Those who haven’t played “The Last of Us Part II” may have felt a bit baffled at the end of the HBO adaptation’s sophomore season. After a whole season following Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) on their quest to kill Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) in Seattle, the season 2 finale rewinds in its final moments and shows what Abby was up to at the time that the pair from Jackson first arrived in the city.
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This is a nod to how things are paced in the game, which does the exact same rewind and has players move through the same few days they just played as Ellie, but this time from Abby’s perspective. And given that “The Last of Us” season 2 treats this moment like a big reveal, it seems to be signaling that the show will be following the same model, with at least part (if not all) of “The Last of Us” season 3 following Abby and her surrounding characters during the same timeline as season 2 covers for Ellie.
Writing that all out, it sounds rather complicated, even though the idea of a “Rashomon”-style rewind and perspective switch has been a common cinematic tool for many decades. It’s also admirable for the show to stay loyal to this distinct narrative structure from the source material. Despite all that, HBO is taking a big risk with this apparent perspective switch for season 3, and not just because Abby isn’t exactly the most popular character in the fandom. Showing the same three days from two different perspectives back to back is one thing when it all occurs seamlessly, but given the production schedule of prestige TV like “The Last of Us,” this live-action version could wind up more confusing than poignant.
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The gap between seasons could really hurt The Last of Us
The power of a “Rashomon” story is the ability to compare. That’s a bit different in this case as Abby’s journey during those three days in Seattle covers almost entirely different terrain than Ellie’s, but the point stands: Absent major retreads, “previously on” moments, and flashbacks, a lot of the significance of how these two characters orbit each other may likely be lost due to the gap between seasons.
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There’s also the matter of viewer interest. It’s no secret that many players of the games disliked playing as Abby because they viewed the character as a true villain after her murder of Joel. That perspective was mostly stoked by misogyny, hateful transvestigation, a lack of media literacy, and online grifters, but even without all that, playing as Abby is supposed to be uncomfortable at first. The intention of the game — and we can debate all day how effectively it accomplishes that intention — is to put you in the shoes of a vengeance-driven zealot and then push you to unwind that fervor by seeing a different side of things.
Again, the power there is in the immediacy of the comparison. Most people don’t rewatch shows right before a new season comes out, which means that if season 3 mostly consists of Abby’s story, it could feel more like an independent story with none of the characters fans have come to know and love, rather than an intentional juxtaposition to Ellie’s journey.
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Despite the challenge, The Last of Us season 3 could still be great
In short, splitting up Ellie and Abby’s stories between seasons is a big risk. Had season 2 been given the production capacity for 10 episodes instead of 7, it’s likely that it could have worked in both characters’ stories at the same time, jumping back and forth in a more traditional manner, or swapping to Abby for the final batch of episodes. The choice not to do that is obviously very intentional — the creative team wants the unique effect of the hard swap. And while that may be tougher to pull off on TV than it was in the game, it is possible that season 3 could totally nail it.
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One of the benefits of doing things this way is keeping each season relatively self-contained as far as the core themes and story being told. Season 2 is about Ellie struggling with grief, loss, and rage in the wake of losing someone she had a complicated relationship with. Abby’s story, without getting into spoilers, is about institutional loyalty and the breaking points people reach before doing the right thing. By standing firm on those ideas, season 3 could be a fantastic story in its own right, especially with Dever in the driver’s seat.
Catch-up montages and intentional dialogue can do a lot to fill in the gaps in people’s memory. But even still, this is a huge swing from HBO, and only time will tell if “The Last of Us” season 3 can pull it off.
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