Summary
HBO’sThe Last of Uswill probably have to make a lot of changes to adapt the gargantuan nonlinear narrative ofThe Last of Us Part IIfor television, but there’s one key aspect of the sequel game that the TV show needs to keep.The Last of Usseason 2 will begin to tackle the enormous plot of the second game, introducing Abby and her vendetta against Joel before sending Ellie off on the road to revenge. Structurally, the TV show will have to make some huge alterations. The game has a huge chunk of story told from Ellie’s perspective followed by the same chunk of story told from Abby’s perspective. Rather than chronicling Ellie and Abby’s three days in Seattle separately, the series could use its cross-cutting ability to chart their journeys simultaneously, contrasting the two opposing characters and showing their similarities.
The placement of the flashbacks might have to be changed, either by linearizing the story or choosing the most effective episode slots to put them in, and the narrative will likely be spread across more than one season, breaking one story up into several story chunks. But there are a few aspects of the game that are so perfect that the TV series needs to keep them intact in the adaptation process.The brutality of Joel’s deathcan’t be sanitized for the series, and it can’t be pushed to further along the story timeline, either, because having it early on is a big part of its dramatic impact. Showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin should also keep the same bittersweet ending as the game, and practically do a shot-for-shot remake of it like they did with the ending of the first game.
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One aspect ofThe Last of Us Part IIthat should remain unchanged between the game and its TV adaptation is the series of visually stunning PTSD attacks suffered by Ellie and Abby. The game uses surreal nightmare scenes to showAbby’s PTSD from her father’s deathand Ellie’s PTSD from Joel’s death. The Abby sections of the game frequently flash back to a stylized recreation of the scene of her father’s murder at the Firefly hospital, while the Ellie sections often flash back to the inciting incident when Ellie arrived just in time to witness Joel’s blood-soaked final moments at Abby’s vengeful hands. These scenes should be kept in the TV adaptation, because they create a strong visual parallel between the psychological effect of Joel’s actions on Abby and the psychological effect of Abby’s actions on Ellie.
The Last Of Us Season 2 Should Keep Ellie & Abby’s PTSD Nightmares
ThroughoutThe Last of Us Part II, whenever Abby stops to rest, she has a frightening flashback to the Firefly hospital where Joel killed almost everyone in the building to save Ellie’s life. The player is immersed in these dream sequences with Abby’s recurring memory of running down a dark hallway, going into the pediatric ward’s operating room, and finding her father dead. Similarly, when Ellie stops to rest, the player is taken back to the lodge where Joel was murdered. Ellie runs down the stairs to the door, opens it, and finds Abby beating Joel to death with a golf club. Visually, these scenes are really poignant and powerful, befitting ofa cinematic show likeThe Last of Us. It’s a perfect example of the “show, don’t tell” rule of screenwriting. These scenes don’t just show Ellie and Abby’s PTSD to the audience; they actually make the audience feel that PTSD.
Together, these nightmare sequences serve to point out that Ellie and Abby aren’t as different as they think. They’re both ruthless warriors who are fiercely loyal to the people they love, and the people who love them, and that brings them into conflict with one another. Under the right circumstances, they could’ve been good friends. But Joel’s questionable actions killed any chance of that, and unwittingly ended up ruining both of their lives. The nightmare scenes visualize that without having to explain it in on-the-nose exposition.
Why The Nightmare Sequences Are So Important In The Last Of Us Part II
The overall theme ofThe Last of Us Part IIis the old adage that an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. More specifically, it leaves the whole world suffering from PTSD. Abby was left with irreparable psychological damage after Joel killed her father; Ellie was left with irreparable psychological damage afterAbby killed Joel in retaliation; and if Ellie had gone through with killing Abby at the game’s harrowing climax, she would’ve left Lev with irreparable psychological damage, but she broke the cycle and spared him that burden.The Last of Us Part IIis ultimately a story about the futility and consequences of revenge. To capture those themes as effectively as the game,The Last of Usseason 2 needs to keep Ellie and Abby’s PTSD nightmares.
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