The Last of Us season 2 is slightly over 24 hours away from its premiere. The first episode will air at 9 pm ET, or for those in the UK, it’ll be 2 am. For those in the US, it’ll premiere on HBO, and for those in the UK, it’ll be on Sky – the same setup as the first season.
The reviews have poured in. From what I’ve read in the spoiler-free sections, the reviews largely seem positive. The only complaints I’m really seeing is that the second season only covers approximately half of the game.
This makes sense, I think, though. I’ve played through the second game twice, and I prefer the second game to the first. Understandably, I’m putting myself right in the crosshairs for hatred regarding that opinion, but I honestly couldn’t help it. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve been more excited for this season than the first.
Moving back onto my point, though. The second game’s story is huge when you consider it. From the prologue, to Ellie’s 3 days, Abby’s 3 days, and then the epilogue. There’s a lot that happens in all of those sections, I of course won’t spoil anything for you if you haven’t played the game and are only a series watcher.
It does mean for fans of the show, we also get more content, more episodes, and another season, which is something I can’t complain about. When the second season was announced, I always struggled to envision how they’d fit the entire Last of Us 2 story into 9 episodes. It was never going to be enough.
A typical playthrough of the game lasts around 22-26 hours. Granted, a lot of that is roaming places, but I’d imagine they’ll flesh some of the scenes out or make subtle changes, similar to what they did with the first series. It needs time to flesh this story out. It’s not as straightforward as the first season.
When I played the second game for the first time, I think I felt every emotion possible. Sadness, anger, happiness, fear, anxiety, and many more. It’s a rollercoaster story that brings you through these twists and turns before eventually coming full circle.
I believe like the game, the fans of the show will be the same. The game, when released, was hit with a lot of controversy, although that heat seems to have calmed down as the years have passed. There’s a newfound love for it now, which is good, but I’m still intrigued to see the reaction from fans during this journey.
In the end, splitting the show across 2 seasons makes a lot of sense. After all, there’s no news regarding a third game. The Last of Us TV series was a huge success, so it makes even more sense that HBO will want to ride the coattails of this success a little longer. For me, I’m happy we’re going to get the full thing eventually.
A third game is nowhere to be seen or heard of as well. It may very well be that the second game is the end of The Last of Us series, so having a 3-season series isn’t a bad thing after all. Hopefully, the second season has a similar level of success to the first, and then maybe it’ll push Naughty Dog and Sony into seeing what they can do.
Either way, roll on Sunday (or Monday for us in the UK).
If you missed the trailer, here it is below;
