse video game adaptation series is up there with the best shows to ever grace the prestige TV network, including "Game of Thrones."

Spoilers for "The Last of Us" beyond this point

And if this show is now the next "Game of Thrones," then last night, we officially got our "Red Wedding" with the brutal execution of Joel Miller.

Like the "Red Wedding," this was a moment that fans of "The Last of Us Part II" game were aware of and protected from their friends.

I've been trying to keep it secret from my wife for months. While she had suspicions, the devastated look on her face when the broken shaft of a golf club (seemed like a 9-iron?) went through Joel's neck told me I had done my job.

Now, it's important to note that while myself and many others who watched deemed this an incredible moment, it went down a bit differently than it did in the games. And some fans of the games were not happy about how that went down.

However, I think if you set aside the merits of last night's episode as an adaptation of the source material — full disclosure: I don't have an issue with the adaptive choices made so far — it's clear that this was an incredible episode.

The moment we know Joel is doomed is devastating. His demise is brutal, with no punches pulled (literally). Ellie coming just in time to watch him wordlessly die is as heartbreaking a moment as it's ever been.

But that's also only part of the story. Because while "Through the Valley" may have been this show's "Red Wedding," I'd argue it's also its "Blackwater."

The assault on Jackson was as spectacular as Joel's death was devastating

The inciting incident in the game and show for Abby's capture of Joel is a horde of infected pushing the two together.

Now, in the game, the horde has done its job once Abby has Joel captive. But in last night's episode, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann decided to give the horde a final mission.

Again, this choice has some detractors among the game series' fan base.

But while you can argue about whether or not it served a storytelling purpose (which, I do), there's no denying that as an action set piece, it was spectacular.

In fact, between barrels of gas exploding infected by the dozens, seemingly more ammo used than in a World War II campaign and an epic one-on-one showdown between Tommy and a bloater that ends in deus ex incineration, I found myself comparing the assault on Jackson consistently with "Blackwater."

For those who never watched the penultimate episode of "Game of Thrones season 2, you should stop what you're doing and watch it now. You don't even need to watch any episodes before or after — it's that good.

In "Blackwater," the episode is entirely centered around Stannis Baratheon's assault on King's Landing via Blackwater Bay.

The iconic moment of the episode comes when explosive wildfire tears through the ranks of Stannis' ships, decimating his forces. There's also an incredible assault on the city gates that follows, and ultimately, the defenders manage to save the city.

If you watched last night's episode of "The Last of Us," I probably don't even need to spell out the comparisons. You know the gas is the wildfire, the infected are Stannis' men, etc.

Ultimately, "Through the Valley" will be remembered in the same breath as "Red Wedding" and "Blackwater" as iconic episodes. After watching it myself, I'd be hard pressed to find a reason why it shouldn't.

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My main takeaway from "The Last Of Us" season 2 premiere was a simple one:

This show is so damn good.

We've gotten a mixed bag of shows so far this year. There have been a few great ones like "The Pitt" and "Paradise," but most of them have ranged from pretty good to downright forgettable.

But just mere minutes into watching the season 2 premiere, I was reminded of what great prestige TV looks like. With all respect to "The Pitt" and "Paradise," they feel like network shows, which I don't mean as an insult.

"The Last of Us," though? That's a show that can hold its own on every level with the greatest prestige TV shows.

This season 2 premiere was visually stunning, well-written with a few incredible reveals and well-executed in terms of introducing us to a slew of new characters.

The episode was also perfectly paced. I felt I was learning just enough that I wasn't confused by what was going on or who new characters were, while not learning so much that I wasn't left wanting more.

I now need to know more about Gail and Eugene. I can't wait to dive further into Abby's story. And I want to see the deterioration of Joel and Ellie's relationship given a close examination, something I'm confident I'll get in future episodes.

Finally, the show once again proved it can produce great action/combat sequences, and this episode may have given me one of my favorites of the season so far.

The stalker scene was the highlight of the season 2 premiere

Spoilers for 'The Last of Us season 2 premiere beyond this point

With all respect to the reveal that Abby is just outside Jackson at the end of the episode, which is surely one of the biggest moments of the show so far in terms of story development, the highlight of the show was Ellie's showdown with an infected stalker.

For those who haven't played the video game series, these infected are stealthy, they're fast and they're strong. They're a deadly enemy, and in the first "The Last of Us" game, they're rare.

In the second game, they're more prominent. They're a little less powerful and much more timid in approaching humans. But they're still plenty stealthy, as we see in the showdown between Ellie and the stalker in the ruined market at the climactic moment of this episode.

I was on the edge of my seat watching this sequence, which could have been pulled straight from a horror movie. The tension is palpable as the stalker follows Ellie, accompanied by a heartbeat-mimicking, percussive score that you'd swear is your own heart as you watch.

It was, to quote a famous meme, "Absolute cinema." It's only something the best shows can pull off, and director Craig Mazin nailed it.

With just six episodes left, I want to savor every moment of 'The Last of Us' season 2

As I already mentioned, I'm happy with the pacing Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have established in this first episode. In fact, I'm glad we only got the first episode, as it's left me wanting more.

But it also allows me to savor each episode because this season will be over before we know it. There are just seven episodes in season 2, and we're already through nearly 15% of them.

A show this good doesn't come around often, and now that I'm reminded of how good it is, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

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After years of waiting, HBO’s “The Last of Us” finally returned to our television screen on Sunday (April 13) with an exciting season premiere entitled “Future Days.”

It was almost perfect, but as the credits rolled, I just couldn’t help feeling just a tiny bit unsatisfied.

It wasn’t because of the quality of the episode itself. Nope, the HBO adaptation of the popular video game series (which I hold close to my heart) was every bit as high-quality as the previous season. Nevertheless, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that episode 1 should have been twined with the second chapter or at least packed an extended runtime.

There’s no denying that part of my wish that “The Last of Us” season 2 kicked off with a two-part premiere is motivated by my intense love for the franchise. I always want more of "The Last of Us."

However, I promise this isn’t just a case of a fanboy wanting more episodes and wanting them right now, I think there’s a key storytelling reason that “The Last of Us” season 2 should have given us episode 1 and episode 2 together, rather than making us endure a tortuous wait.

Before I dive into my reasoning, I want to warn you this article contains major spoilers for "The Last of Us Part II" video game, including events that haven’t happened yet in the TV show.

If you’ve never played the games and are experiencing Joel and Ellie’s story for the first time via the HBO show, I suggest you stop reading. Final warning, spoilers incoming ….

Sometimes a little more is better

On the surface, “Future Days” is a pretty packed episode. It catches up with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Belle Ramsey) and reveals that their relationship has deteriorated.

It also introduces us to a load of new characters, from Dina (Isabela Merced), Jesse (Young Mazino) and Gail (Catherine O'Hara) in Jackson to the revenge-fueled Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).

Plus, Ellie encountered a new type of infected, and we saw a worrying hint that cordyceps are spreading into Jackson via underground pipes. You couldn’t really accuse the episode of not setting up plenty of narrative hooks.

And yet, I do feel like there was a piece of the puzzle missing. And that is (seriously final spoiler warning):

Joel’s brutal murder by Abby.

This shocking moment happens within the first hour or so of "The Last of Us Part II" video game and is the inciting incident of the game’s story. It’s the catalyst for Ellie’s blood-soaked mission of revenge and the continuation of the cycle of violence underpinning the series.

It shattered my soul the first time, but after completing the game and seeing the full picture, I now totally understand its importance to the overall narrative of "The Last of Us." I have huge respect for Druckmann (and co-writer Halley Gross) for making such a bold decision that was always going to be unpopular with some people. And so, it very much proved to be.

While I was very pleased with season 2 episode 1, I believe concluding the premiere with this tragic death would have really kicked the series off with a bang and it would have had every single audience member who hadn’t played the game saying to themselves, “Did that just happen?”

Of course, you might say, well, if it happens an hour(ish) into the video game, the first episode of the show’s second season is an hour, so we’re about on track in the timeline. But let’s not forget that "The Last of Us Part II" is a 30-hour game. The show is going to have to cut narrative corners at some point, even if this adaptation of "Part II" is stretched across multiple seasons.

Putting myself into the mindset of a non-game player, I wonder if the first episode would have felt intriguing, but lacking that one big hook. The death of Joel — much as I’m feeling emotionally unprepared to see that moment play out again — really would have given the premiere an epic watercooler moment that would have launched season 2 with a bang.

Trying to squeeze Joel’s death — which absolutely deserves its full build-up and proper attention — into the first hour of the new season would have probably been a mistake. This is why I’m suggesting HBO should have packaged together season 2’s first two episodes or perhaps expanded the runtime of episode 1 to make it a feature-length premiere.

Two-part premieres aren't uncommon in the modern TV landscape, and one here would have allowed the show to take its time building up to the crucial scene and ensured every single viewer returned next week.

“The Last of Us” season 2 is confirmed to be a pretty trim seven episodes, and if the rumors of it concluding at the theater confrontation between Ellie and Abby are accurate, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover in just six more episodes. And there's even less time to do so if season 2 includes another standalone episode a la season 1’s award-winning “Long, Long Time."

Hopefully, season 2’s back half doesn’t become an all-out sprint after such a deliberately paced premiere.

Time to practice some patience

I won't pretend to know more than Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. Both are infinitely more talented and with a better understanding of narrative pacing than I’ll ever have. So, I’ll wait to see how the rest of season 2 plays out before I can cast any final judgments on their choice to hold back "The Last of Us Part II’s" most talked-about moment from the premiere episode.

However, I will grow increasingly concerned if Joel’s horrible fate doesn’t befall him in the next chapter. At that point, we’ll either see a major rework of the game’s story, or the show could be in danger of dragging its heels.

As I said, the story of "Part II" really can’t kick into gear until that moment happens. If we get midway through the season and Joel is still alive, I’ll start to wonder about season 2's direction.

But Mazin and Druckmann have earned my trust, and I have no doubt they’ll do the sequel’s incredible (but very bleak) story the same justice they did for the first game.

Plus, the season 2 premiere was still a fantastic hour of television. All the same, as a game player, that controversial moment was always in the back of my mind. I remain confident it’s coming very soon, and when it does happen, I have no doubt it’ll be done with the care it deserves.

I'm both excited and seriously nervous to see how non-game players react to Joel's death. And with "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 2 less than a week away, I may not have very much longer to wait until I find out.

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"The Last of Us" season 2 has arrived!

After more than two years of waiting, HBO’s smash hit adaptation of the best-selling PlayStation video game franchise returned on Sunday, April 13, with the premiere episode, “Future Days", that's now streaming on Max.

(In the U.K., it aired in the early hours of Monday at 2 a.m. BST on Sky Atlantic and Now).

That first episode brought us back to Jackson to catch up with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) following the dramatic events of the season 1 finale, which saw the former tell one heck of a lie, which might just have some serious consequences.

But just as importantly, it also introduced us to a new roster of characters, including the vengeful Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).

Being such a celebrated show, the return of "The Last Of Us" season 2 was surely one of the most anticipated TV events of the year. So we have been blogging nonstop with plenty of pre- and post-premiere coverage, including hype, predictions, live reactions throughout the episode, and post-show news.

We’ve also got all the information you need on how to watch 'The Last of Us' season 2 live from anywhere in the world.

So read on for all of our coverage of “The Last of Us” season 2 premiere as it unfolded (consider this a spoiler warning). Be sure to steel yourself, though. If you thought the first season was dark, "The Last Of Us" season 2 is about to get a whole lot bleaker.

Last season on ‘The Last of Us’

“The Last of Us” season 1 aired more than two years ago, beginning in January 2023 and concluding in mid-March. It’s been a long road to get to season 2, and now that we’re just a few hours away from the premiere of episode 1, “Future Days,” you might need a recap.

Set 20 years after a mutated cordyceps infection led to the collapse of society, “The Last of Us” picks up with Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor who lost his daughter in the initial outbreak, living in a Boston quarantine zone with smuggling partner Tess (Anna Torv).

Joel and Tess are tasked by the leader of the Fireflies, a group resisting the rule of the Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA), to transport a young girl, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), across the country to a Western outpost.

It’s soon revealed that Ellie is actually immune to the cordyceps infection and she may be the key to creating a vaccine. When Tess is bitten, she sacrifices herself so that Joel and Ellie can escape a pursuing hoard of zombie-like creatures, and the journey really begins.

They encounter numerous survivors along the way. Some are friendly like Henry (Lamar Johnson) and his younger brother Sam (Keivonn Montreal Woodard). Some decidedly less so, like David (Scott Shepherd), the leader of a group that has turned to cannibalism to stay alive.

Joel and Ellie eventually make it to the Fireflies holed up in a Lincoln hospital. But when Joel learns that the group’s plan to develop a cure will involve a procedure that Ellie won’t survive, he goes AWOL and brutally murders the Fireflies within the hospital, including Marlene.

Rather than revealing his action to Ellie, he concocts a lie that the Fireflies had already tried and failed to create a cure with previous immune people and let them leave.

And that’s a very speedy recap of “The Last of Us” season 1. As we head into this new season, don’t be surprised if the repercussions of Joel’s actions are felt from the jump.

You’ve seen the show, now play the game

You’d have to be living under a rock to have missed that “The Last of Us” is actually based on a series of hit video games developed by PlayStation-owned studio Naughty Dog.

As a lifelong gamer, who spends just as much time on his PS5 Pro as I do streaming Netflix each week, I’ve been a dedicated megafan of "The Last of Us" games since the very first one launched on PS3 back in 2013. I can still recall picking it up at a local midnight launch.

If you’ve yet to play "The Last of Us" or its phenomenal sequel 2020’s "The Last of Us Part II" (which is what season 2 of the show will adapt), you should. Even my non-gamer partner has enjoyed watching me play them because they’re highly cinematic and well-crafted.

Even better, both have been brought over to the PS5, in the form of "The Last of Us Part 1" and "The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered." I was lucky enough to review both for Tom’s Guide upon their respective launches in 2022 and 2024, and the latter is the first (and currently only) five-star score I’ve given to a video game. And I’ve reviewed a lot of games for TG.

‘The Last of Us’ season 2 trailers — get caught up on all the previews

Our first real look at season 2 came on “The Last Of Us” Day on Sept. 26. The teaser starts out decidedly peaceful, showing quiet moments in and around Jackson, though it’s clear there’s tension in the air.

Ellie’s nearly ambushed by a Stalker, Abby dodges hordes of infected, and some new cast members crop up. It looks like Max has taken it down, but the Warner Bros. UK YouTube channel still has it online.

Then, in January, we got a brief, and panicked, look at what’s to come in the new season. Beginning with Abby wandering an abandoned building while an alarm blares, it then descends into chaotic glimpses of the infected, Jeffrey Wright, and carnage from Jackson and elsewhere.

And in March, we finally got a full trailer. It featured new shots of mystery factions whom video gamers will instantly recognize, plus a better look at some of the major set pieces coming our way this season.

It’s all looking seriously tense, and I can’t wait to see how the show tackles this sprawling story. - Martin Shore

‘The Last of Us’ season 2 is already a hit with critics

The review embargo for “The Last Of Us” season 2 lifted this week, and, on the whole, it sounds like we’re on for another great season of TV.

So far, season 2 has earned a 93% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, aggregated from a total of 59 reviews. This puts it only slightly behind the first installment (which is sitting at 96%).

Reactions are mostly very positive, with praise for the performances, the drama, and the brutal action seen across this seven-part season.

That said, several critics mentioned it felt “incomplete” (a totally understandable conclusion, given this season tells only part of "The Last Of Us Part II" game's story) and that it isn’t quite as impressive as the first chapter.

Want to hear some specific takes? Check out our “The Last Of Us” season 2 review round-up for a more in-depth look at what the critics have said going into tonight’s premiere. - Martin

Abby will be a key character in season 2

If you followed “The Last of Us” season 2 production updates, you know that much of the conversation in the lead-up was about who would play the new character of Abby.

The role eventually went to Kaitlyn Dever, previously seen in "Justified," "Unbelievable," "Booksmart" and Netflix’s “Apple Cider Vinegar.” When the news was confirmed, I was pleased. I’ve been a fan of Dever’s work for ages, and I firmly believe she can pull off what will likely be a complex role.

Described in press materials as “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved,” game players will know just how significant Abby is in the story of "The Last of Us Part 2." I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers.

Dever is confirmed to be part of the show’s main cast for season 2, so expect her to feature frequently. I’m pretty confident that Abby is going to be a character you won’t soon forget.

Gail: Telling it like it is

Aside from Abby, the biggest new character this season has to be Gail, a therapist played by the great Catherine O’Hara.

O’Hara typically does comedic work (if you’re not watching “The Studio,” run to Apple TV Plus after this episode). I mean, I would watch O’Hara read the dictionary, but seeing her dig into a dramatic role on “The Last of Us” will be such a treat.

Gail is a character original to the TV show, as she’s not a part of the video game. Mazin and Druckmann have done a terrific job of adding in completely original characters like Kansas City militant leader Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey), as well as expanding minor characters in the game (see: Murray Bartlett’s Frank).

Not much is known about Gail other than that she’s Joel’s therapist. "I have an odd relationship with Pedro's character," O'Hara told EW. "You don't quite know why she's got... well, she's got this edge to her, but it makes for some weird, good dark comedy, I think. So it's there. I never want to deny the gift of humor." - Kelly Woo

Dina could add heart to ‘The Last of Us’ season 2

Dina is a character that video game players will know well as she’s an NPC (non-playable character) companion for a significant portion of "The Last of Us Part 2."

In the show, she’ll be played by Isabela Merced, who you may recognize from last summer’s “Alien: Romulus.”

The official HBO press materials describe her as “a free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit."

I suspect that Merced will bring real heart to “The Last of Us” season 2. Dina is a wonderfully warm character but is always willing to protect those closest to her, even if that means resorting to violence.

Jackson’s next generation leader: Jesse

Stealing scenes from Ali Wong and Steven Yeun seems near impossible, but Young Mazino did just that in “Beef.” And the up-and-coming actor got an Emmy nomination for it.

Mazino looks to build on that breakout in “The Last of Us” season 2 as Jesse, who’s described as “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else's needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.”

Jesse seems like he’s primed to become one of Jackson’s next-gen leaders following Tommy, Maria and Joel. In an interview with Screen Realm, Mazino discussed Jesse's dependability.

“It could be a strength in certain situations and a tremendous weakness in others,” he said. “But … it’s like a burden that he takes willfully.”

He’s friends with Ellie and an ex of Dina; I’m very curious about that dynamic since Dina will also be romantically involved with Ellie. - Kelly

Uh oh, the infected are evolving

One of the big themes of “The Last of Us” season 2 is likely to be the world around Joel and Ellie getting even more dangerous.

If you thought David and his cannibal crew were the most dangerous group they’d ever encounter, you’ve not seen anything yet. Trust me.

A part of this may be the possibility of the infected evolving. As we saw in “The Last of Us” season 1, there are several different types of fungus-zombies, from the everyday infected to the hulking bloaters that can literally rip a person’s head off (RIP Jeffrey Pierce’s Perry).

Don’t be surprised if season 2 introduces new types of infected that are even more deadly.

One of the chief complaints about season 1 was a lack of infected appearances. As far back as March 2023, co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann proved they heard the calls for more zombies and promised season 2 would have "a lot more infected."

‘Future Days’ is a blast from the past

The title of the season 2 premiere is “Future Days.” If that name sounds familiar to you, there’s probably a good reason why — you probably played "The Last of Us Part II."

Either that or you’re just a big Pearl Jam fan, but most likely it’s the former.

In the video game series, Joel and Ellie’s relationship deteriorates between the end of the first game and the beginning of the second due to Joel’s secret about what happened to the Fireflies. She knows something is wrong, but he can’t tell her, which drives a wedge between them. We see hints of this in the season 2 trailer.

In what’s considered one of the most meaningful moments of the game’s story, Joel, who told Ellie he’d teach her to play guitar one day, plays the song as a way to express his feelings about their relationship and metaphorically explain why he did what he did at the Fireflies hospital.

Will we get this moment in the show? Well … that’s complicated. “Future Days” was part of the album “Lightning Bolt,” which came out in 2013, just four months after the first “The Last of Us” video game was released. In the game, the apocalyptic mushroom zombie pandemic happens in 2013, and therefore “Lightning Bolt” came out in the world of the game.

But in the HBO series, the cordyceps brain infection wreaks havoc a full 10 years earlier, in 2003. So will we instead get a performance of “Save You” from the 2002 Pearl Jam album “Riot Act”? Or do show creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann use some artistic license and use “Future Days” anyway?

If the season 2 trailer is any indication, it might be the latter. In the trailer, we hear a reworked version of “Future Days” playing in the background, so perhaps it’ll make an appearance in the show as well. But whether or not the song makes it into an episode of “The Last of Us,” it’s clear the show’s creatives haven’t forgotten about it. - Malcolm McMillan

Our 'Last of Us' season 2 episode 1 predictions

Kelly — I haven’t played the games, though I do know what happens (a hazard of this job). I also have watched TV as my job for many years, which makes me pretty certain that the first episode will mostly be table-setting. We know that season 2 picks up five years after the season 1 finale, so there will be a lot of catching up to do with Joel and Ellie. I don’t think The Big Thing That Happens will actually happen tonight.

Malcolm — I’ve been adamant internally at Tom’s Guide that the moment of the season won’t come this episode, and will probably come around episode 3. If you’ve played the video game, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, I’m begging you not to spoil yourself.

At any rate, I think this episode will give us a check-in on Joel and Ellie’s relationship and hopefully, some sort of combat sequence with cordyceps zombies and/or humans. The show isn’t all about the combat, but it’d be odd for it not to remind us that it does combat scenes really well, and that this is a deadly world despite the sense of normalcy in the seemingly safe haven that is Jackson.

Martin — Look, anyone who has played the games is waiting for that moment to happen, and I know my colleagues' predictions are about whether it's going to happen in the season premiere (I doubt it will, to be honest), but mine is mostly that I think Abby's going to get a dramatic entrance at some point in this ep.

Sure, Dever's a newcomer to the show, but she's an integral part of the story going forward and will need to grab our attention, and fast. I'm not sure how it'll happen- maybe some killer line, or a show of strength, perhaps. Either way, I expect she’ll have an impact the moment she shows up.

Rory — I’ve been arguing for ages that Part 2’s shocking moment should happen in the first episode of season 2. I suspect the show will instead hold it back for a later chapter, but at the very least, I want the premiere to get all the main players on the board and ready to go.

'The Last of Us' season 2 premiere is about to begin

Get ready — we’re just minutes away from the premiere episode! So, take a bathroom break, round up some snacks and drinks, and make sure you're logged into Max so you can hit play right at 9 p.m. ET when "Future Days" begins airing.

I'll be live-blogging the entire episode, so follow along for my updates and reactions.

The waiting is over, “The Last of Us” season 2 premiere is HERE

And away we go: “The Last of Us” season 2 premiere begins now! Naturally, the iconic HBO title card kicks us off, and my hype levels are already reaching fever pitches.

We’re starting where we left off at the end of season 1 with Joel reiterating his big lie to Ellie. Not cool, Joel.

Meet Abby (and some giraffes)

We’ve waited several years to reunite with Joel and Ellie, but before we can catch up with them, it’s time to meet a new character: Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby and we’re also catching a sighting of a herd* of giraffes, which feature in one my favorite moments from season 1.

(*A quick Google tells me a group of giraffes is called a tower. Every day’s a school day!)

Abby has only one thing on her mind

Whelp, if you were wondering how Abby ties into Joel and Ellie’s story, wonder no longer, she wants revenge on Joel for something. And she’s even got her friends willing to help her. Oh, and she wants to “kill him slowly.”

Dever’s already given me chills, and we’re only minutes into the episode.

Is this a hot take?

I’m just going to say it, I think “The Last of Us” has the best opening credits tune of any TV show currently airing. Gustavo Santaolalla does not miss!

Ellie is still a badass

Didn’t take long for our first action sequence as we flash forward five years and Ellie is squaring off against some dude in a hay-strewn barn, and she’s putting up one hell of a fight. Ellie can take a punch infinitely better than I ever could.

Meet Jesse

The new characters are coming fast and furious as we’re now introduced to Young Mazino’s Jesse. No spoilers here but I’ll just say Jesse was one of my favorite games in "The Last of Us Part II" video game so I can’t wait to see more of Mazino's take on the character.

First sighting of Joel alert

Pedro Pascal fans (frankly, who isn’t a Pascal fan?), our time has come. It may have taken almost 10 minutes, but finally, Joel is back on our television screens. All is right in the world.

We’re also meeting yet another new character in the form of Dina (Isabela Merced).

Joel’s explaining to Diana the basics of fixing a breaker circuit, but that’s not the real story here, as we learn that Joel and Ellie aren’t exactly on speaking terms at present. It seems in the last five years their surrogate father-daughter relationship turned frosty.

Our first infected sighting

And down goes the first clicker of the premiere as Ellie snipes it from up on high. Nice shot! I was thinking about keeping a running count but with season 2’s reportedly larger budget and promise of an increased number of infected, that may be a bit of a thankless task.

I can confirm Ellie’s horse is called Shimmer. And deserves all the sugar cubes they can eat.

Difficult decisions are being made already

Joel and Maria (Rutina Wesley) disagree over whether they should allow more survivors into the Jackson community. Nobody said running a safe haven in a post-apocalyptic world would be easy.

Oh, and Maria just got in the last word and that’s how you win an argument!

Most awkward therapy session ever?

We’re getting our first on-screen appearance of Gail, and I don’t think it’ll be the last. She’s a character created just for the screen, but rumors suggest her relationship with her deceased husband, Eugene, could play a key role in season 2. This is new territory even for gamers.

Joel's therapy session turns very awkward as Gail rants about how he killed Eugene (for good, unknown reasons). Yet Gail is still willing to take him on as a patient? Now that is one seriously professional therapist!

And now Pedro’s breaking my heart as he verges on tears — give his man his overdue Emmy already!

Some things never change

Even in a post-apocalypse, Ellie’s bedroom screams moody teenager!

I’ve never been very good at reading these things, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Ellie has a soft spot for Dina.

Who or what did that?

Out on patrol, Ellie and Diana have stumbled upon the mutilated remains of a bear, with the latter pondering, “How many infected does it take to bring down a bear?”

I don’t have time to work out the math, but I’m going to guess six regular infected or three clickers. A single bloater could do the job.

Bringing some light to the darkness

Bella Ramsey just displayed their physical humor chops with some silly hand gestures to mime stabbing an infected person in the neck. Certainly adds a dose of comedy to the otherwise very tense proceedings.

The enemy just got even more dangerous

You might notice something different about the infected Ellie just encountered. It's not a mindless zombie, it can seemingly think for itself.

In an already dangerous world, this could have major ramifications for the survival rates of pretty much the entire cast.

I hope you weren't snacking during this scene because that disfigured zombie face was seriously unsettling.

Another bite for the collection

And Ellie’s just been bitten for a third time, that girl is putting her immunity to the test.

Listen to Maria, people

The Jackson council is discussing Ellie's finding and Maria is seemingly the only one taking her warning about this new type of infected seriously. Oh, and the scene also confirms that six infected took down the grizzly bear. Yes, I’m extremely smug about my earlier guess.

Yet more proof that Ellie is a badass

Ellie’s stitching up her fresh bite, providing even more proof, if we needed it, that she’s tough as nails.

Did somebody turn down the temperature?

Brrrr, relationship turned frosty indeed. Joel and Ellie’s first scene together in season 2 is a cold one. It’s also short as Joel makes a quick exit.

First clue things won’t be the same

No spoilers here, but this is a major moment for video game players. This barn dance scene comes towards the end of the "The Last of Us Part II" video game. The reports of Mazin and Druckmann altering the game’s structure appear accurate.

'I think they should be terrified of you'

One of the game’s most iconic lines, and delivered expertly. “The Last of Us” season 2 isn’t dropping the first show’s reputation for deftly adapting its wonderful source material.

Well, it was fun while it lasted

And just like that a homophobe has ruined what promised to be a special night for Ellie.

Joel doesn't make things any better by acting all overprotective. That’s no way to get back in her good books!

This haven might not be so safe

If you thought the walls of Jackson represented safety for the core cast, think again. Those appear to be cordyceps spreading into the “safe” haven through the pipe system. Somebody might want to take care of that infestation ….

Did you forget about her?

She opened the episode, and now Abby brings it to a close. Five years ago she swore revenge, and now she’s caught sight of Jackson in the distance. Somebody warn Joel!

Fin

That look of unstoppable determination on Abby’s face brings “The Last of Us” season 2 premiere episode to a close. And oh boy, was that a packed hour of television. We’ve got plenty to discuss, so stick around as we’ve got post-episode thoughts coming up next.

Could Eugene provide the best moment of season 2?

In this episode, we learned that Gail isn’t just Joel’s therapist. She’s also the wife of someone named Eugene, and Joel seemingly killed him for a reason that’s unknown to us, but that Gail seems to suggest was justified.

But who is Eugene? Is he a show creation like Gail?

The answer is … sort of.

In “The Last of Us Part II,” Eugene Linden is a former Firefly who came with Tommy to Jackson. While there, he develops a close relationship with Dina, who then talks to Ellie about him while on patrol.

In the game, he dies of a stroke at 73 and isn’t married. He actually leaves his wife and daughter to join the Fireflies before eventually going to Jackson. But the show is clearly deviating in a major way from the video game version of Eugene.

“Someone like Eugene, we had a take on that character to say, ‘OK, well, how does that expand Joel and Ellie's relationship? How does it expand the town of Jackson? How does that expand what the story's about, which is this idea of love and the extremes that love can take you to?’” Neil Druckmann told IGN at the season 2 premiere.

The answer to those questions was to connect Eugene to Gail, which then ties both characters into Joel and Ellie’s story. “You’ll see even more of why that’s important as the season goes on,” Druckmann added.

So we know Eugene will be different in a lot of ways, including physical appearance. The character will be played by Joe Pantoliano, who’s not exactly a lookalike of the video game version of Eugene. But why does that mean Eugene could ultimately provide the best moment of season 2?

For that, we have to look back to “Long, Long Time,” the incredible episode 3 from season 1. This standalone episode focused on Bill and Frank and was a highlight of the season.

At a press conference, Craig Mazin and Druckmann confirmed that there would be more bottle episodes, though not necessarily like “Long, Long Time” (h/t Nerdist).

“I will say that there is a gorgeous episode this season directed by Neil that is different than, it’s not Bill and Frank,” Mazin told the assembled press. “But it is, in its own way, its own thing, because it needed to be. And just, just you wait. Just you wait.”

Eugene is a strong contender to be the focal point of this episode, given that we know his season 2 story will require similar expansion to Bill and Frank’s season 1 story. It can do that while still being tonally different from “Long, Long Time,” meaning that Mazin’s comments about how “it’s not Bill and Frank” don’t preclude a season 2 bottle episode from being about Eugene.

That said, another strong contender for a bottle episode is Abby, whom we were introduced in this episode and whose backstory we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of. No matter who is the focus of the episode, it’ll be the moment of the season I’m most hotly anticipating. - Malcolm

‘I don’t wanna wait for our lives to be over’ … or for us to get bit

“The Last of Us” season 1 didn’t focus much on romance, aside from chronicling Bill and Frank’s tragic love story in “Long, Long Time.” Joel and Tess (RIP) were established as partners before she got bit, and we briefly meet couple Marlon and Florence in episode 6.

But season 2 has already introduced a love triangle — or possibly more like a square — in the first episode. Ellie is attracted to Dina, who’s just out of an on-again/off-again relationship with Jesse. At the end of the episode, Dina kisses Ellie (which leads to an ugly scene incited by a homophobic fellow resident) in front of Jesse.

Then, there’s Kat, who leads the scouting patrol that includes both Ellie and Dina. Kat happens to be Ellie’s ex.

I’m sure “The Last of Us” isn't about to turn into “Dawson’s Creek,” but this romantic tangle definitely adds a new dimension to the show.- Kelly

How many seasons will ‘The Last Of Us’ run for?

In the run-up to the second season, we kept getting vague answers on this front. In February, HBO exec Francesca Orsi said it was “looking like” the show would run for two further seasons, and now we know that we’re getting at least one more.

Ahead of today’s premiere, we learned that HBO had already renewed “The Last Of Us” for a third season, though the announcement included no indication of whether this would be the show’s last.

In a statement on the show’s renewal, Orsi said: “It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of 'The Last Of Us' is. Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season.”

Does that mean HBO could be keen to expand on “The Last Of Us” in the vein of the upcoming “Game of Thrones” off-shoot, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”? We’ll have to wait and see. - Martin

That Moment is coming ...

Let me just give a clear SPOILER WARNING here. I’m about to dive into events from "The Last of Us Part II" video game not yet covered in the “The Last of Us” season 2 show.

One last chance, spoilers to follow …

Stop reading if you don't want to know what happens.

Anybody who’s played the video game (or has The Moment spoiled for them like TG’s own Kelly Woo) will know that Abby’s mission of revenge is ultimately successful as she brutally murders Joel with a golf club as Ellie helplessly watches.

That shocking and heartbreaking sequence didn’t happen in season 2’s first episode. This isn’t a huge surprise, but it’s worth noting that it comes after around an hour of playtime in the video game, so I expect it to be on the horizon.

Now that Abby has Jackson in her sights, I’m confident Joel’s distressing fate will unfold before the credits roll on episode 2.

But perhaps I’m mistaken. After all, the show has already proven it’s not afraid to remix the game’s timeline (the barn dance scene in episode 1 occurs much later in the game), and with Pedro Pascal being such a popular actor, it's likely the show wants to keep Joel around as long as possible.

However, I really hope that doesn’t happen. I adore Joel as a character, but his death is the inciting incident of "Part II’s" story, and if it doesn't happen in episode 2, I feel like the season will end up spinning its wheels for no real benefit.

But I just know it’s going to hurt.

What’s next for ‘The Last of Us’ season 2?

What’s next for “The Last of Us” season 2? Well HBO is keeping things carefully under wraps. At the time of writing, we don’t even have an episode title for the second chapter. They did, however, give fans a sneak peek at the season ahead:

Based on the conclusion of episode 1 and the fact that this will be a shorter seven-episode season (compared to nine in season 1), I think we can safely conclude that Abby will make contact with at least some of the main cast in the next episode. But after that, all bets are off.

I don’t think we’ll get more information about the cordyceps that appear to be growing into Jackson, as that feels like a plot thread that will slowly unfold across the course of the season.

But Abby’s arrival on the scene feels imminent. Unless they’re going for an early “Game of Thrones” approach where it takes multiple episodes for characters to travel across the map.

Catherine O'Hara on the "killer" Eugene bottle episode

Following the episode's debut, we're now firmly in "spoiler" territory, so again, if you haven't had the chance to tune in to "The Last Of Us" season 2 premiere just yet, look away now.

If you are caught up, you're probably desperate to know what's coming next. Well, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, new star Catherine O'Hara — who played Gail, Joel's therapist — spilled the beans on her "intense" debut opposite Pedro Pascal in the HBO show.

O'Hara later added that she didn't realize that Joel had murdered Gail's husband, Eugene (Joe Pantoliano) until they shot a flashback later on. When asked about that forthcoming Eugene bottle episode, she didn't have much to share, beyond just how emotional it was: "I've never had to cry so much for so many takes. It was killer." - Martin

Did HBO make a big mistake with 'The Last Of Us' season 2 premiere?

I think we can all agree that "Future Days" was a great way to start "The Last Of Us" season 2 off, right? It had drama between Joel and Ellie, Abby's big promise, and a fraught encounter with a Stalker all crammed in.

In my opinion, it was a confident return for the post-apocalyptic series, one which managed to set up plenty of hooks for the future, bring in new faces and reintroduce us to our major players (and their changing dynamic). If you can't already tell, I'm desperate to see more.

That opinion was mostly echoed by TG's UK Entertainment Editor, Rory Mellon. He branded the show's new premiere "almost perfect" but argued that HBO made one big mistake with "The Last Of Us" season 2 premiere; check out his op-ed to find out why. — Martin

Kaitlyn Dever on Abby's 'chilling' first scene

"The Last Of Us" season 2 premiere kicked off in style with the introduction of Abby, a key player in The Last Of Us Part II story.

As first impressions go, that scene sure made Kaitlyn Dever's character seem like a force to be reckoned with and introduced us to her core conviction (for latecomers, I won't reiterate it here).

Dever has since reflected on her debut in an interview with THR. "Chilling" was the verdict, with the star adding, "She's a chilly ice queen!"

“She just needs something to make it all better,” Dever said. “And in that moment, the only thing she can think about is revenge. She’s heartbroken, she’s sad, she’s lost and she’s trying to pick up the pieces.”

Talking about the role as a whole, Dever added: "When she walks into a room, she comes through with this intense strength. It’s what makes her scary and intimidating. But it’s all because of how much pain she’s gone through."

If that's how she starts her time in the show, Dever's Abby could well end up being the best part of season 2. - Martin

TG's Malcolm McMillan on the season 2 premiere: "this show is so damn good"

More than one TG writer had a take on "The Last Of Us" season premiere.

Streaming Editor, Malcolm McMillan has also shared his thoughts about the show's return, and, as he puts it, "The Last Of Us" is a show that "hasn't lost a step after its two-year break."

"A show this good doesn't come around often, and now that I'm reminded of how good it is, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts", he says. See Malcolm's complete reaction (including his episode 1 highlight) in the article linked above. - Martin

"Things are about to get really dangerous", says TLOU writer

Ahead of the second season, we warned things were about to get even bleaker than "The Last Of Us" already was, and that's just been backed up by one of the show's writers.

Speaking with Deadline, Halley Gross — who co-wrote the game with Druckmann and co-wrote several of this season's episodes — had some very foreboding words to say about what's to come.

The bulk of the interview was with Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, though for me, the big takeaway comes from Gross. If you think all your faves are safe in Jackson, think again.

Following a conversation about the loss of fear around the infected among Jackson's residents that we've seen, Gross had this to say: "Nothing is frivolous, nothing is done just for decoration".

"Everything is a setup for a payoff", they add, "so I would pay attention to who are they when they feel safe because things are about to get really dangerous."

Given that we've seen serious carnage in the trailers, it looks like we could be in for some proper thrills as the series continues over the next six weeks. - Martin

When is the next episode of 'The Last Of Us' season 2 coming our way?

Okay, we've been sharing all this news about the rest of the season, but when can you actually watch the next installment?

New episodes of "The Last Of Us" season 2 will air on HBO and start streaming on Max on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET, meaning the second episode will air on Sunday, April 20.

If you're in the U.K., the episodes arrive on Sky and streaming service NOW at 2 a.m. on Mondays. This means episodes air at the same time, so night owls don't need to spend their Monday avoiding their phones and dodging spoilers online.

And if you're wondering, the season 2 finale airs on Sunday, May 25, 2025. - Martin

Go behind the scenes on 'The Last Of Us' season 2 premiere

If you're looking to get even more info on "The Last Of Us" season 2, my first suggestion would be to head over to the Max YouTube channel.

There, you can find a "Making Of" video featuring clips of the cast and crew reflecting on the new season premiere (We've embedded it above, for convenience).

And if you want even more "The Last Of Us" content to keep you occupied until next week, you can also listen to showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann reflect on the season 2 premiere with Troy Baker (who played Joel in both games) over on HBO's official "The Last of Us" companion podcast.

In the episode centered on "Future Days", Baker, Druckmann, and Mazin reflect on Joel and Ellie's changing dynamic, what our new characters bring to the story, and why our showrunners were scared by the success of the first series. - Martin

Abby may be the most pivotal new character, but Dina steals the show in episode 1

If you've played "The Last of Us: Part II," or know what happens, then you know how pivotal Abby is the story.

But in this first episode, Kaitlyn Dever, understandably, didn't have a ton to do. She didn't exactly get a shot at a scene-stealing moment, though the show certainly teased her pivotal role to come.

Dina, on the other hand, get a chance to shine, and Isabela Merced ran with it. Her performance was electric and my favorite of probably anyone in the episode, though Pedro Pascal and Catherine O'Hara also impressed in their therapy scene together.

I can't wait to see more from Dina, and thankfully, I know that I won't have to worry about her disappearing from the screen anytime soon. - Malcolm

Why Abby's introduction is different from The Last Of Us Part II

One interesting difference between the game and the show is that the show had to surface Abby's motivation from the get-go.

Speaking to The Verge, co-creator Neil Druckmann has revealed why that change was made. There are two main reasons: pacing how Abby's story unfolds and because the team wanted us to connect with her, even though they're not controlling this version of Abby in this non-interactive medium.

"Here we’re putting out episodes week by week, which are roughly an hour long", he said. "If we were to wait as much as we did in the game to reveal certain things, our viewers might have to wait a very, very long time — longer than we were comfortable with".

On the second point, he had this to say: "We were able to keep certain things a mystery for much longer, because you were playing as Abby, trying to keep her alive, fighting the infected. We don’t have that in the show. So we needed something else — through drama, through backstory — to get you to sympathize with her. That’s where we pulled certain events up in the story, in terms of when we reveal them."

So, if you're a series veteran who was wondering why Abby stated her intentions quite so soon, there's your answer. - Martin

What are Stalkers? 'The Last of Us' enemy type explained

The tensest moment of the episode came when Ellie had her first (in-show) showdown with a Stalker. But if you haven't played "The Last of Us" video games before, you might be wondering what a Stalker is.

Stalkers are infected who, in the first game, are stealthy, fast and strong. Because of this triple threat, they're pretty rare in "The Last of Us," only appearing as a main enemy twice.

But in "The Last of Us: Part II," they get a bit of a nerfing, and while still stealthy and a threat, are relatively timid unless provoked. They're not quite so deadly as the original version.

Because of this, they're more prevalent in the second game. Given that "Part II" is the source material for season 2 of the HBO adaptation, I would bet anything that this wasn't our last encounter with this new enemy. - Malcolm

Which will get to Jackson first: Abby or the infected?

As we wrap up our season 2 premiere coverage, there's just a few pressing questions that remain. Will Abby arrive in episode 2? Or will a horde of infected attack Jackson before Abby and her vengeful crew can arrive?

It's not impossible that both arrive at the same time, and it's not impossible that the show deviates from the games. Without getting into spoilers though, I think by the end of the hour-long episode Abby will have Joel in her sight ... or sights. - Malcolm

Yay, the infected are here! After a long two-year wait, "The Last of Us" season 2 will finally make it to our screens this Sunday, April 13, for another bout of post-apocalyptic drama and zombie-killing action.

Along with our returning heroes Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey), the latest chapter of the hit HBO and Max series will see some important new faces in the upcoming installments, including comedy legend Catherine O'Hara as Joel's new therapist, Isabela Merced as Ellie's love interest and Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a vengeful soldier who is notorious among devoted players of "The Last of Us" video game.

And we also know that, along with dealing with surviving in dystopia, Joel and Ellie will be navigating some bumps in their pseudo-father-daughter relationship, especially when Ellie discovers what really happened during that shocking season 1 finale.

It's a lot to catch up on and we don't want you to miss a single moment — since "The Last of Us" doesn't drop its entire season in one fell swoop, Tom's Guide has put together a handy "The Last of Us" season 2 episode schedule so you're fully prepped for the new episodes and can plan your TV viewing accordingly.

'The Last of Us' season 2 episode release schedule

"The Last of Us" season 2 premieres with one episode on Sunday, April 13 at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on HBO and Max.

The subsequent six episodes will air once a week on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT through May 25.

Watching "The Last of Us" in the UK? New episodes air on Sky and the NOW streaming service on Mondays at 2 a.m. BST.

The premiere episode, which will have an hour-long runtime and is titled "Future Days", is directed by series co-creator Craig Mazin. Check out the release info for the entire second season of "The Last of Us" below:

• "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 1, "Future Days" - April 13
• "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 2 - April 20
• "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 3 - April 27
• "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 4 - May 4
• "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 5 - May 11
• "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 6 - May 18
• "The Last of Us" season 2 episode 7 - May 25

How many episodes of 'The Last of Us' season 2 are there?

If you didn't know already, you'll have seen from our schedule that "The Last of Us" season 2 is seven episodes long.

That makes season 2 shorter than season 1, which had nine episodes.

In terms of runtime, episode 5 will be the season's shortest at 45 minutes, with episode 6 at a full hour.

Is 'The Last of Us' season 3 happening?

Yes, before the second season even had a chance to debut, HBO officially renewed "The Last of Us" for season 3 on Wednesday, April 9.

"It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of 'The Last of Us' is," Head of HBO Drama Series and Films Francesca Orsi said in the announcement.

"Craig [Mazin], Neil [Druckmann], Carolyn [Strauss] and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season."

More on Tom's Guide

• 'The Last of Us' showrunner promises 'I am not going to go past the game' and teases how many more seasons fans can expect
• All the different types of 'The Last of Us' zombies you'll meet in season 2
• 'The Last of Us' co-creator Craig Mazin says season 2 will have 'The Empire Strikes Back' vibes

Season 1 of "The Last of Us" saw Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) dealing with a lot of external drama — surviving legions of zombie-like infected folks being the biggest challenge, obviously.

But the second season of the dystopian HBO drama, which premieres on Sunday, April 13, will also see a lot of interpersonal conflict between the close pair, a rift that was difficult for star Bella Ramsey to navigate.

While appearing at Deadline’s Contenders TV event this past weekend, Ramsey joined "The Last of Us" co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann to discuss the much-anticipated sophomore season, which will pick up five years from the events of that shocking season 1 finale.

If you need a refresher, that finale saw Joel decide to save Ellie from the procedure that would save humanity — by creating an immunity to the cordyceps fungus that has ravaged the world — but kill her.

Ellie, as you might remember, doesn't entirely know that Joel lied about what really happened in the finale but, per clips from the official trailer, she will seemingly find out in the new episodes, a discovery that will surely complicate things with Pascal's Joel in season 2.

"There’s definitely some doubt that Ellie has about that lie that Joel told her at the end of Season 1, so I think that plays a big part in the shift in the relationship,” Ramsey told Deadline.

“It’s really difficult playing being cold to him … it’s sadder for sure. And it will continue to just get sadder and more cold … so look forward to that.”

In a recent interview with TV Insider, Craig Mazin delved further into the tension between the teenager and her father figure.

“Joel and Ellie have fallen into a bit of a pattern that a lot of parents find with kids as they grow up,” Mazin said. “Her relationship with Joel has become strained, and we are not sure why. Joel’s hope is that it is just the usual teenager-disconnecting-with-parent thing.

"But we know from the end of season 1, there is this matter of the lie that Joel told Ellie. So we can’t help but wonder if maybe Ellie’s burgeoning understanding of what happened is partly to blame for the rift.”

Mazin — who directed the season 2 premiere episode, entitled "Future Days" — also shared that the performances of Pascal and Ramsey are "staggering" in the new eps. “I am deeply grateful to them. I don’t know how it gets better than this.”

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "The Last of Us" season 2 ahead of next week's big premiere, including new trailers, production stills, character details, plot points and more.

More on Tom's Guide

• ‘The Last of Us’ just renewed for season 3 by HBO right before season 2 premiere
• All the different types of 'The Last of Us' zombies you'll meet in season 2
• 'The Last of Us' creators tease a big change to Abby's origin story ahead of season 2

"The Last of Us" season 3 is officially a go, even though we're still waiting for “The Last of Us” season 2 premiere.

In a press release today, the prestige TV network announced it was renewing the acclaimed video game adaptation for a third season.

"It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of 'The Last of Us' is," Head of HBO Drama Series and Films Francesca Orsi said in the announcement.

"Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season."

'The Last of Us' creative team on season 3

Orsi wasn't the only one to chime in on season 3. Show creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann also shared their joy at the show's renewal.

"The end results [of season 2] have exceeded even our most ambitious goals, thanks to our continued collaboration with HBO and the impeccable work of our unparalleled cast and crew," Mazin said in the press release. "We look forward to continuing the story of 'The Last of Us' with season three!”

Druckmann shared Mazin's enthusiasm. "We're thrilled to bring you more of 'The Last of Us'!” the Naughty Dog president added in his comments about the success of season 2.

'The Last of Us' season 2 premieres this Sunday on HBO and Max

Beyond those quotes, we don't have any further information on season 3.

But we do know plenty about season 2, because it's premiering this Sunday on HBO and Max. The episode, titled "Future Days," has a runtime of an hour, so no epic 90-minute episode like "The White Lotus" season 3 finale.

Early indications are that the premiere — and season 2 as a whole — should be excellent.

Season 2 reviews so far have been largely positive, with Empire's John Nugent declaring it "post-apocalyptic television at its peak." The biggest criticism appears to be that the season feels like a middle chapter ... which to be fair, it is.

Seasons 2 and 3 are both covering the second game in the "The Last of Us" series, so I would expect this season 2 to not end on a note of finality.

We'll be covering the season 2 premiere this Sunday live, so make sure to stay tuned and then tune in on HBO and Max at 9 p.m. ET to watch along with us.

More from Tom's Guide

• 'The Last of Us' season 2 release date speculation, cast, news and more
• The Last of Us Part II Remastered review: The best version of a masterpiece
• 'The Acolyte' on Disney Plus just restored my faith in Star Wars

The waiting is over — the feverishly anticipated "The Last of Us" season 2 is finally here, with its seven episodes going out one at a time over the next couple of months. Here's how you can watch "The Last of Us" season 2 online around the world and from anywhere with a VPN.

We reacquaint ourselves with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) five years after the events of the first series. Earth continues to come to terms with the infection that has turned large swathes of the planet into an apocalyptic wasteland, but the two protagonists are at least living in relative safety in a survivors' settlement. For now...

As HBO's season synopsis says, their "collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.". Although if you're expecting a frame-by-frame remake of the video game source material, then you can think again.

With critics already dishing out 5-star reviews, prepare for seven more episodes of deeply moving, heart stopping prestige television — read on to discover how you can watch "The Last of Us" season 2 online with all the streaming details you need below.

How to watch 'The Last of Us' season 2 online in the U.S.

"The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on HBO on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT from April 13.

If you don't have access to HBO, the best way to watch "The Last of Us" online is via its Max platform.

Max prices start at $9.99/month if you don't mind ads, going to $16.99/month for ad-free and $20.99/month if you want the option to watch content on up to four devices and in 4K. For even better value, you can pay for a whole year upfront and effectively get 12 months for the price of 10 on any of its tiers.

You can make a great saving if you combine Max with a Sling TV subscription. Anybody with Sling's Blue package gets $5/month off the price of the Max ad-free plan.

You can also subscribe to Max via Amazon Prime Video. The Max add-on costs $9.99/month after a 7-day free trial, on top of your Prime membership ($14.99/month after a 30-day free trial).

Traveling outside the States? You'll need to use a VPN to unblock Max when abroad.

Watch 'The Last of Us' season 2 from anywhere in the world

If you're traveling overseas and "The Last of Us" season 2 isn't airing where you're currently located, that doesn't mean you have to miss the show while you're away from home. With the right VPN (virtual private network), you can stream the show from wherever you are.

We've evaluated many options, and the best VPN you can get right now is NordVPN. It meets the VPN needs of the vast majority of users, offering outstanding compatibility with most devices and impressive connection speeds. You can try it risk-free for 30 days if you take advantage of NordVPN's no-quibble money-back guarantee.

Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're visiting the U.K. and want to view a U.S. service, you'd select a U.S. server from the location list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the show. Head to your streaming service app — so Max, for example — and watch "The Last of Us" online from wherever you are in the world.

How to watch 'The Last of Us' season 2 online in Canada

You can watch "The Last of Us" season 2 in Canada on HBO and the Crave streaming service. The first episode goes out on Sunday, April 13 from 9 p.m. ET/PT, with future episodes going out at the same day and time.

Crave subscriptions start at $9.99/month for its Basic plan (720p video, includes ads) all the way up to $22/month for Premium (ad-free, 4K, downloadable shows).

Those on vacation away from Canada will need one of the best VPNs to log in back home to use Crave as it will be geo-blocked when not at home. Our favorite is NordVPN.

How to watch 'The Last of Us' season 2 in the U.K.

"The Last of Us" season 2 starts on Sky Atlantic in the U.K. at 2 a.m. BST in the early hours of Monday, April 14, and is then shown again at the more reasonable time of 9 p.m. Further instalments will go out at the same times on Mondays.

It will also be available for Sky subscribers to watch via the Sky Go app, which is available on smartphones, computers, games consoles and a host of TV streaming devices.

Not a Sky subscriber? Plans currently start from £15/month.

Alternatively, Sky Atlantic content is also available to watch with a flexible Now Entertainment Membership. Prices start from £6.99/month.

Those on vacation away from the U.K. will need a good streaming VPN to log in back home to use Sky Go or Now as they will be geo-blocked when not at home.

How to watch 'The Last of Us' season 2 online in Australia

In a change from the first series, Aussies will be able to watch "The Last of Us" season 2 exclusively on the newly launched Max streaming service Down Under. Episodes will land on Mondays from April 14.

With the normal Max price in Australia from $11.99/month, it's running an introductory offer until April 30 where you can sign up for $7.99/month for your first year or a great value one-off payment of $79.99. Pricier options are available to add extra devices, enable downloadable content and upgrade to 4K and Dolby Atmos.

Note that if you're an existing Foxtel subscriber, you get online access to the Max Basic with Ads plan for free. But the "The Last of Us" season 2 won't go out on TV.

'The Last of Us' season 2 trailer

The official HBO "The Last of Us" season 2 trailer dropped on March 8. You can watch it below:

'The Last of Us' season 2 episode guide

Here is the full episode schedule for "The Last of Us" season 2 (only seven episodes, down from the nine of season 1), together with episode names where known at the time of writing:

1. "Future Days" — Sunday, April 13
2. TBA — Sunday, April 20
3. TBA — Sunday, April 27
4. TBA — Sunday, May 4
5. TBA — Sunday, May 11
6. TBA — Sunday, May 18
7. TBA — Sunday, May 25

'The Last of Us' season 2 cast

• Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller
• Bella Ramsey as Ellie Williams
• Kaitlyn Dever as Abby Anderson
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller
• Rutina Wesley as Maria Miller
• Young Mazino as Jesse
• Isabela Merced as Dina
• Catherine O'Hara as Gail
• Danny Ramirez as Manny
• Ariela Barer as Mel
• Tati Gabrielle as Nora
• Spencer Lord as Owen
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac
• Joe Pantoliano as Eugene
• Robert John Burke as Seth
• Noah Lamanna as Kat
• Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan
• Ben Ahlers as Burton
• Hettienne Park as Elise Park
• Ezra Agbonkhese as Benjamin Miller

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We're now just days away from "The Last Of Us" season 2's Max premiere, and the critics' reactions are officially in.

Given the first season's stellar reputation — it currently has a 96% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes — expectations were certainly high for the next chapter in Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) story.

If you had any doubts going into season 2, it looks like the team behind one of the very best video game adaptations has made a good start with The Last Of Us Part II's story.

Even allowing for the fact that some have argued it doesn't quite reach the same heights of the first, and the decision to split Part II's story across multiple seasons has seemingly caused some structural issues, it's still drawn effusive praise.

Reactions are quick to point out the show's been skilfully produced in every department, just that it doesn't feel quite as focused or that it doesn't have the space to accommodate every element of this sprawling story.

Here's a sample of what the critics are saying about "The Last Of Us" season 2.

What have critics said about 'The Last Of Us' season 2 so far?

Empire's John Nugent has offered perhaps one of the most positive takes on "The Last Of Us" season 2.

In his 5-star review, he wrote: "Moving and devastating in equal doses, "The Last Of Us" remains post-apocalyptic television at its peak. At almost every turn, it delivers. Pray to the video-game-adaptation gods that Season 3 sticks the landing."

Nerdist's Michael Walsh gave the series a 4.5/5 rating and offered similar praise, writing: "Season two of "The Last Of Us" not only delivers one of the single best episodes of television ever made, but all seven episodes are tremendous.

In Walsh's eyes, the major problem is that is the feeling that this story is "incomplete". He adds: "All I can say is that when the final episode’s credits rolled, it felt less like the end of a season of television and more like a season of television getting cut in half."

That "incomplete" feeling was echoed by Angie Han at THR, who branded it "a gripping, if not totally satisfying, middle chapter."

Han nevertheless says there's "still much to love about the new episodes" and said "I can’t say I was ever less than entertained", but concluded: "But I did find myself missing the rich lyricism of that previous chapter, the sprawling humanity of it, the devastating finality of it. Maybe all of that, too, is being saved for season three."

Reviewing for our sister publication, Total Film, critic Lauren Milici said season 2 "is good, but, unlike its predecessor, it fails to be great.

In her 3.5/5 star review at our sister site, Milici wrote: "The Last of Us season 2 captures the unimaginable grief of its source material with brilliant performances and visceral scenes of brutal violence, but ends abruptly and fails to live up to the true magic of its first season."

IGN's Simon Cardy offered a similar verdict in his 7/10 review of season 2. "It's a bleak, abbreviated chapter whose key moments fall flat with too much regularity", Cardy writes.

"It's by no means bad – in fact, at times it’s very good – it just kept me at arm's length, never letting me quite connect to its characters in the way that’s so crucial to The Last of Us Part 2. It's often a spectacle, crafted with skill throughout, but fails to live up to the thrilling heights of its source material or capture the heart of its first season."

You can watch "The Last Of Us" season 2 premiere this Sunday, April 13 on HBO and Max and Sky/NOW in the UK on Monday, April 14.

Looking to cram in one more show between now and then? Check out our guide to the best shows on Max for plenty more streaming recommendations.

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One of the best video game adaptations of all time, HBO's "The Last of Us," is famously based on the PlayStation game franchise of the same name.

And though the dystopian drama adhered closely to the game script with its acclaimed first season, we're intrigued to see how faithful "TLOU" season 2 — which will premiere on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13 — will be, especially with regards to that major character event, and how those purported "deviations" will affect things for Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) going into the new episodes.

And speaking of deviations, there's one critical way that the post-apocalyptic series won't diverge from the source material, co-creator Craig Mazin assured fans in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

"I am not going to go past the game. I’ll just say that flat out," Mazin told the outlet.

"So if people are thinking, 'Oh, these guys are planning the old cash grab thing' ..."

When asked if he and fellow series creator Neil Druckmann — who developed the original games — would consider continuing the series if they came up with "a better ending" than the video game series, Mazin doubled down: "The show is so hard to make. It has to have an end. So I’m not going to go past."

But a 'Last of Us' spinoff could expand the TV universe

However, the showrunner didn't rule out expanding "The Last of Us" television universe with a spinoff series.

"Who knows, there might be a Dunk and Egg 'The Last of Us' show that happens that somebody does," Mazin said, adding, "As a fan of 'The Last of Us,' I’d totally watch that. That would be fascinating to see."

So what happens if "The Last of Us" TV series outpaces the game series? ("The Last of Us Part II" was released on June 19, 2020, and Druckmann previously warned "don't bet on there being more" games in the franchise, per Variety.)

It never will, Mazin maintains.

“Neil and I really are focused on telling the story that's there, and it will come to an end, whether it is in season 3 or season 4,” Mazin told People in March. “I’m not sure how I can top this. So if there’s more or less of this to happen, other people will carry it forward."

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "The Last of Us" season 2 ahead of next month's big premiere — and how it connects back to the original video game series — including new trailers, production stills, character details, plot points and more. Stay tuned!

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In just a few short weeks, "The Last of Us" will return to HBO and Max with its much-anticipated second season on Sunday, April 13, and according to the showrunners, the new installment is going to raise the bar in terms of scope, story and, yes, zombies.

Craig Mazin — who co-created the dystopian drama alongside Neil Druckmann, who developed video game upon which the series is based — recently revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that "TLOU" season 2 will echo one of the best film sequels of all time: "The Empire Strikes Back," which is, of course, the second installment of the original "Star Wars" trilogy.

“I think about that a lot — because I love 'The Empire Strikes Back,' and I think everybody should,” Mazin told the outlet about comparisons between "The Last of Us" season 2 and the Irvin Kershner-directed space opera.

“We love that one because the second act is the tough act. That’s when everything is challenged and characters go through these moments where they can’t be who they used to be, but they’re also not ready to be who they’re supposed to be. There’s a sense of feeling lost. And I love that.”

As for the difference in approach between the show's first season and second, Mazin was also candid about how both the audience popularity and financial success of season 1 benefitted its follow-up.

"Making a first season of television, especially one of that size, is like building a plane in the air. We learned how to improve our process, which means basically more efficiency. Combined with more money from HBO, we could do a lot more," the showrunner told THR.

"We certainly got much better at portraying the Infected. Our two core actors, Pedro [Pascal] and Bella [Ramsey], now occupy these characters completely. And we assembled this other group of actors who fit right in — maybe that’s because [the new cast members] had seen the first season, so they were coming into a show they understood."

The second season of the post-apocalyptic series will pick up five years after the shocking events of the season one finale, which saw Pascal's Joel save Ramsey's Ellie from that fatal procedure at the risk of all of mankind. In the season 2 premiere, we find them living in Jackson, Wyoming, in a survivors' settlement alongside new characters like Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), Dina (Isabela Merced) and Gail (Catherine O'Hara).

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "The Last of Us" season 2 ahead of next month's big premiere, including new trailers, production stills, character details, plot points and more. Stay tuned!

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The Last of Us Part II is one of the greatest PlayStation games of all time, and thanks to Naughty Dog and Nixxes Software teaming up, the masterpiece is now ready to play on PC.

Now available through Steam and the Epic Games Store, The Last of Us Part II Remastered has landed for PC gamers to explore what happens after the events of The Last of Us Part 1. And let me tell you, you're in for ride.

Not only will PC players finally get to experience the thrilling yet devasting journey, but they can also expect Nvidia DLSS 3 and AMD FSR 4.0 upscaling and frame generation, full Dualsense adaptive triggers and haptic feedback support, and even PC specific features like shadows, reflections and adjustable texture quality.

There are even aspect ratios including 21:9 ultra-wide, 32:9 super ultra-wide and a whopping 48:9 (I wish I had the setup).

Sure, I may have already made my way through TLOU II Remastered multiple times on PS5 (getting those PS trophies), but being able to play and tinker with settings on PC? You bet I'll go through it all once more. But here's the question I couldn't ignore: does it run on Steam Deck?

Well, after speaking with Naughty Dog and Nixxes, two things became clear. First, The Last of Us Part II Remasted is Steam Deck verified. Second, they really want me to get a Steam Deck to experience that game on the go (and yes, I agree). Not just to experience the main campaign, though; more specifically, No Return mode.

Let's dive into how Naughty Dog and Nixxes prepared The Last of Us Part II Remastered for PC, and why I think its roguelike survival No Return mode is primed for Steam Deck players.

No Return is "perfect" for Steam Deck

"No Return is really, really perfect for Steam Deck." That's the line that flipped a switch for me. Playing The Last of Us Part II Remastered, a game that ran beautifully on my PS5, on a portable PC handheld? I'm down.

Playing through the main story again would be fun (and satisfyingly intense), but it's the No Return mode, which made its way first on the Remastered version, that caught my attention. And Matthew Gallant, Game Director at Naughty Dog, think its primed for gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck.

"One of the nice things about No Return is if you only have a little bit of time and you want a bite-sized experience of The Last of Us [Part II], you're quickly into the gameplay and there's tons of variety," said Gallant.

He continues: "It's a nice hook for players rather than, you know, start playing Last of Us Part II's main story that you're really invested in. You're probably in for a long haul playing a whole chapter, going along with that journey. But No Return has that nice element to it."

For those not in the know, No Return has plenty of replayability, allowing players to master their skills in a rouguelike mode that see's them play as multiple characters from the game, whether it be Ellie, Joel, Abby, Jesse, Tommy and more. The goal is to complete randomized encounters involving clickers or hunters, scavenging for resources and beating enemies to reach the end of a run, where a boss will be lying in wait.

Each run lasts around 30 minutes (or more), making it an ideal game mode for PC gaming on the go. Specifically on Steam Deck, it reminds me of other amazing rouguelikes including Hades (and Hades 2), which are exemplary for the system.

"We wanted to make sure that it is really scalable so that even if you don't have a PS5 or have a 3 or 4-year-old PC, you're actually still able to play that game," said Coen Frauenfelder, PC Product Director at Nixxes.

"One of the things we focused on was the Steam Deck, that we're actually able to play the game on Steam Deck and other handhelds, which is, of course, amazing."

That was one of my burning questions quickly answered, but what solidified it all was when Travis McIntosh, Programming Director at Naughty Dog, confirmed it.

"I know I'm allowed to say it. We are Steam Deck verified. We're very happy with the experience on Steam Deck, and Valve agrees."

Gallant was interested to see if No Return mode "resonates with PC players differently than it did at the original release," and seeing as it's easy to pick up and put down on Steam Deck, I'm confident it will.

Plus, to keep PC players on their toes, there's new No Return content with the PC release, including two new playable characters — Bill and Marlene from TLOU Part I — offering different playstyles, along with four new maps, including Overlook, Nest, Streets and School.

Nailing the PC port

Look, it takes a lot to port a console game onto PC. The amount of configurations compared to just one, unified PS5 system is immense, as McIntosh explains:

"It's never easy. We did a lot of different things, to try and make sure that this was the best possible product. One of the biggest ones is our partners here at Nixxes. They have so much experience porting many, many PC games — experience Naughty Dog doesn't necessarily have."

The Last of Us Part II Remastered is the latest PlayStation game to get ported over to PC thanks to Nixxes, the Dutch company that spcializes in porting. They've brought Horizon Forbidden West, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and more, and these are brillinat PC ports.

"It's always hard to convert a PlayStation game to a PC game. PC is 500,000 configurations instead of two. So, it's challenging: different controls, different player experiences, and all that. Again, Nixxes know what PC players want, way better than I feel like we do, and so they brought a lot of expertise in that area."

This got me thinking about other platforms The Last Of Us could make it's way to. Gaming on Mac is getting real good, and with games like Death Stranding, Assassin's Creed Shadows and even Cyberpunk 2077 making their way on there, I wondered if it was time for more PS games to expand even further.

Again, though, porting games isn't easy, and Naughty Dog and Nixxes are ahppy sticking with the accomplishment of getting TLOU Part II Remastered on PC.

"I'll say the engine that Nixxes has ported works on the fact that it can work on Steam Deck all the way up to super high-end PCs," McIntosh said. "To me, it's pretty cool to see that happen, because when we built this game, it was for PlayStation console only, and that's easy.

"When you can have one piece of hardware, you can just work to that. And then when we threw it over the wallto Nixxes, they had to figure out how to make it work on 300,000 different machines all at once. It's a big challenge."

So, how does The Last of Us Part II Remastered play on Steam Deck? Well, desptie Naughty Dog telling to go and get one, that will take some time. So leave it to our own Jason England to get the proper testing sorted.

How does The Last of Us Part II Remastered run on Steam Deck?

So Naughty Dog and Nixxes claim that The Last of Us Part II is “really, really perfect for Steam Deck.” That’s where I come in to test that out, because I’ve been burnt before. If the teams learned anything from the original’s port, three critical things need to have been done:

• Optimize, optimize, optimize: Shader compilation needs to be sped up, more needs to be done with resolution scaling and frame generation has got to be improved.
• Key art, not key potato: This was cleaned up in future updates after Part I launched, so hopefully the developers have taken this to hear for Part II.
• Take care of the video memory: Part I was such a VRAM hog, which led to all the stuttering you see. Efficiencies need to be made wherever possible to bring that demand down.

Plus, let’s not forget that the handheld gaming market has expanded, too. So to see how things are going across the board, I’m testing this on both my Steam Deck (OG model) and the MSI Claw 8 AI+.

And the results? I’ve got to be real with you, they’re a lot better than I feared.

Focusing on the Steam Deck first, I can happily report that this is significantly less potato than the original at launch. Don’t get me wrong, you can tell the drop in detail on the recommended settings — especially in the cutscenes. But textures and character art has transitioned here nicely.

And during the heights of No Return gameplay, you’ll be consistently hitting between 35-40 FPS. That resolution scaling has been tuned nicely here.

And while in some of the more up close scenes with characters, you can detect the softness of the picture being tuned down to 540p, it doesn’t get in the way of that feeling you’re playing this massive game on a tiny system like the Steam Deck.

However, one thing that doesn’t do so well here is FSR frame generation. Technically, you can hit 60 FPS with it, but the amount of ghosting and artifacting makes the whole game look like a mess.

Now for the power-up, the Claw 8 AI+ absolutely ate here. If you use exactly the same low settings as Steam Deck, this clears 60 FPS with the greatest of ease with no frame gen. However, given the additional graphical boost that comes from Intel’s new Core Ultra 7 chip, you can get it running at a mixture of medium and high textures at a rock solid 30 FPS.

How does The Last of Us Part II Remastered run on PC?

To put this to the test, I’ve thrown two configurations at completely opposite ends of the power scale into the mix: the HP Victus 15 with RTX 4050, and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 with RTX 5090.

Obviously, when compared like-for-like on the same 1080p high settings, the 5090 obliterates here. But what actually is just how much we can get out of the 4050 system, and how far we can stretch that 5090.

And the optimizations for lower end GPUs are clear here. High detail at 1080p with all the DLSS 4 features got me clear of 60 FPS — a more-than playable experience that looks rather good with little-to-no ghosting around characters and fast-moving objects.

Moving over to the monster, you can turn everything up to “very high” with DLSS and get a rock solid 165 FPS minimum. It’s truly a feast for the eyes when you turn off motion blur and just witness the carnage.

Bottom line

Sitting down to chat with Naughty Dog and Nixxes opened my eyes to the possibilities of bringing The Last of Us Part II Remastered onto PC.

Yes, PC players that never got the chance to play the acclaimed PS5 title can now play through the heart-wrenching adventure with plenty of tweaks in settings to get the best experience, but really, it's yet another demanding title making its way to handheld PC gaming.

The results show that Nixxes clearly cooked here. While it plays well on Steam Deck, you'll find that other modern PC gaming handhelds can soar higher. And that's understandable, seeing as more recent portable gaming PCs like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ come with beefier specs.

Oh, and as you can also tell, it works great on PCs, including with 60 FPS on gaming laptops with an RTX 4050.

The Last of Us Part II Remastered is out now on PC, and if you haven't given it a go before, I urge you to try it. In the meantime, I'm going to find a way to get myself a Steam Deck (as told by Naughty Dog and Nixxes).

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"The Last of Us" franchise has differed from other entries in the so-called zombie genre, simply because the zombies aren't actually zombies.

Rather, they're folks who succumbed to a pandemic caused by Cordyceps, a mass fungal infection, which horrifically turns its hosts into zombie-like creatures that attack any uninfected human and animals on sight.

And though "TLOU" creator Neil Druckmann has previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he "wanted to do the opposite" of other zombie-focused franchises like "Resident Evil" and "28 Days Later" by instead focusing on "intimate relationships" affected by that pandemic, there are still terrifying creatures aplenty across not only the original video game series but also its HBO adaptation, which returns with its second season on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13.

And there will be even more zombie-like horrors when the dystopian drama debuts those new episodes, as we'll see various takes on The Infected throughout season 2, with each development stage more dangerous than the last. Among them are:

• Runners: The most recently infected folks are defined by their speed and clumsy attacks 
• Stalkers: Individuals who have been infected between two weeks and one year; they get their name from hiding and stalking their prey in the dark
• Clickers: Those that have prolonged exposure to the fungus for at least a year and possess strength that significantly surpasses the average human. They're known for the clicking noise they make, as well the crowns of fungal growth in their faces and heads.
• Bloaters: Having been infected for several years, Bloaters are blind because of the fungal deformation on their faces; they compensate by using bat-like echolocation to attack survivors. They're also incredibly strong and sport an armor of thick fungus.
• Shamblers: These guys are similar to Bloaters; except they're typically found in the water. They are especially deadly, as they can spray acid at their prey and fire acidic spores from their bodies.

And speaking of the Infected, season 2 will reportedly see the return of airborne spores, a hallmark of the video game series that was initially set aside in favor of more cinematic-looking tendrils in the HBO show's first season.

Speaking at SXSW earlier this month, Druckmann and "TLOU" showrunner Craig Mazin discussed reintroducing the super-contagious spores into the world, which will significantly up the threat level for survivors like Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey).

"Yeah, there's an escalation of numbers and types of infected. But also, as you see in the trailer, an escalation of the vector of how this thing spreads," Druckmann said. "Season 1, we had this new thing that wasn't in the game, like these tendrils that spread. And that's that was one form. And then this one shot you see in this trailer, there are things in the air."

Druckmann added there’s “a dramatic reason" for introducing the spore element now, so we'll have to wait to see how that all unfolds with the Infected next season.

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "The Last of Us" season 2 ahead of next month's big premiere, including new trailers, production stills, character details, plot points and more.

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"The Last of Us" fans have already heard that they should expect "deviations" from the original game script in the second season of the HBO hit, which will premiere on Sunday, April 13.

And several of those deviations will reportedly revolve around Abby, a new-to-the-show character described as "a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved."

A very controversial character among devoted players of "TLOU" video game, Abby will be portrayed in the dystopian series by Kaitlyn Dever, who TV fans know from the ABC sitcom "Last Man Standing," the Hulu drama "Dopesick" and the recent Netflix miniseries "Apple Cider Vinegar."

The creators of "The Last of Us" have already addressed concerns that Dever doesn't physically resemble the muscular version of Abby that they remember from the video game, but that reportedly won't be the only difference with HBO's take on the character.

Even the way that Abby gets introduced in season 2 — which will largely be adapted from "The Last of Us Part II" video game, albeit with a few aforementioned twists — is getting tweaked, revealed "TLOU" co-creator Neil Druckmann during a recent press conference.

“In the game, you play as Abby, so you immediately form an empathic connection with her, because you’re surviving as her, you’re running through the snow, you’re fighting infected. And we can withhold certain things and make it a mystery that will be revealed later in the story,” Druckmann said, per GoldDerby.

“We couldn’t do that in the show because you’re not playing as her, so we need other tools. And that context gave us that shortcut.”

Instead, Druckmann explained, the team decided to introduce Dever's Abby to Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) very early in the season, presumably in the premiere. (Here are details on that episode one title and runtime, FYI.)

“If we were to stick to a very similar timeline, viewers would have to wait a very, very long time to get that context,” Druckmann added. “It would probably get spoiled to them between seasons, and we didn’t want that, so it felt appropriate for those reasons to move that up and give the viewer that context right off the bat.”

"The Last of Us" season 2 will pick up with Joel, Ellie, Abby and the rest of the survivors five years after the action of the first season. When the premiere episode drops on April 13, we'll find our heroes living in Jackson, Wyoming, in a survivors' settlement. Abby will be one of several newly introduced survivors, including Owen (Spencer Lord), Mel (Ariela Barer), Nora (Tati Gabrielle), and Manny (Danny Ramirez).

We'll see exactly how Abby's introduction plays out in the second season of "The Last of Us." Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all updates regarding the show's action-packed second season, including behind-the-scenes tidbits, character details, new teaser clips and more.

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We're down to the last few weeks of waiting for the return of "The Last of Us" season 2 continues, with the acclaimed dystopian thriller set to arrive on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13, with the first of the season's seven episodes.

And, happily, we have a bit more intel about that much-anticipated season opener, including the episode title and runtime. As shared by @TheLastofUsNews on Twitter, HBO's episode listing for The Last of Us Season 2 reveals that episode 1 will be called "Future Days" and will run for an hour.

Fans of "The Last of Us Part II" video game — from which the events of season 2 are adapted, albeit with some big deviations from the original game script, the showrunners previously teased — will no doubt clock the "Future Days" reference. The episode title refers to the 2013 Pearl Jam song of the same name, which also popped up in the season's first official trailer for sharp-eared viewers.

It's a track that the character of Joel Miller performs for Ellie on his guitar in the opening of the sequel game, a sweet moment that will seemingly be replicated in the show's second season, as we see Joel (played by Pedro Pascal in the television series) teaching Ellie (Bella Ramsey) how to play the song on acoustic guitar in the season 2 trailer.

With moving lyrics such as "If I ever were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself," the inclusion of the Eddie Vedder-penned tune underscores the close but complicated relationship between the two characters, a connection that will reportedly be put to the test in the upcoming episodes.

What will happen in 'The Last of Us' season 2 premiere?

Warning: spoilers ahead!

Does that "Future Days" episode title mean that the franchise's biggest shocker — that Pascal's Joel will meet his demise at the hands of cast newcomer Kaitlyn Dever, who plays controversial character Abby in the show's second season — will occur in the season's very first episode?

Given that Joel's death understandably devastates Ellie and kickstarts her quest for revenge against Abby, titling the season premiere after such an intimate part of their connection could be a clue that she's going to lose him early on.

We'll have to wait and see how the hour-long premiere plays out, but we do know that "TLOU" season 2 will pick up five years from when we last saw it, after Joel made the impossible decision to potentially sacrifice all humanity in favor of saving Ellie.

For the past half-decade, Joel and Elli have been living in a survivors' settlement in Jackson, Wyoming, alongside Joel's brother Tommy (Gabrielle Luna) and new characters like Bella's love interest Dina (Isabel Merced). You can get sneak peeks of those characters and their Wyoming-set life in a batch of new stills, which were recently released by HBO.

The official "TLOU" season 2 synopsis reads: “After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "The Last of Us" season 2 ahead of next month's big premiere, including new trailers, production stills, character details, plot points and more.

More on Tom's Guide

• Pedro Pascal's favorite cut scene from 'The Last of Us' is finally making its way into season 2
• 'The Last of Us' season 2 will include deleted scenes from the game
• 9 shows and movies to watch while you wait for The Last of Us season 2

The countdown until the "The Last of Us" season 2 continues. The fan-favorite dystopian drama arrives on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13 with the first of seven episodes.

But thankfully, the network has been giving fans some much-welcome sneak peeks at the upcoming eps in the weeks leading up to the premiere, including the official season 2 trailer and a recently released batch of new stills showcasing returning characters like Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as well as cast newcomers like Catherine O'Hara (playing Joel's therapist, Gail) and Isabela Merced (as Bella's love interest, Dina).

The new pictures seemingly see Joel and Ellie riding horses and getting gun training in snowy Jackson, Wyoming, where they have been living alongside Joel's younger brother Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna) and other outbreak survivors for the last five years, since the events of that sweeping season 1 finale.

We also get a first look at another Jackson resident: "Schitt's Creek" legend Catherine O'Hara as Gail, the therapeutic figure who will be helping Joel unpack the pain of his past. ("I have an odd relationship with Pedro's character," O'Hara told Entertainment Weekly about her "TLOU" character. "She's got this edge to her.")

There's also a new still of Abby, a season 2 newcomer portrayed by "Apple Cider Vinegar" star Kaitlyn Dever.

Described as "a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved," Abby is quite a controversial figure among players of "The Last of Us" video games, due to her role in one of the franchise's most shocking moments. (Warning: spoilers at the link!)

Another new character that "TLOU" fans will be meeting in the new episodes is Dina, a "freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world's brutality."

The new stills give a peek at actors Isabela Merced and Bella Ramsey entwined in a sweet slow dance in a Jackson barn, a romantic moment that fans will remember from "The Last of Us Part II" game.

The photos also show that Dina will interact not just with Bella but also Joel, with whom she joins on a horseback ride.

“Isabela had the tough job of coming into this big show where everything was already established,” Ramsey told Empire in a March 2025 interview. Dina arrives "as a love interest to Ellie, but as way more than that...she really plays such a pivotal part in the season.”

Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "The Last of Us" season 2 ahead of next month's big premiere, including new trailers, production stills, character details, plot points and more.

More on Tom's Guide

• Pedro Pascal's favorite cut scene from 'The Last of Us' is finally making its way into season 2
• 'The Last of Us' season 2 will include deleted scenes from the game
• 9 shows and movies to watch while you wait for The Last of Us season 2

We already know that things are going to get emotional when "The Last of Us" season 2 arrives on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13 with the first of seven episodes.

Series star Pedro Pascal has already warned that the new eps are "f—ing heartbreaking" and given that a big climactic shocker may or may not be happening this season, we're not surprised that we'll likely have to reach for a tissue (or three) during our watch.

Thankfully for Pascal's character Joel Miller, he'll have someone to talk about his emotions with this season, as "Schitt's Creek" great Catherine O'Hara is joining the "TLOU" cast as Joel's therapist Gail, an original character to the TV series.

In fact, a scene featuring Joel's therapist was originally meant to take place in "The Last of Us" season 1 but was ultimately cut, much to the actor's chagrin.

"There was a scene, early in season 1, where Joel met with a therapist in the QZ in Boston," Pascal told Variety in a March 2025 interview. "I found it a beautiful way into the character and the walls that are guarding his traumas and losses."

"He was like, 'That’s half the reason I’m here!'" showrunner Craig Mazin said of Pascal's reaction when he found out that the scene had been cut before the actor got to shoot it.

Happily, fans will finally get to see the scene in season 2. "Therapy is a fantastic mirror to say not just ‘What are you really thinking?' but what people are refusing to talk about," Mazin added.

Sharp-eared viewers may recognize O'Hara's voice in some of the new season 2 teasers.

"Say the thing you're afraid to say," says the voiceover in the above clip, which seemingly features Gail's therapeutic counsel to our hero. "Say it out loud, no matter what it is, no matter how bad."

Per Variety, O'Hara's character will be part of the Jackson, Wyoming, community where Joel and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) have been living for the five years since the events of the season 1 finale. The Emmy winner will reportedly guest star in three episodes of season 2, including the premiere.

"It was like working with Obama," Pascal joked to Men's Journal about acting opposite the comedy icon. "It is a bucket list [achievement] of which I am indebted to [Neil Druckmann] and Craig for the rest of my life."

As for the rapport between therapist and patient, O'Hara told Entertainment Weekly, "I have an odd relationship with Pedro's character. You don't quite know why she's got...well, she's got this edge to her, but it makes for some weird, good dark comedy, I think. So it's there. I never want to deny the gift of humor."

(For example, Pascal told The Hollywood Reporter that Joe pays for his therapy sessions with marijuana.)

We'll see how those much-anticipated therapy sessions play out between Joel and Gail when "The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on HBO and Max next month. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things "TLOU" related, from plot points to actor insights to new teaser trailers.

More on Tom's Guide

• 'The Last of Us' season 2 will include deleted scenes from the game
• Why 'The Last of Us' star Kaitlyn Dever wasn't worried about not looking like the game version of Abby
• 9 shows and movies to watch while you wait for The Last of Us season 2

Diehard "The Last of Us" fans joyfully got plenty of fresh intel about the HBO drama's much-anticipated second season this past weekend during a panel at SXSW in Austin.

Co-showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin graced the festival stage alongside returning stars Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and Gabriel Luna and newcomers Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced and Young Mazino.

But Pascal was quick to warn "TLOU" fans not to get too cheerful about the new season — heartbreak awaits.

Along with an official new trailer for season 2 — which will kick off its seven-episode stretch on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13 — the panel saw the actors and producers give insights into the next installment, including working with new cast members like comedy icon Catherine O'Hara, who will play Joel's therapist.

"It was like working with Obama," Pascal joked, per Men's Journal, adding: "It is a bucket list [achievement] of which I am indebted to Neil and Craig for the rest of my life."

The team also shared details about the "evolution" of the show going into the new chapter, both narratively and emotionally.

"A lot of what’s going on in the season is evolution and change," Mazin said. "Ellie is growing up, and she is changing. This town of Jackson is growing up. It is expanding. It’s taking in refugees. And the world outside is changing. It was important to us to always move the ball forward with the infected."

Series star Pedro Pascal was a bit more succinct, telling fans season 2 is "f---ing heartbreaking" before jokingly calling the showrunners "sick people."

That's not entirely surprising, given that a pretty major bombshell (spoilers at the link!) happens in "The Last of Us Part II" video game, upon which the show's second season is closely based.

However, even devoted gamers might be surprised by the events of season 2, Mazin told the SXSW audience.

As reported by NME, the producer said: “I think you probably should expect the unexpected. We won’t always do the things you think we’re going to do. Sometimes we do the things you thought we were going to do in a different way, at a different time."

"All I can say is that if you give us your trust, by the time we get to the end of the season, I think you’ll be happy," Mazin added.

"The Last of Us" fans have previously been warned that deviations in both plot and timeline are to be expected in the new episodes.

"I think that's part of the fun for people familiar with the game to see how we approached that challenge in the show," series creator Neil Druckmann recently told Entertainment Weekly.

We'll see how it all plays out in heartbreaking fashion when "The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on HBO and Max next month. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things "TLOU" related, from plot points to actor insights to new teaser trailers.

More on Tom's Guide

• 'The Last of Us' season 2 will include deleted scenes from the game
• Why 'The Last of Us' star Kaitlyn Dever wasn't worried about not looking like the game version of Abby
• 9 shows and movies to watch while you wait for The Last of Us season 2

"The Last of Us" season 2 premiere is just around the corner, and a new season 2 trailer teases some explosive consequences for Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) after how things left off with season 1.

If you've played The Last of Us: Part II, you're well aware that there's one hell of an emotional rollercoaster ahead (yes, even compared to what we saw in season 1).

While the latest trailer doesn't spoil the biggest bombshell coming in "The Last of Us" season 2, it does give us our best look yet at some of the key characters and events from Part II that the series will explore — including an iconic (and infamous) scene that was one of my favorites in the game.

More on that in a second. And this should go without saying, but we're entering spoiler territory here, folks. At least for the show's first season; we'll steer clear of the events of Part II to keep what's in store a surprise. So if you haven't finished watching "The Last of Us" season 1, easily one of the very best video game adaptations of all time, turn back now!

You can check out the full trailer below.

"The Last of Us" season 2 picks up in Jackson, Wyoming, after Joel lied to Ellie about slaughtering the Fireflies who planned to remove her brain to try to develop a cure. We get to see more of Jackson in the trailer, and things are looking bleak for the snowy human settlement.

The trailer kicks off with a scene of Ellie and Joel walking through the woods reminiscent of their season 1 dynamic before cutting to more action-packed scenes. A horde of zombies beat down Jackson's door, clickers pop up from the snow like daisies, and Joel flambés a hefty zombie (perhaps a bloater?) with a flamethrower,

But it's the slower moments that really caught my attention. In particular, the fateful Jackson barn scene where Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) awkwardly dance together before Part II's inciting incident.

Without giving away too much, this scene is key to establishing Ellie's budding chemistry with Dina, an important side character in the second game, as well as the distance settling between her and Joel.

It also marks a ground-breaking point in video game history. Ellie's sexuality, while not touched on in the first Last of Us, became the subject of controversy after the game's Left Behind DLC in 2014.

A kiss she shares with her friend Riley that's clearly a romantic gesture to anyone with eyes was nonetheless hashed and rehashed by fans in denial that Ellie could be anything but straight.

With The Last of Us Part II, not only did we get crystal clear confirmation that Ellie is a lesbian, but her relationship with a woman forms a huge part of her character arc. This was huge for gaming for many reasons, because Ellie was the first-ever openly queer female protagonist in a blockbuster game. I'm excited to see how Max handles their relationship in season 2.

A bombshell revelation

The trailer ends on a particularly ominous note with Ellie looking distraught and saying "You swore," presumably to Joel. That's significant because the second game keeps players in the dark for a while regarding what Joel's told her and how much Ellie knows about what happened at the hospital.

In the trailer, it seems like their conversation takes place in Jackson rather than at the scene of his rampage, which marks a significant departure from the game.

That's not incredibly surprising, as "The Last of Us" showrunners have already teased that "deviations" from the source material will abound in season 2. But it could have some branching implications down the line.

We'll have to wait and see to learn more. Other characters from Part II also appeared in the trailer, including Kaitlyn Dever as the revenge-fueled Firefly Abby, Young Mazino as Dina's ex Jesse, Tati Gabrielle as Washington Liberation Front medic Nora, Jeffrey Wright as militia leader Isaac Dixon, and Catherine O'Hara as a yet-unnamed new character that'll act as Joel's therapist.

"The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on Max on April 13.

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Diehard players of "The Last of Us" video game have been anticipating a certain plot turn ever since news hit that the action-adventure game was getting the HBO series treatment: the death of one of the franchise's most beloved characters.

(Warning: spoilers for the game are very much ahead!)

Yes, in the video game's sequel "The Last of Us Part II," our post-apocalyptic hero Joel Miller is shockingly beaten to death by Abby in revenge for him murdering her father, the Firefly surgeon who was about to perform an operation on Ellie.

(In case you need an extra refresher, the surgery was to remove a part of Ellie's infected brain to help develop a vaccine against the Cordyceps fungus, a procedure that very likely would kill the girl.)

Joel's tragic murder sets up much of the action of the rest of the game, as Ellie not only vows to seek revenge against Abby but also must deal with the overwhelming grief of losing her father figure.

Given that the upcoming second season of HBO's "The Last of Us" will largely stick to the game script of "The Last of Us" Part II video game, fans have been wondering — and no doubt dreading — exactly when they'll have to say farewell to Joel, who is excellently portrayed in the drama series by Pedro Pascal.

And though "TLOU" fans have previously been warned that deviations of both plot and timeline are to be expected in the new episodes, which will hit HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13, it does seem like the powers that be have a plan in place for how they will execute — no pun intended — Joel's unfortunate fate.

During a June 2023 appearance on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin would "neither confirm nor deny anything" regarding Joel's death, yet did assure viewers: "We know exactly what we're gonna do."

"Anytime you're adapting something where there's source material, there's certainly an expectation that the adaptation will hit the main source material points and that is mostly what happens," Mazin told podcast host Josh Horowitz.

"But the way they happen, I think, is what matters: how they happen, when they happen ... so look, when it comes to the fate of characters, no matter who they are, all I can say is, we will do what we want to do in a way that is best for the show that we're making.

"And we will always be thinking about the two perspectives that we have, which is [co-creator Neil Druckmann's] perspective as a creator and my perspective as a fan."

And what does Pascal have to say about the fate of his character? “It wouldn’t make sense to follow the first game so faithfully only to stray severely from the path,” Pascal told Esquire. “So, yeah, that’s my honest answer.”

We'll see exactly if and when Pascal's Joel Miller does meet his demise when "The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on HBO and Max next month. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things "TLOU" related, from plot points to actor insights to new teaser trailers.

More on Tom's Guide

• How will 'The Last of Us' shifting the timeline from the game affect season 2?
• Why 'The Last of Us' star Kaitlyn Dever wasn't worried about not looking like the game version of Abby
• 9 shows and movies to watch while you wait for The Last of Us season 2

It's already widely known that, as with the HBO drama's first season, HBO's "The Last of Us" season 2 will follow much of the script set out by "The Last of Us Part II" video game.

However, we also know that the new episodes — which will premiere on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13 — won't tell the entire story from "Part II," with the events from the sequel game instead being stretched to the series' third season as well.

That leaves plenty of room for fresh material as we follow characters like Joel (Pedro Pascal), Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and newcomer Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) while they navigate their way through a brutal zombie apocalypse. And some of that added material will reportedly come from the video game's bonus features, including deleted scenes and lost levels.

(As fans might remember, season 1 added plenty of never-before-seen material, including an entire standalone episode devoted to Bill and Frank's final days.)

Back in November 2023, Neil Druckmann, the co-creator of both "The Last of Us" games and the HBO adaptation, told Entertainment Weekly, "As a tease, I will say there is at least one element from a cut level that is planned [for] the show. I say that with the caveat that we haven’t started filming the show yet and all things are subject to change based on what we ultimately feel will be best for the show."

Druckmann doubled down on the show's incorporation of deleted material, some of which was presented for the first time in the remastered edition of "The Last of Us Part II" game, telling Entertainment Weekly in a February 2025 interview that the cut scene used is “pretty brutal, but I'm very excited for people to see it.”

The second season will also flesh out characters who never actually appeared onscreen in the video game.

“There is a pretty prominent character that is talked a lot about in the game, similar to what we did with Frank [Murray Bartlett] in season 1, that is in this season,” Druckmann told the outlet. “There’s a very, very cool casting that I hope we can talk about soon.”

We also know that comedy legend Catherine O'Hara ("Schitt's Creek", "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice") will be flexing her dramatic muscles in a role we haven't seen in the game, seemingly as a therapeutic figure for Joel.

We'll see how those deleted materials and expanded characters from the video game affect Joel, Ellie and the rest when "The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on HBO and Max next month. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things "TLOU" related, from plot points to character details to new teaser trailers.

More on Tom's Guide

• How will 'The Last of Us' shifting the timeline from the game affect season 2?
• Why 'The Last of Us' star Kaitlyn Dever wasn't worried about not looking like the game version of Abby
• 9 shows and movies to watch while you wait for The Last of Us season 2

Given that the post-apocalyptic HBO drama "The Last of Us" largely covers the events of the first edition of the Naughty Dog video game on which it's based — aside from standalone episodes like the "Long, Long Time" flashback following the love story of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Barlett) — it would be logical to assume that "The Last of Us" season 2 would similarly stick to the game script of "The Last of Us" Part II video game.

However, the powers that be have warned diehard "TLOU" fans that they should expect some "deviations" in terms of plot points and timeline throughout the new episodes, which will hit HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13.

"I think that's part of the fun for people familiar with the game to see how we approached that challenge in the show," series creator Neil Druckmann recently told Entertainment Weekly.

And while Druckmann wouldn't get into specifics, he did share: "I will just say that we gave it a lot of thought and tried different things. There are some deviations of where we place things."

"We certainly are going to mess around with time the way it was in the source material, but as Neil said, we messed around in ways that we felt were appropriate for the show," co-showrunner Craig Mazin added. "When I say 'messed around,' I mean scientifically determined in a narrative way what we thought would be most impactful."

One such change is that the second season will pick up five years after its predecessor, whereas "The Last of Us" Part II commences four years after the events of the original game, jumping from 2034 to 2038.

Based on recent trailers for the new season, "The Last of Us" season 2 will broadly stick to the source material, but that extra year will no doubt lend more of a dramatic contrast for our characters Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) from when we last saw them, as well as more texture and immersion in the overall "TLOU" world. That extra space in the story could also mean more room for flashbacks and standalone episodes a la our Bill and Frank excursion.

The second game also played with dual timelines, regularly swapping perspectives between Ellie and Abby (cast newcomer Kaitlyn Dever). So far, it's unknown whether "The Last of Us" season 2 will stick to that same non-liner timeframe, will opt for a chronological structure instead, or in even more of a diversion, will split the women's POV into completely separate seasons, with Ellie dominating season 2 and Dever's Abby picking up in season 3.

“A big part of the theme of the second game is about perspective, how someone's hero could be someone else's villain and vice versa. It's weird to talk about a story where its structure could be a spoiler,” Druckmann told Entertainment Weekly.

We'll see exactly how those "deviations" change up the stories of Ellie, Joel and the like when "The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on April 13. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things "TLOU" related, from plot points to character details to new teaser trailers.

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• Why 'The Last of Us' star Kaitlyn Dever wasn't worried about not looking like the game version of Abby
• 9 shows and movies to watch while you wait for The Last of Us season 2
• HBO seemingly confirms how many more seasons of 'The Last Of Us' we're getting

The second season of the HBO hit "The Last of Us" is set to arrive this April with seven new episodes that will reunite fans with the likes of Pedro Pascal's Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey's Ellie five years after the action of the first season. But per that intense season 2 trailer, the new eps will also introduce viewers to a new character, one that's been eagerly awaited by longtime fans of the video-game franchise that inspired the post-apocalyptic drama series.

Kaitlyn Dever — who TV fans most recently saw leading the Netflix miniseries "Apple Cider Vinegar" — is taking on the role of Abby, "a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved," per HBO. We meet Abby among a group of survivors that includes Owen (Spencer Lord), Mel (Ariela Barer), Nora (Tati Gabrielle), and Manny (Danny Ramirez).

Given that Abby is quite a contentious personality among players of "The Last of Us" video games — the backlash reportedly got bad enough that gamers sent death threats to actress Laura Baily, who voiced Abby in the video games — it's understandable that casting for the character would draw scrutiny. However, the show's creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin recently told Entertainment Weekly that they didn't feel they had to adhere closely to the game character, specifically in reference to Abby's well-muscled physicality, when it came to hiring Dever to play the role.

"We value performance over anything else," Druckmann tells the outlet. "We need someone to really capture the essence of those characters .... We don't value as much, 'Do they look exactly like the character with their eyebrows or their nose or their body?' Whatever it is. It's not nowhere on the priority list, but it's below a bunch of other things that we consider."

“We would've struggled to find someone as good as Kaitlyn to play this role" had they only searched by looks, Druckmann explained. “In the game, you have to play both characters [Ellie and Abby] and we need them to play differently. We needed Ellie to feel smaller and kind of maneuver around, and Abby was meant to play more like Joel in that she's almost like a brute in the way she can physically manhandle certain things. That doesn't play as big of a role in this version of the story because there's not as much violent action moment to moment. It's more about the drama. I'm not saying there's no action here. It's just, again, different priorities and how you approach it.”

Druckmann also praised the "Booksmart" actress for having "the spirit of the game in her," adding: "When you look at Kaitlyn, there's just something in her eyes where, even no matter what she's experiencing, you connect. It was important that we found somebody that we could connect to the way we connect to Bella."

Dever herself discussed in a February 2025 interview for Variety what it was like playing such a polarizing character: “I think it is always hard stepping into that, especially because it’s already had its [first] season and I’m the newbie to the world. But I think that I’m almost treating it and approaching it like I do with everything, which is just wanting to come at it with authenticity and honesty and trying to be as organic as I can when approaching the role and bringing my own sort of energy to it, if that makes sense. I want to do the character justice, and I hope that people enjoy what I do with that.”

"The Last of Us" season 2 release date has been set for April 13 on HBO and Max. Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all updates regarding the show's action-packed second season, including behind-the-scenes tidbits, character details, new teaser clips and more.

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"The Last Of Us" season 2 might not be back on our screens until April, but it sounds like the HBO and Max video game adaptation won't be over anytime soon.

According to HBO exec Francesca Orsi, the series could spread The Last Of Us Part II's story across even more seasons of TV. Hurrah!

Speaking to Deadline at a premiere event for "The White Lotus" season 3, Orsi said it's "looking like" the series will run for two further seasons.

"We don't have a complete or final plan, but I think it's looking like four seasons," Orsi said. "I wouldn't want to confirm that, but it's looking like this season and then two more seasons after this and we're done."

This schedule aligns with what showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin told Entertainment Weekly earlier this month. Mazin said it was "pretty likely that our story will extend past a season 3", while Druckmann coyly added: "We know what we need to do going forward, but we couldn't tell you right now exactly how many episodes or how many seasons it would take to get there."

Orsi also told the publication what she felt might surprise fans about the next chapter: "There are certain elements in terms of the various factions that are competing for survival that reveal themselves as a really intriguing survivalist group", she said, "and I think they just have a quality to them that feels distinct in how they present it.

"There's a certain way [the show] is presenting them in wardrobe and makeup that feels really different than the average person."

Anyone who has played the second game will know that we are in for one hell of an emotional rollercoaster (yes, even compared to what we saw in season 1), though we wouldn't want to spoil what's in store here.

Season 2 will introduce a number of new characters to the show, most notably Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), the daughter of a surgeon murdered by Joel who is out for revenge. We'll also meet key figures from the Jackson, Wyoming survivors community like Jesse (Young Mazino), Dina (Isabela Merced), and some of Abby's connections, such as Nora (Tati Gabrielle), Manny (Danny Ramirez) and Owen (Spencer Lord).

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Wright's been cast as the leader of the Washington Liberation Front, and Catherine O'Hara's also due to appear in an as-yet-unknown role.

It's been over two years since the first season debuted, but the wait's nearly over. The seven-episode second season of "The Last Of Us" premieres on HBO and Max this April (an exact release date is yet to be confirmed).

Need something new to watch while you wait? Be sure to check out our guide to the best shows on Max for more streaming recommendations.

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We’re finally in 2025, and with it comes the anticipation for “The Last of Us” season 2. Back in November, HBO teased that the next chapter would drop sometime in the spring, but thanks to a recent announcement at CES, we now know “The Last of Us” season 2 is arriving in April 2025 (though we’re still waiting on an exact date).

That means we’ve got about three months to go before Joel and Ellie return (a mix of excitement and anxiety for those who played The Last of Us Part II). But that’s not all! Alongside the release window, we were treated to a new trailer packed with quick glimpses of what’s to come, including the official confirmation of April. The trailer is filled with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments, so get your pause button ready.

Check out the new trailer below:

The new trailer gave us a closer look at Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, roaming an abandoned hallway with that familiar sound of a hospital alarm, paired with her voiceover that’s only adding to my nerves for the upcoming season. We also catch glimpses of Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) sharing a loving dance, more infected (including the terrifying clickers), and Ellie looking distressed in quite a few shots.

It’s a short teaser, so there’s not much else to dissect just yet, but we can probably expect a full-length trailer as we edge closer to April 2025. For now, we’ll just have to sit with our excitement (and maybe a little dread).

What will ‘The Last of Us’ season 2 be about?

It’s tricky to dive into what “The Last of Us” season 2 will entail without treading into spoiler territory for the game. But for those who haven’t played, here are some spoiler-free details:

“The Last of Us” season 2 will continue Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s journey in a world ravaged by the fungal pandemic. Without giving away too much, the second season shifts focus to a larger narrative, introducing Abby, a complex new character with her own motives, and interweaving her story with Ellie’s. The season will likely highlight the consequences of Joel’s decision at the end of season 1 and explore how it ripples through the lives of those around him.

If the show stays faithful to the source material, season 2 will pack an emotional punch that leaves fans reeling long after the final episode. And we should hopefully see new forms of the infected to really up the stakes.

Here is an official logline if you’re curious: “After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

The first trailer for “The Last of Us” season 2, which was released back in September, teases more about what to expect without revealing too much about the plot. Let's hope we get a firm release date very soon.

You can stream "The Last of Us" season 1 on Max

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"The Last Of Us" season 1 has (rightly) earned a reputation as one of the very best video game adaptations that's ever made it to our screens. 

Max's version of the must-play PlayStation game turned out to be a must-watch drama regardless of whether you're a die-hard fan of the original title or not. And judging by the first "The Last Of Us" season 2 trailer that dropped today (on The Last Of Us day, no less), the team behind the show is about to bring us another stunning TV season. 

Look, if you've not yet played The Last Of Us Part II, I wouldn't want to rob you of experiencing that story before you see it play out, so I won't be giving you a rundown of what's to come in Max show's second season, either. Just know it's much darker and even more of an emotional rollercoaster than what we saw adapted in season 1.

The stakes are way higher, and there's infinitely more danger lurking around every corner. Judging by the overall vibe this new trailer's giving off — general melancholy tinged with terrifying set-pieces and just a palpable intensity of emotion — "The Last Of Us" season 2 looks, well, perfect. It looks like parts of the game literally sprung to life. Check it out below:

The teaser contains precious little dialogue; it relies instead on anyone who's played the game to fill in the gaps in the story. Joel's quizzed about "what he did," masses of infected are on the scene, there are ominous glimpses of the franchise's darker side, scenes of conflict, and quite a few tears get shed.

Throughout, we also get to see several new characters who will soon become key players in the story to come, including Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez, Tati Gabrielle and Ariela Barer. Catherine O'Hara will also be a guest star in the new season.

What is 'The Last Of Us' season 2 about?

Look, if you want to go in completely blind, then don't read on. But if you want another hint at the story of "The Last Of Us" season 2, then here's the official description: “After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

Sadly, while this trailer has me trying to plan how on earth I will grapple with this powerful story all over again, the one thing it's missing is a release date. At the time of writing, we still only know that "The Last Of Us" season 2 will land at some point in 2025. Hopefully, early in 2025. 

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The wait for “The Last of Us” season 2 is starting to feel tortuous. Until now fans have had to console themselves with casting news and leaked images from the show’s sets, but we now have some firm details on how the season will be structured from its creative team. 

During a lengthy interview with Deadline, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, “The Last of Us” TV show’s co-showrunners, confirmed that the second season of the hugely popular HBO show will consist of seven episodes. This is a drop from “The Last of Us” season 1, which comprised nine episodes, but the pair notes one Season 2 episode will be “quite big” in length, which will hopefully make up for the drop. 

On the decision to cut down the number of episodes for the show’s sophomore run, Mazin said, “The story material that we got from Part II of the game is way more than the story material that was in the first game, so part of what we had to do from the start was figure out how to tell that story across seasons. 

"When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the national breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes.”

“The Last of Us” season 2 won’t rush things

Fans are already widely speculating online how The Last of Us Part 2’s sprawling story will be broken up. The most common theory is that a game of golf will be played in the final episode of “The Last of Us” season 2...I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers. Those who have played the 2020 game will know what that means. 

On the surface, fewer episodes could suggest a more truncated retelling of the game’s story, but fear not Last of Us fans. “We just want to put people’s minds at ease that the idea that this season coming up is a little bit shorter than the first one is not because we’re taking less time to tell the stories, it’s because we want to take more time,” said Mazin. 

The co-showrunner also added, “The story that we’re telling is much bigger than the story of Season 1, there’s just a lot more going on, it’s a lot harder to produce but we want every episode to feel like its own blockbuster to be honest with you.”

“The Last of Us” could run for several more seasons

While HBO has only renewed “The Last of Us” through season 2 as it stands, Mazin and Druckmann are already looking ahead, and are laying out a roadmap that will cover additional seasons. 

“We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story even within two seasons [2 and 3] because we’re taking our time and go down interesting pathways which we did a little bit in Season 1 too,” explained Mazin. “We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that — as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television — Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require Season 4.” 

In fact, Mazin may have confirmed that The Last of Us Part 2’s story will require three full seasons of television to adapt, as he added, “One thing is absolutely for sure, I don’t see how we could tell the story that remains after Season 2 is complete in one more season.”

“The Last of Us” TV show won’t go beyond the games

In the same interview, Mazin also shot down the idea of the show doing a “Game of Thrones” and covering events beyond the two currently available video games. “There’s no world where I would want our show to go beyond the source material that people have in the world,” said Mazin. 

“Our show as people know it on HBO is going to cover the material from the second game and then quite a bit of material that is relevant to that story but, as I said, wanders down interesting new paths, unseen stories that were told within the context of that games material.”

Neil Druckmann, also head of Last of Us developer Naughty Dog, echoed Mazin’s reassurances: “Our focus is the two games. As Craig mentioned, there’s quite a bit of material there that we’re taking our time with, and we’re looking at each piece individually to make sure it’s got its own arc, its own journey that the characters go on, but there is a grander plan that ties all the seasons together.”

“The Last of Us” season 2 is currently in production, with a premiere date expected in 2025. It will again star Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, two survivors in a post-apocalyptic world full of mutated infected. New cast members for season 2 will include Kaitlyn Dever, Jeffrey Wright, Young Mazino and Isabela Merced. 

For more details on the show’s eagerly anticipated return check out our dedicated “The Last of Us” season 2 hub. And in the interim, now’s a great time to rewatch the show’s amazing first season on Max, or you could play The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered on PS5. 

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The Last of Us season 2 is my most anticipated upcoming TV show. I’m a super fan of the gaming franchise and loved HBO’s adaptation of the first game. But I’ve been pretty skeptical about its sophomore season for a while because The Last of Us Part 2 is extremely divisive.

I’m in the camp that believes the second Last of Us game is a masterpiece, but there’s an extremely vocal group of players who were incredibly disappointed with the 2020 follow-up. I have no desire to further fuel a social media firestorm that’s been raging for the best part of four years, but let’s just say a lot of people have strong opinions about Last of Us Part 2, and aren't afraid to shout about them. 

As Part 2 generated such "passionate" feelings in some players, I feared that The Last of Us showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (The latter also served as a co-director on both Last of Us games), may look to make structural or narrative changes to the story to placate disgruntled gamers and to avoid similarly toxic conversations on social media a second time around. 

However, the latest The Last of Us season 2 leak appears to have assuaged my biggest fear and could be an indication that Mazin and Druckmann are fully committed to adapting The Last of Us Part 2 with the same accuracy and authenticity as they did when bringing the first game to television. And that’s got me ready to abandon my current concerns and embrace the hype.   

Before diving into the leak, it’s only right that I give a spoiler warning. Below I’m going to delve into major spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 video game, and by extension likely spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 show. You have been warned.... 

The Last of Us Part 2 just got a big production update 

According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Pedro Pascal, who plays hardened survivor Joel Miller in The Last of Us show, has wrapped filming for season 2. 

This is especially significant as the show reportedly only began production in February of this year, which would suggest that Pascal’s role in the second season is reduced compared to his leading turn in the show's first collection of episodes.   

Of course, anybody who has played The Last of Us Part 2 on PS4 (or via the recent remastered version on PS5) will know that Joel is brutally murdered within the game’s opening act, and the game then follows his adopted daughter Ellie on a mission of revenge as she hunts down those responsible across the rain-swept city of Seattle, Washington. 

Joel is a beloved character, so his death brought about no small amount of controversy. And with Pedro Pascal’s star only rising — he’s recently been cast as Reed Richards in the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four movie — there had been speculation that the HBO show may work the game’s story to keep Pascal’s Joel around for longer. That would be a mistake. 

Fortunately, if Pascal has indeed wrapped his work on The Last of Us Part 2 already, then we can assume that Joel will probably meet a similar fate in the show as his video game counterpart does. Watching that harrowing scene in digital form is heartbreaking enough, seeing it in live action will be horrible, but it’s absolutely vital to Part 2’s story as kickstarts Ellie's self-destructive quest for vengeance. 

However, much as I want this new to be accurate, be sure to note that this is currently just a rumor. There’s been no official word from Pascal or HBO that the actor has finished filming, so take this with a grain of salt for now. 

Concrete details on The Last of Us season 2 are pretty thin, but we do know that Bella Ramsey is returning as Ellie and that Kaitlyn Dever is joining the cast as Abby, a key figure in The Last of Us Part 2. Naturally, there are no release date details yet, but we expect the show to return sometime in 2025.  

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“The Last of Us” season 2 has been making the news a lot lately. The show just made three major casting announcements and "The Last of Us Part II" just got a remastered edition for the PS5 that's been well-received aside from some complaints about Naughty Dog choosing to remaster an old game rather than release a new one.

Spoiler alert: Please don't read on if you want to avoid MAJOR spoilers for The Last of Us Part II.

But I recently saw some buzz about an interview Pedro Pascal did with Deadline at Sundance this year. In it, Pascal, who plays Joel Miller in season 1 and will return for season 2, is asked whether or not the show will deviate from the video games when it comes to his character's arc.

For what it's worth, Pascal handles the question well, at least from a PR perspective if nothing else. But when he responded that the showrunners could surprise people and that he doesn't have all the information, that threw up some red flags and raised eyebrows.

This is, of course, because his character famously dies in "The Last of Us Part II."

This choice by Neil Druckmann in the video game is crucial. It shows that there are consequences for Joel's actions in the first game, which we see in season 1, and it also further highlights that in the apocalypse, it's often mankind that tears itself apart regardless of what the external forces do. This is a theme of the games and the first season of the HBO adaptation.

So deviating from that would be a huge mistake. On the one hand, I get it — Pascal is incredible and I don't want to see him go either. But this moment needs to happen for the show to maintain what made the games so special from a narrative standpoint.

For what it's worth, I'm hopeful, if not outright confident, that showrunners Craig Mazin and Druckmann won't deviate from this major plot point. In fact, the more I watch the interview, the more I think that what we could get instead, is a more circuitous route to the devastating moment, similar to what the show did with Bill and Frank's story in season 1. 

That means potentially more backstory about Joel and Ellie leading up to the climatic moment, which might even let HBO stretch the show out to a third season if it uses Joel's death as the climactic end of season 2. That would count as a surprise for sure, but still keep a core moment for the story intact.

Joel isn't the only change 'The Last of Us' needs to avoid

Speaking of character deaths, one character who doesn't die is Abby. Abby was the second protagonist for the franchise's second game and was just recently cast by HBO (Kaitlyn Dever will play Abby in season 2). And it turns out — Druckmann initially planned to kill her off.

In the director's commentary of "The Last of Us Part II Remastered," Druckmann said that originally, Ellie (Bella Ramsey in the TV show, Ashley Johnson in the video game) was going to kill Abby at the end of the game, drowning her in the water. 

Thankfully, they went in a different direction, showing that despite the fact that mankind is often its own worst enemy, there's still humanity in people even in the darkest of times. Ellie holding onto her humanity is as essential to the story as Joel's death, so again, I truly hope Druckmann knows he made the right call staying Abby's execution in the game and doesn't change things up for the show.

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The Last of Us Part II Remastered brings one of the best PS4 games of all time to PS5 with some visual and performance upgrades and a smattering of extra content. On paper, that sounds like an excellent package, but much like 2022’s The Last of Us Part I, this remaster has courted a fairly significant amount of online controversy since its initial announcement.

Questions have been raised about the necessity of a PS5 remaster considering the original game was released less than five years ago, and even though it’s technically confined to last-gen hardware, it still looks better than many recent releases. Not to mention the PS4 version is already fully playable on PS5 and even got a framerate boost via a free update.

There’s no denying that The Last of Us Part II didn’t need remastering. And yet, now that The Last of Us Part II Remastered is here, it’s impossible to imagine experiencing this masterpiece any other way. Yes, the graphical upgrades are minor, but the additional content is the real show-stealer. The epic new No Return mode justifies this game's existence entirely.

If you’re a newcomer, then The Last of Us Part II Remastered is an essential purchase. And the $10 upgrade for returning players who own the original game on PS4 is one of the biggest bargains of the year. Read on for our full The Last of Us Part II Remastered review.

“You can’t stop this” 

Picking up several years after its predecessor, The Last of Us Part II packs one of the most narratively ambitious and emotionally complex stories ever told in the medium. The epic 30-hour campaign tackles weighty themes and offers a layered examination of its characters. Some critics have accused it of being merely a “revenge is bad” tale, but to reduce this multifaceted journey into such simple terms does the game a huge disservice.

The main story is a sprawling adventure encompassing a large cast of characters and set across multiple locations from the (relative) safe-haven of Jackson to the lawless chaos of an overrun Seattle. You’ll split your time playing as returning protagonist Ellie, as well as newcomer Abby. The latter is initially framed as the primary antagonist but throughout the game, you’ll discover her tragic backstory and surprisingly understandable motivations.

The narrative is gripping from the get-go, and while some of the beats have proved to be divisive with an (extremely vocal) group of players, writers Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross could never be accused of playing things safe. The Last of Us Part II takes more than a few risks, and incredibly, they all pay off in spades. Just be warned that things get dark,  uncomfortably dark at times. The harrowing tone and the brutal violence may be off-putting to some players, but there is light to be found in all the darkness — you just need to look for it.

However, if there’s one criticism that can be leveled at the narrative, it’s the slightly wonky pacing. As noted, The Last of Us Part II has two lead characters, and it also incorporates numerous flashbacks and a couple of time skips as well. All this jumping around negatively impacts the flow of the story, and there’s one very harsh cut that serves as a real momentum killer. Fortunately, the pacing problems aren’t enough to spoil the experience.

“I’m gonna kill every last one of them” 

The Last of Us as a franchise has never offered especially innovative gameplay. It follows a well-established blueprint set out by numerous third-person action games. Combat scenarios begin with you sneaking around open areas, transitioning into shooting galleries should you be spotted. Throw in some simple environmental puzzles in between enemy encounters, and you’ve got the general gist of what it’s like to play The Last of Us Part II.

Even though this sequel isn’t breaking new ground, its moment-to-moment gameplay is so cinematic and the levels you traverse are so carefully crafted, that combat feels phenomenal throughout. Slinking through tall grass and choking out a burly enemy soldier is satisfying, and when detected by a horde of infected Clickers, the ensuing adrenaline rush is palatable. Especially on harder difficulties, prepare for a stiff challenge.

Compared to the first The Last of Us, Part II’s skirmishes are considerably more dynamic. Ellie (and Abby) are much more nimble than Joel. The playable pair can clamber up ledges, and crawl into tight spaces. These new abilities add an increased verticality to levels and give you plenty of options when clearing out an area or ghosting through undetected. They can also perform a quick dodge that makes close-quarters combat much more engaging.

Resource gathering is another core pillar of The Last of Us Part II. And your hunt for consumables also serves as an excuse to search every corner of the highly detailed levels. Scavenged resources are used for crafting, while slightly more scarce materials are used for permanent upgrades. You’re not showered with items, so you’ll often have to make difficult decisions about which character or weapon stats to upgrade or which useful tools to craft.

Endure and survive 

The Last of Us Part II main story is presented entirely unaltered in The Last of Us Part II Remastered, but there is a handful of new content to explore. All the new stuff is accessed separately from the main menu, and the most substantial addition is the No Return mode.

Described by Naughty Dog as a “roguelike survival” experience, No Return drops you into a series of randomized encounters that take place in levels from the main Last of Us Part II campaign. You progress along a user-determined path, picking your next combat encounter from a board at your hideout base and each run culminates in a challenging boss battle.

As you might expect from a roguelike mode, death is permanent in No Return. As you progress through encounters you’ll unlock new weapons and abilities, but die and you’ll have to start again with nothing but your character’s base gear. Fortunately, not quite everything is lost upon defeat as any progress toward the dozens of optional challenges is retained.

The mode also offers the chance to play as different characters beyond Ellie and Abby. Yes, that does include everyone's favorite video game father figure Joel, but the most exciting inclusions are previously unplayable characters such as Dina, Jesse, Lev and Yara. Plus, each character has unique starting items and abilities which adds even more variety to runs.

No Return alone is worth the $10 upgrade fee for returning players. It’s a highly replayable mode thanks to its randomized nature. And there’s meaningful progress in the form of unlockable characters and cosmetic skins, as well as mods and gambits that change the conditions of levels. The Last of Us Part II was always a joy to play, and No Return stands as the best way to enjoy its exceptional combat in its purest form. You’ll be returning frequently.

Appreciated accouterments 

Other new editions to The Last of Us Part II Remastered are slightly smaller in scale. For starters, there’s a collection of new character skins that can be used in the main campaign and there’s a guitar freeplay mode that lets you strum away to your heart's content.

The remaster also packs a suite of behind-the-scenes content including new developer commentaries, concept art and a making-of documentary, that will arrive via a post-launch patch. However, the biggest peek behind the curtain comes in the form of The Lost Levels.

These are a trio of levels that were cut from the original game and are now playable for the first time. An introductory video from Druckmann stresses that these levels are unfinished — one of them lacks recorded dialogue and sports rudimentary animations — but they are an interesting insight into the development process. Glowing speech bubbles dotted about each level explain why these sections were removed and provide much-needed context.

It’s novel to get to see this cut content, but The Lost Levels are a minor distraction. None of the three levels are especially memorable, and you can experience them all in around 30 minutes. Once you’ve taken a first tour of the Lost Levels, you’re unlikely to do so again.

Some extra polish 

There’s no denying that the “Remastered” bit of The Last of Us Part II Remastered feels perfunctory. Side-by-side screenshots of the game on PS4 and PS5 showcase only minor visual enchantments. In fact, I don’t expect many players will even notice a difference.

Of course, that’s because The Last of Us Part II still looks downright stunning, even on PS4. The facial capturing is industry-leading, the animation work is world-class and the level of detail in the game’s post-apocalyptic world is unmatched. Plus, the game already runs like a dream on PS5 thanks to a 60 fps performance boost added via a free patch back in 2022.

At least The Last of Us Part II Remastered adds full DualSense controller implementation bringing an immersive quality to actions like drawing back a bowstring or firing a volley of bullets. But, while proper DualSense support is an appreciated inclusion, the controller’s adaptive triggers and haptic feedback feel a lot less impactful than they did back when the PS5 launched.

Even if the visual upgrades aren’t immediately striking, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is one of the best-looking games on PS5. And it serves as an exciting teaser of what Naughty Dog might be able to achieve with a game designed exclusively for Sony’s flagship console.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered review: Verdict

The Last of Us Part II Remastered is the best way to play this generation-defining sequel. Judged purely as a remaster, the visual and performance upgrades barely register, but the suite of additional content is surprisingly worthwhile. The No Return mode fits the franchise like a glove, and the insights into the game’s turbulent development are fascinating for fans.

If you’ve yet to experience Ellie and Abby’s harrowing journey across the fungus-infected USA, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is an essential purchase. And for returning players, the $10 upgrade fee is extremely reasonable. Sure, The Last of Us Part II didn’t exactly need remastering, but this PS5 package serves as the definitive version of a true masterpiece.

“The Last of Us” season 2 just filled several of its biggest roles.

As announced by Variety on January 9, Kaitlyn Dever is officially joining the HBO adaptation of the beloved post-apocalyptic video game as Abigail “Abby” Anderson. While newcomers to the franchise will be unfamiliar with the character, who was absent from the first game and therefore not in season 1, fans of  “The Last of Us Part II” game will have been anticipating this announcement since season 1 wrapped. 

Abby is a main character in the second game, and season 2 would have been impossible without her. By casting Dever in the role, HBO has filled a key piece of the puzzle for season 2 and can hopefully begin production soon.

This also fulfills a dream for Dever and fans of the series alike. Dever had been fan-cast for the role of Ellie for years thanks to the combination of her acting talent and physical resemblance to the character. In a feature for The Hollywood Reporter prior to the debut of season 1, game and show creator Neil Druckmann said that Dever even did a table read for Ellie. 

Even though Bella Ramsey was ultimately cast as Ellie, it’s clear that the show’s creatives liked what they saw from Dever. And given the excellence of Ramsey’s performance in season 1, having her and Dever instead of one or the other should be a major win for everyone when season 2 finally debuts. 

HBO fills two more key roles

HBO didn't stop with hiring Dever as Abby. Variety announced the next day that Young Mazino (most well-known from "Beef") would be joining the show as Jesse, one of Ellie's friends in Jackson. And then today (Jan. 11), "The Last of Us" made its third casting announcement of the week. 

According to Variety, who clearly are on HBO's speed dial at this point, Isabela Merced will be playing Dina, who is one of Ellie's most intimate companies in the second video game. Merced is also going to be in the next "Alien" movie and the upcoming "Madame Web" Spider-Man universe film, so clearly her star is on the rise. Getting her involved seems like a big win for HBO and Druckmann.

'The Last of Us' season 2 explained: Abby, Jesse and Dina

Quick spoiler alert for anyone who wants to go in blind to the next season of “The Last of Us” —  or hasn’t seen the first season —  we’re about to get into some spoilers. Turn back now if you want to play it safe.

At the end of season 1, which lines up with the end of the first game, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie escape the Fireflies and head back to the Jackson, Wyoming community where they found Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) earlier in the season. Joel has just slaughtered an entire compound of Fireflies, a militia group working to create a cure for the Cordyceps pandemic because their cure would have killed Ellie.

One of the people killed in that raid? Jerry Anderson, the surgeon tasked with operating on Ellie. In the second game, and presumably in the second season, Abby, his daughter, will hunt down Joel in a quest for revenge. She’s a major character in the second game, so I won’t spoil anything further. Just know that she’ll be integral to the second season of “The Last of Us,” in a role on par with Joel and Ellie.

Jesse, meanwhile is one of Ellie's friends in Jackson and leads one of the community's patrol groups. While potentially not as big as Abby in season 2's story, he's still an important character to cast, as he'll be working with Ellie in her storyline throughout the season.

Someone else who will be very close with Ellie is Dina. Dina is also one of the members of the Jackson community and at one point is romantically involved with Jesse.

But for most of the second season, she'll be romantically involved with Ellie instead and she, Ellie and Jesse will be working closely together in the fulfillment of Ellie's quest that occupies most of Ellie's storyline in the second video game. That same quest will likely be the main focus of season 2, so expect plenty of screen time for the trio.

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The Last of Us Part II (or simply The Last of Us 2, if you’d prefer), is a bonafide masterpiece. It’s one of the very best PS4 games, and it plays brilliantly on PS5 thanks to a free 60 fps update. 

I completed Naughty Dog’s traumatizing masterpiece back in 2020 the weekend it launched, which also marked my *checks notes* 35th birthday. Suffice to say, I wasn’t blowing out the candles on my cake with the cheeriest expression. 

That’s because, as brilliant as it is, I need to go back to that “T” work. The Last of Us 2 is the most trauma-inducing video game I’ve ever played. And it’s not even close. 

As much as I was thoroughly engrossed in Ellie’s vengeful tale for the roughly 19 hours it took me to finish this perfectly paced blend of horror and stealth title, parts of the game massively upset me. If you’ve not gotten around to playing Naughty Dog’s nerve-shredding sequel yet, I’m obviously not going to spoil any major plot points.

Let me just say that the pivotal moment of the story shook me so badly, I felt completely numb for the next three hours of gameplay. Looking back, I had to physically push myself to keep on playing it. I was that heartbroken.

This brings me (semi) neatly onto the matter of the recently announced The Last of Us Part II Remastered, which is set to launch on January 19. Unlike The Last of Us Part I, Sony isn’t trying to rinse all the money from your pockets this time out through a $70 release, either.

A (re)masterful deal

If you own a digital copy of the original PS4 game, you can upgrade to this PS5 remaster for just $10. Considering the visual fidelity has been brought up to the standards of its incredible looking rejigged predecessor, includes a new roguelike survival mode, lost levels, new outfits, updated guitar mechanics for those times Ellie wants to bust out a banger and full support for the DualSense controller’s haptics and adaptive trigger functions, I’d say that’s a seriously sweet deal. 

Not only does it let you play both games across a consistent current-gen aesthetic, it gives viewers of the pitch perfect The Last of Us HBO show the best way to play The Last of Us 2. Considering there was almost a three year gap between the launches of the game and series, there’s bound to be a lot of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey fans out there who missed out on Ellie’s dark tale when it was first released on PS4 and PS4 Pro. 

And yet, no matter how impressive the graphical upgrades prove to be or if that survival mode ends up becoming a brilliant addition, there’s just no way I can put myself through the experience of The Last of Us 2 again. 

90 minutes in, it basically broke me and it was only thanks to Naughty Dog’s impeccable stealth mechanics and peerless world-building that I was able to push through to finish an undeniably excellent but utterly harrowing video game.

The only mild(ish) spoiler I’ll drop — and I’m not spilling the beans here as this element of TLoU 2’s gameplay was revealed during trailers — is that you're occasionally forced to merc digital doggos in Ellie’s adventure. I HATED this aspect of the game three years ago, and considering I’m now the owner of a 19-month-old husky called Bear, that’s close to the strongest reason I can never revisit one of the best video game sequels ever made.

But hey, that’s just me. If the thought of sending PS5 pooches to heaven doesn’t bother you all that much and you’re keen to experience The Last of Us 2 in the best possible fashion, don’t let my hang-ups get in the way of you replaying an all-time classic.

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After several high-profile leaks let the cat out of the bag about The Last of Us Part II getting a remaster, Sony has thrown up its hands and released an official announcement. The Last of Us Part II Remastered launches on January 19 on PlayStation 5 — just as the rumors said.

While it promises to bring with it a slew of graphical improvements, the biggest addition appears to be a new "roguelike survival mode" called No Return "designed to let players prove their mettle in randomized encounters and experience The Last of Us Part II’s combat in a fresh experience,” explains Naughty Dog’s Jonathon Dornbush a PlayStation blog post.

The new mode features a roster of playable characters to choose from, including some that are playable for the first time in the series's history. Each has their own traits to suit different playstyles. The announcement says players will face off against "a range of enemies," so it's unclear whether you'll be mowing down hordes of the infected, other humans, or, most likely, some combination of both. 

"Each run will offer a new chance to decide what rewards you get after each encounter, how you spec out your character, and more," Dornbush continued. In typical roguelike fashion, you'll unlock more characters and skins as you progress to tailor your strategy each run, and there will also be a global leaderboard for players to show off their best runs. Sony said more details will be revealed the closer we get to launch. 

But besides the new mode, perhaps the most important part of the announcement is that players who already own The Last of Us Part II on PlayStation 4 will be able to upgrade to the remastered version for $10. You can also bring over your save data from the PS4 version. This falls in line with the strategy we've seen Sony adopt with previous upgrade paths for its titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Gran Turismo 7.

As far as technical improvements go, Dornbush said The Last of Us Part II Remastered offers native 4K output in fidelity mode or 1440p upscaled to 4K when playing in performance mode. There's an option to unlock the framerate for TVs with variable refresh rate support as well. You can also expect faster loading times and improved DualSense features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

No Return isn't the only new mode being added. The Last of Us Part II Remastered adds a new guitar free play mode with unlockable instruments and a mode tailored to speedrunning. A new set of "lost levels" also lets players experience some incomplete levels that were cut from the original game along with developer commentary. Newly recorded director’s commentary will also be available across the main campaign’s cutscenes.

If you're looking to build out your PS5 library in the meantime, check out our round-up of Black Friday gaming deals to pick up some of the best PS5 games at significantly discounted prices. 

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We may still have a while to wait to see what horrors are in store for Joel and Ellie. The Last of Us season 2 will enter production in early 2024, HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys said in a Thursday press conference, Variety reports. 

Bloys explained that production has been delayed because of the (now-resolved) WGA and (ongoing) SAG-AFTRA strikes. The show's sophomore season also didn't appear on HBO’s slate presentation for 2024, Variety notes, meaning we may not see it debut until 2025 at the earliest.

But that doesn't mean work isn't already well underway. The original Last of Us Game spawned one sequel, The Last of Us: Part II, directed by the show's co-creator Neil Druckmann, and he and showrunner Craig Mazin already have plans to adapt it to the small screen. 

“We’ve outlined all of season 2 and we’re ready to go as soon as the strike ends,” Druckmann told Entertainment Weekly in September. 

“We were able to map out all of season 2,” Mazin said in an August interview with the outlet. “And I also wrote and submitted the script for the first episode and sent it in [to HBO] around 10:30 or 10:40 p.m. right before the midnight the [WGA] strike began." 

"I think it’s becoming essentially a near certainty that we won’t be able to start [filming] when we were hoping to start, which is upsetting," Mazin added. "We are all raring to go.”

Not much information has been confirmed about season 2 of The Last of Us, but it's almost certain to see Pedro Pascal return as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, two survivors in a pandemic-ravaged America. Given the time jump between the first and second The Last of Us games, doubts swirled about whether Ramsey would stay on for the next phase of Ellie's adventure. 

But Mazin has since squashed those rumors, telling the press back in March that season 2 "won't be exactly like the game, it will be the show that Neil and I want to make. We are making it with Bella."

Of course, with production delayed by the strikes, that could all be rendered moot if season 2 is given longer to cook. Additionally, The Last of Us: Part II is quite a lot messier than its predecessor in terms of story and pacing, and that's before we even get into the backlash from players over certain narrative decisions. 

Given how big a hit the first season was, it should go without saying that HBO is likely to give Mazin and Druckmann the creative freedom to tell this story how they see fit. But given the particular challenges season 2 faces compared to season 1, it feels like the more time in the oven it can spend the better. 

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The Last of Us isn’t just one of my favorite games of all-time; HBO recently turned it into one of the best TV shows of the last ten years. Mournful and majestic, there’s a reason Naughty Dog’s apocalyptic epic has captured hearts and minds across both video games and television.

That heavy praise aside, the PC port of The Last of Us Part 1 remains nowhere near good enough.

Initially launched in March of 2023, months later, the PC edition of this phenomenal game remains, at best, compromised. 

I was one of the first people in the world to review the original PS3 version of The Last of Us when it was released in 2013. I was shocked, I was uplifted and over the course of 16 nerve-shredding hours, I went through one of the most uplifting video game experiences of my 38 years on this spinning rock. 

And that’s the main reason I’m so mad at the PC version of The Last of Us Part 1: despite owning an incredibly expensive gaming rig, this port remains demonstrably worse than the recent PS5 remake.

Last in translation 

Considering the incredibly high-end hardware I’ve been testing TLoU Part 1 on, that’s a problem. I’ve spent a couple of nights playing through the game’s first opening hour or so on both a custom-built desktop PC with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and the highest spec edition of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2023) and the hands-on results are worse than on Sony’s $479 / 499 console. 

The numbers are important here. My personal gaming PC cost upwards of $5K to assemble, while the Zephyrus G14 Asus has loaned me retails at $3,299 / £3,599. Both the desktop and laptop I’ve tested The Last of Us on have variations of the most powerful Nvidia GPU you can currently buy, not to mention incredibly powerful CPUs and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. 

Despite the ferocity of this bleeding edge-tech, neither my PC or Asus' laptop can top the PS5 experience of playing the current-gen remake of The Last of Us.

Playing the iconic undead adventure on the G14 at the laptop’s native resolution (2,560 x 1,600, to be exact) at high settings, the PlayStation classic is solid, if unspectacular. 

Frame rates generally hover around the high 60s to mid 70s when playing the game uncapped, which I find preferable to playing Joel and Ellie’s journey at a capped 60 fps.

Regardless of whether v-sync is enabled or not, the experience never feels smooth. Admittedly, my eyes are very sensitive to micro stuttering, but all I can tell you is that I find whatever fps dips that occur in the PS5 edition of this survivalist masterpiece to be less noticeable than on a gaming laptop that costs six times the price of Sony's console.

The ROG Zephyrus G14 I’ve been testing the TLoU on is generally a brilliant gaming laptop. Yet the coding behind this PC port appears to be suboptimal; meaning no amount of hardware can completely solve the underlying issues.

Not only does The Last of Us Part 1 perform more poorly on Asus’ incredibly expensive laptop than on PS5, it also underwhelms on my hideously powerful desktop PC. Even the full fat desktop RTX 4090 can’t save the PC port of TLoU Part 1 at time of writing.

Naughty Dogs of war

My experience of playing Naughty Dog’s redux on a PC that’s waaaaay more expensive than a PS5 is that it’s slightly worse than the console experience. 

While recent patches have made the game more playable on my rig, the latest version of TLoU still regularly judders between high 50 fps and low 80 fps on my PC. The bottom line? It feels distractingly inconsistent. And I say this playing Ellie’s epic on the world’s most powerful Nvidia GPU hooked up to a G-Sync compatible LG C2 OLED TV.

Does Iron Galaxy’s — the studio trusted with this port — suboptimal effort provide a bad experience, even with the best desktop and laptop hardware powering the reflective adventure? No. The quality of the underlying game means you can still have a good time with TLoU Part 1, regardless of stutters.

But it’s also slightly embarrassing that the studio’s compromised conversion can’t deliver the same quality as consistently as the PS5 remake of a PS3 masterpiece.

When you throw the best PC tech at what’s essentially a decade-old game, and don’t always receive as good results as on PS5, you’ve got more evidence of why developers and publishers need to do better by PC gamers in 2023.

The Last of Us Part 1 is an incredible title, and one of the best PS5 games. But it’s absurd a $500 video game console can consistently run it more smoothly than both one of the most powerful gaming laptops that costs seven times the price of the PS5; not to mention a cutting-edge PC that costs even more than that.

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After years of waiting for The Last of Us on PC, we are going to recommend you don't buy it... yet. 

Even though it gives non-console gamers their first taste of one of the best games ever made, right now the internet is filled with reports stating the TLoU’s PC performance isn’t up to scratch. 

A quick look at PC platform Steam sees it is awash with negative reviews of The Last Of Us Part 1 — a significantly remastered version of the original that arrived on the PS5 last year — citing problems such as inconsistent frame rate, stuttering, crashes and long load times, along with poor optimization issues. 

This seems to be the case on even the type of high-end hardware you’d find in the best gaming PCs and best gaming laptops. 

"Crashes every 20 minutes. Game is badly optimized. Game looks great just needs to be better optimized," said one user on the reviews part of the The Last of Us Part 1's Steam page.  

Another noted: "Terrible optimization. Game takes more than 8 gigs of VRAM on medium settings, 100% CPU utilization in menu. And the temps are really high too. Probably going to refund soon." 

And from the thousands of reviews posted, Steam has labeled them as "Mostly Negative" showing that there are a lot of disgunreltd PC games out there. 

Developer Naughty Dog has acknowledged the issues and said it’s working on patches to fix the reported problems.

But all this is rather disappointing as Naughty Dog has a reputation for producing wonderfully polished PlayStation games; I remember playing the original TLoU on the PS3 and found it ran wonderfully even though it pushed the console to its limits.

However, this isn’t the first time PlayStation games ported over to the PC have had a rocky start. Back in January when the rather excellent Returnal came to the PC there were reports of poor performance, though these got fixed pretty quickly. And before that the PC port of Sackboy: A Big Adventure ran into stuttering on powerful hardware.

Wait for The Last Of Us Part 1 to be patched on PC

While we’re big fans of The Last Of Us Part 1 at Tom’s Guide, we’d suggest you wait a bit before buying the PC version. 

The game is not one you want spoiled by distracting and frustrating performance issues, as it’s really something you’ll want to be fully immersed in. So we suggest you wait until Naughty Dog pushes out a few patches. 

We’re quietly confident Naughty Dog will do its best to get TLoU up to modern PC gaming standards pretty quickly. And it’s positive to see the developer acknowledge these problems and reassure us there’s a fix coming. 

In the meantime, if you want post-apocalyptic media to consume then HBO’s take on The Last of Us is brilliant. And for a fresh take on the end of civilization, definitely check out Station Eleven. 

On the gaming side, I’d suggest trying out the PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn for a post-post-apocalyptic experience, as well as Elden Ring, which does an excellent job at letting you explore a pseudo-medieval world that’s fallen into ruin; it’s tough but deeply engrossing. 

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So, you loved The Last of Us and need The Last of Us season 2 right now, right? Well, first: same. The series, which adapted the hit PlayStation game of the same name, and looks to tell its sequel's story over multiple seasons, is one of the best HBO Max shows in a while.

And while we've found a good argument for waiting years for The Last of Us season 2, we understand that many will be rewatching the series and playing (or replaying) the games immediately. And that can only keep you busy for so long. So, we decided to amass a list of the best shows and movies to watch if you loved The Last of Us on HBO. 

Some of these movies and shows deliver very similar stories of parents (or their surrogates) shepherding young ones across a post-apocalyptic landscape. Other shows on this list show alternate angles of life after the end of the world and the personal drama of how a catastrophe ruins lives.

Oh, and while you may expect some of the below suggestions, we're skipping the truly obvious stuff. So, no The Walking Dead. And we all know you can go watch Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in Game of Thrones (and stream more of Mr. Pascal when you watch The Mandalorian season 3 episode 4 next week), so don't expect those either.

Still, here are the nine best shows and movies to watch if you need to scratch that (non-infected) itch that The Last of Us gave you.

Shows similar to The Last of Us

Chernobyl

If you loved everything about The Last of Us that felt a little different from the game, then you may want to see what the series co-creator Craig Mazin made that got him this gig. Chernobyl, one of the best HBO Max shows ever, is a grimy show about the people whose lives were forever altered by the April 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Chernobyl hits those same utterly bleak tones as The Last of Us, especially with how Jared Harris' Valery Legasov deals with the unfolding nightmare. But the story of how he and Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgård) — two real people — worked to help the cleanup efforts before uncovering the rotting stench of negligence that led to the disaster gives you something different from The Last of Us.  – Henry T. Casey

Watch on HBO Max

Station Eleven

In a case of wild timing, Station Eleven is HBO's other series that takes place before, during and after a global pandemic — and it arrived in late-2021/early-2022. Just don't think it's too much of a coincidence with our own reality, as it's an adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel's 2014 novel of the same name. But while this series may have seemed "too soon" for some, we're always ready to champion Station Eleven.

Station Eleven doesn't offer the clicking monsters of The Last of Us or any infected. Instead, it focuses on a series of people whose lives were interconnected by a particular performance of King Lear in Chicago. Principal among these characters are Kirsten Raymonde (Matilda Lawler, Mackenzie Davis) and Jeevan Chaudhary (Himesh Patel), who were strangers before that day. And after the world goes to hell? Kirsten finds a place in a group known as the Traveling Symphony, and this group shows us the resilient nature of art — and how important it can be to humanity. – HTC

Watch on HBO Max

Daybreak

The Walking Dead meets Ferris Bueller’s day off may sound like an odd combination, but the fact that this dark comedy on Netflix only lasted one season still breaks my heart. Based on Brian Ralph’s graphic novel of the same name, Daybreak stars Josh (Colin Ford) as a seemingly stereotypical smart-aleck protagonist in a zombie-filled LA, but his too-cool-for-school persona doesn’t last for long. 

Some of the pre-apocalypse flashbacks can be a bit corny, but Daybreak treads an impressive amount of new ground for the YA post-apocalypse formula with style and a wry smile. We are treated to multiple protagonists across the series who each have their own style of storytelling and it really works as a narrative device. It may not always have the tension of The Last of Us, but Daybreak has a banging soundtrack and slick presentation. – Andy Sansom

Watch on Netflix

Movies similar to The Last of Us

Children of Men

A lone man accompanies a young woman who may hold the key to the future of humanity, all while society tears itself apart around them. Sound familiar? That’s because Children of Men isn’t all that different from The Last of Us when you break it down, though flesh-consuming fungus is replaced by general infertility across the entire human population. 

The plot of the film sees Theo Farn (Clive Owen) become the reluctant guardian for Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), the first pregnant woman in 18 years. Kee needs to be taken to a group of scientists who hope to figure out a solution to mankind’s inability to have children, in an increasingly hostile and dangerous world — particularly since Kee is an illegal immigrant in a fascist and xenophobic version of future Great Britain. Needless to say, like Joel and Ellie, the odds aren’t in their favor. — Tom Pritchard

Buy or rent on Amazon, Apple, Vudu

Logan

But what if that gruff worn down older man tasked with transporting an unruly young girl to sanctuary was a beloved superhero? Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), stars in this superb drama, as he's shepherding Laura (Dafne Keen) — a mutant girl with suspiciously similar powers. Laura is being pursued by Reavers, anti-mutant extremists who want to experiment on her. So it’s up to Logan to help her reach the Canadian border where she’ll be safe.

Matters are made more complicated by the aging Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) whose failing mind is prone to outbursts of deadly psychic energy. The Reavers also hold a captured Caliban (Stephen Merchant), a mutant with the ability to track the physical location of other mutants, meaning Logan and Laura’s journey is going to be far from easy. — TP

Watch now on Disney Plus

A Quiet Place Parts 1 & 2

Parents protecting children in the apocalypse is definitely a cottage-industry of TV and movies, as seen by the success of the A Quiet Place movies. And if you thought Ellie, Joel and Tess had to stay silent to avoid the Clickers, you haven't seen anything until you've experienced A Quiet Place. Lee (John Krasinski) and Emily Abbott (Emily Blunt) need to keep themselves and their children Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe) completely quiet, or else the mysterious beasts who can hear the smallest bit of sound will come running for them.

Amazing in theaters, when you have an entire audience quieting down to pay attention to every little creak — the Abbots can't even let a can crinkle the wrong way without fear of attack — and still great at home, A Quiet Place is the family-focused apocalyptic horror movie that might be the perfect thing to watch after The Last of Us. 

While the first film sets up the situation and series, A Quiet Place Part 2 does a fantastic job of expanding the story. And expect more, as A Quiet Place 3, plus a spinoff, are happening. 

Stream A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part 2 on Paramount Plus

28 Days Later

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s 2002 zombie-esque thriller deserves a lot of the thanks (or blame) for breathing new life into the zombie genre — and popularizing the modern zombie tropes in the process. The movie follows Jim (a pre-fame Cillian Murphy), a bicycle courier who wakes from a coma 28 days after a viral epidemic swept across the U.K. and turned the infected into mindless rage-filled monsters.

After a few close calls, Jim is forced to team up with a small group of survivors (Naomi Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Megan Burns), which may have you recall how Joel and Ellie banded together with Henry and Sam. The group travels from London to the North of England, in the hopes of salvation under the care of Major Henry West (Christopher Ecclestone). But a post-apocalyptic world is a dangerous place, and danger awaits. — TP

Unfortunately, 28 Days Later isn't streaming online — but it's available for sale on Amazon in various physical formats

Need more Pedro Pascal?

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Love Pedro Pascal's funnier side? Well, if you also love Nicholas Cage, you will love The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself, down and out, content with his impending retirement. His last job is to appear at the birthday party of Cage-superfan Javi Gutierrez (Pascal) in Majorca. The problem is Javi is the billionaire head of an international arms trafficking cartel.

Cue Cage being recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Javi’s compound and locate the recently kidnapped daughter of a Catalan anti-cartel politician. Unfortunately Javi is nothing if not needy, and Cage has to keep him in the dark and oblivious to the actor’s bumbling attempts at espionage. With mixed success, as you mighty imagine. — TP

Watch now on Starz

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The Last of Us season 1 has just concluded, to pretty thunderous applause. It’s safe to say that the acclaimed HBO series has taken video game adaptations to new heights and will be the benchmark all future works are compared against. 

Needless to say, there’s already a lot of discussion about The Last of Us season 2, what we should expect and when we might be able to watch it. The series is already one of the best HBO Max shows, but how will it get better?

Here’s the thing, though, I don’t want HBO to release the second season of The Last of Us anytime soon. In fact, I don’t want it to hit TV screens until sometime in 2026. It’s a long time to wait, but I am convinced that the new season will become better for it.

The Last of Us season 2 is a ways away

There aren’t a huge number of TV shows that still stick to the old 1-season-a-year production cycle these days. Pandemic-induced delays probably didn’t help, but as TV shows get bigger and more elaborate, the time it takes to produce them increases accordingly. Even with reduced episode counts now common to a lot of prestige shows and streaming services.

The Last of Us season 1 was no exception to that. Casting for the show started being finalized in early 2021, shortly around the time preparations for filming began. Filming itself didn’t kick off until July of that year, and took place until the following June — 11-months later. 

From there, you also have to take into account the amount of time needed for writing and other aspects of pre-production, plus editing, visual effects and any potential reshoots that might be required. All in all it explains why the first season of The Last of Us took almost three years to arrive on our TV screens.

While some of that work won’t need to be repeated for future seasons, plenty of it will. Writing, filming, casting new roles, and all the other things that bring a TV production together. It’s not a fast process for any scripted TV show, particularly one that has to make you believe the world had ended.

For that reason alone, many of us at Tom’s Guide suspect that The Last of Us season 2 isn’t likely to arrive until late 2024 at the absolute earliest. In all likelihood we’re probably looking at least a two year wait before the second season premiere.

Rushing will only make The Last of Us season 2 worse

The Last of Us has been a pretty reasonable success for HBO. The premiere episode garnered 4.7 million viewers, the second-largest debut for HBO since 2010 behind House of the Dragon. The finale clocked in 8.2 million viewers, and while still lower than House of the Dragon’s 9.3 million-strong finale it was a series high for the show.

A cynic might assume HBO would push to produce more episodes of The Last of Us as quickly as possible. Likewise: audiences, who seem to have grown more impatient over the past couple of years, will no doubt want to see Joel and Ellie back on screen sooner rather than later.

But it's not a good idea to rush anything, least of all a multi-million dollar TV franchise. Speeding ahead to meet strict production deadlines, or pressuring crews to work as fast as possible will only ever lead to problems.

Just look at the effects in the latest batch of Marvel movies and you’ll see that the quality of visual effects has taken a sharp downturn — which is pretty serious considering Marvel CGI was never particularly good. Then you hear the stories about overworked effects teams and pressure to meet release dates, suddenly the crappy VFX makes perfect sense. 

If that kind of thing can happen on a blockbuster movie with a nine-figure budget, just imagine how much worse rushed production would look on a TV budget. So let the team take their time and let them do season 2 correctly. Because if the reaction to the Last of Us Part II is anything to go by, the season may have its fair share controversial moments. You won’t hear any spoilers here, of course.

Plus we’re pretty sure that a third Last of Us video game will be coming at some point in the future. Taking the time to get to adapting the second video game means Naughty Dog has more time to get a sense of what that game might involve. 

The Last of Us season 1 already made some subtle changes in anticipation of adapting the second video game. Taking their time with season 2 could come with the added benefit of being able to do the same for this hypothetical third game we suspect is coming — ultimately making for a more smoother and seamless story in the process.

The Last of Us season 2 will likely have a time jump anyway

The Last of Us has been fairly faithful as far as video game adaptations go. A bunch of stuff was changed, but it all seamlessly fit into the greater story that was, functionally, identical. So it makes sense that season 2 would stick with the five year time jump that occurs between The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II.

If there’s going to be a lengthy gap before the premiere of The Last of Us season 2, and since nobody is being recast, it makes sense to maintain some kind of gap to let the actors age into the roles a little better.

Bella Ramsey may be 19, but she proved she could pass as a 14-year old. Likewise Pedro Pascal is 46, while Joel is 56 in during the events of the first season. It makes sense to give both actors an opportunity to age up in real time, to a certain point, so that their performance as their season 2 ages is more realistic. The last thing we need to see is Pedro Pascal in noticeable old man makeup.

Waiting five years is unnecessary, especially since there are already measures in place to ensure both actors (and their co-stars) appear to be the correct age. But the more chance they have to mature and better match their characters’ true age, then the less chance there is for something to go wrong.

Outlook: Yes, we should wait

The Last of Us season 2 is coming, and given how well the first season went I have no doubt that the cast and crew will knock it out of the park again. But that’s only really going to happen if they’re given the chance to do things right. Taking the time to perfect scripts, doing the filming, and making sure the VFX teams are happy and well-rested. 

But there’s also a case to be made for deliberately pushing back season 2’s premiere for creative reasons, rather than logistics. As much as many of us would like to see the new season quickly, I know I’d rather wait for something great than rush into something extremely average. But we’re just going to have to wait to see what HBO and the producers actually decide to do, and hope they make the right decision.

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Looks like we're getting a lot more of The Last of Us — and we're not just talking about The Last of Us season 2. HBO didn't officially announce The Last of Us season 3, but we just got the next best thing. 

Speaking with GQ UK about The Last of Us episode 9, series co-creators Neil Druckmann (also the game's director) and Craig Mazin confirmed that their adaptation of The Last of Us Part II (the second and most-recent The Last of Us game) is — as we thought — too much for one season.

When asked if The Last of Us season 2 will cover the entirety of the sequel game, Mazin shook his head and simply said "No. No way." Druckmann followed that by adding, "It's more than one season." 

Mazin didn't get specific about how long the show would continue, only teasing, "You have noted correctly that we will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct."

While we're happy to get more of one of the best HBO Max shows, we would love for HBO to make it official right now.

The Last of Us season 2 will continue to break the mold

Druckmann said that some of the things he's most "excited for" in an adaptation of Part II "are the changes we've discussed." This is huge because — at least by my point of view — The Last of Us was best when it changed the script from the original game. 

Episode 3, the Bill & Frank episode titled "A Long, Long Time," for example, stands out clearly. As does the altered Henry & Sam storyline in Kansas City, and everything Melanie Lynskey was given to do with Kathleen.

The decision to split The Last of Us Part II across multiple seasons of TV also creates interesting opportunities. There's a major character named Abby whose point of view the audience could take for multiple episodes. Hypothetically, you could end season 2 and begin season 3 with her point of view, and then switch back to it later. 

As we've said, The Last of Us Part II creates "a tricky problem for the showrunners to solve." And we can't wait to see how they do it.

The Last of Us on HBO has been nothing short of a total triumph. Arguably the best adaptation of a video game in any medium, it’s the current frontrunner for the best TV show of 2023 — and I expect it to deservedly dominate during awards season.

Considering its critical plaudits and strong viewership figures that have continued to grow week on week, it wasn’t exactly a shock when HBO confirmed earlier this month that The Last of Us season 2 has been given the green light. And while my initial reaction was excitement, after a little consideration I’m starting to feel just a tad nervous about the show’s future. 

The first season of The Last of Us adapts the entirety of the first video game and its DLC chapter, so it’s logical to assume that season 2 will handle the story of The Last of Us Part II, the sequel that released in 2020. My concern is that the second The Last of Us is quite a lot messier than its predecessor — and I say that as somebody who personally considers it one of the greatest video games ever made. 

It feels like The Last of Us on HBO has ridden a wave of goodwill with both gamers and non-gamers harmoniously enjoying what has been a phenomenally good series. I already have my doubts the same will happen when The Last of Us season 2 eventually debuts, let me explain why...

Please note this article contains significant spoilers for The Last of Us Part II video game, and it likely spoils future plot points for The Last of Us TV show. Please proceed with caution. 

The Last of Us Part II has pacing problems 

There is so much about The Last of Us Part II that I adore. It’s a PS4 game that looks better than most PS5 games, its gameplay is a huge setup from The Last of Us Part 1 and its narrative is bleak but seriously compelling. I’ve revisited it three times since its original release and appreciate it more and more with each play-through.  

But, even as a huge advocate for The Last of Us Part II, I cannot deny that the game’s narrative has serious pacing problems. After the shocking prologue chapter, you play through a period of three days as returning protagonist Ellie, as she treks through the city of Seattle looking for the people responsible for — and remember, we gave you a spoiler warning — the murder of her father figure, Joel.  

Then just as the story reaches a highly dramatic confrontation point, you’re dragged back to the start and must play those same three days from a different perspective, that of Abby, the game’s antagonist up to that point. It’s an ambitious idea, and I love the way it allows you to see the story from two differing perspectives, but it also leads to frustration as you’re forced to essentially restart just as things get really gripping. 

Both Ellie and Abby’s campaigns are interspersed with flashbacks, and again these are extremely well constructed in isolation — and Ellie’s let us spend valuable time with Joel — but they further hurt the pacing of the story. All the stops, starts and flashbacks prevent it from ever really flowing smoothly. 

I’m really struggling to see how this somewhat unique structure will lead itself to the medium of television. The show’s co-creator Craig Mazin has already hinted that The Last of Us Part season 2 may be too big a story to tell in a single season, but this only raises more questions than it answers. 

The entirety of season 2 could focus on Ellie’s half of the game with season 3 centered on Abby, but this would probably be a mistake. It would make the seasons feel disconnected. So perhaps the central duo will trade off episodes, but again this sounds less than ideal because if something really interesting happens in an Ellie episode, viewers are likely to view the next Abby episode as just annoying filler, and vice-versa. 

The show’s second season could take greater liberties with the source material than then season one did. But this is likely to anger purists and to be honest, I would also find it a pretty disappointing decision, as the show’s current faithfulness to the source material has been commendable. Although, in fairness, the one time The Last of Us has really gone off-script we ended up with the stunning third episode, Long, Long Time, so maybe changing things up significantly could work out for the best. 

It’s a tricky problem for the showrunners to solve, and I’ll be very curious to see how exactly The Last of Us season 2 tackles source material that is chock full of memorable moments but is also structured in a less-than-ideal way.  

Time to trust the showrunners

Despite my concerns about how The Last of Us season 2 will be structured, I feel confident that I can trust Mazin and Neil Druckmann (The show's other co-creator and director of the original game and its sequel). These two have already proved they are capable of bringing Joel and Ellie’s first journey across the U.S. to the small screen in remarkable fashion, I trust they can do the same once again. 

I’m also really confident in the current cast. I won’t pretend I didn’t have some concerns about the casting of Bella Ramsey at first, but the young actress has made me feel foolish for ever doubting her. And while The Last of Us season 2 will require a very different kind of performance, I believe Ramsey displayed the acting chops required during the show’s eight episodes. 

There’s a lot of rage in Ellie, and I’ve no doubt Ramsey can nail that aspect of the character now. Plus, I eagerly await news of who will take on the role of Abby — they have big shoes to fill as Laura Bailey does an incredible job voice-acting the complex character in the original game. 

It should also go without saying that HBO is likely to give Mazin and Druckmann the creative freedom to tell this story how they see fit. And The Last of Us is now one of HBO’s biggest hits so we can probably expect a bigger budget for the second season — and it’s not like the first season looks cheap either.     

Unfortunately, you can’t really talk about The Last of Us 2 without acknowledging there is a uniquely toxic element that follows this particular game. Essentially, some players felt betrayed by narrative decisions in the sequel, and aren’t shy about letting their feelings known. I’m expecting that group will be out in full force when The Last of Us season 2 debuts but I’ll be doing my best to ignore anybody rallying against the show in bad faith. 

So, even if I’m a little worried about exactly how The Last of Us 2 will be adapted for television, my overriding feeling is one of real excitement. I was definitely skeptical that The Last of Us even needed to be turned into a TV show, but now that it has, it’s clear its story and characters were always ideally suited for the format. Hopefully when we finally get to see The Last of Us season 2 — please don’t let the wait be too long — I’ll be saying the exact same thing all over again.  

More from Tom's Guide

• The Last of Us season 3 just got teased — here's what we know
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In a bit of a surprise we didn't see coming, HBO's The Last of Us finale just added valuable information to the game's lore. At least, that is, for those who are willing to see this show as even slightly canonical.

We won't spoil how it all happened here, at the start of the article. No, we have a spoiler warning below that you'll need to cross first. But, first, let's give a moment to those who won't be so willing to accept this as the character's true story.

Yes, HBO's The Last of Us is far from a purely canonical story. In it, the cordyceps pandemic doesn't spread via spores, a pretty significant change that felt acceptable for the sake of the medium of TV. Nobody needs to see these characters talking through gas masks all day. On top of that, some characters (primarily Bill and Frank) have different stories.

But for those who think of The Last of Us show as just as valid as the game, let's break down what just happened.

The Last of Us' original Ellie birthed HBO's Ellie

When we first meet Ellie's mom — who wasn't in the games — she's played by Ashley Johnson, which is a perfect coincidence. Johnson voiced Ellie in The Last of Us games, which makes her a perfect mother for Ellie. And we first meet the very-pregnant Anna (Johnson) as she's on the run from infecteds in the woods. 

She finally makes it to an abandoned house where she expected to find folks, but nobody's there. And making matters worse, her water breaks right before she can barricade herself into a room.

And once an infected bursts in, clawing at her, Anna stabs it to death. But once newborn Ellie's cries wail out, Anna realizes she's been bitten by the infected. She then uses her pocket knife to cut the umbilical cord, and calls the child Ellie for the first time. 

There, you have it, the first ever reason to explain Ellie's immunity. Showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have added to Ellie's lore by giving her the smallest amount of an infection (similar to how vaccines work), and then her body developed a resistance.

Outlook: Marlene's doctors agree

Later, at the hospital, Marlene (Merle Dandridge) basically confirms my suspicions, or explains that the Fireflies' doctors agree with my assessment. 

While Ellie is being prepped for surgery, she tells Joel that their doctor believes that the cordyceps has been growing with her since birth, and it created an immunity. Of course, that's just a theory on their end. They never got to prove it. 

And one wonders if The Last of Us — as a show or game — will ever get a chance to confirm it. While The Last of Us season 2 will likely mirror The Last of Us Part 2, there is still no word about The Last of Us getting a third act. Though The Last of Us season 3 is already a topic on showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann's minds.