And just like that, The Last of Us Season 2 is over. And if it’s left you wondering just where, exactly, things are going to go in Season 3, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have let us in on a little secret: they don’t yet know “how much, or rather how little” some of our favorite characters will be around.
Warning: this story contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2.
“Even if I thought I knew now exactly how it was going to go, I’m experienced enough to know that two weeks from now we may have a different idea of how it should go,” Mazin told Variety. “All I can say is we haven’t seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever [Abby] and we haven’t seen the last of Bella Ramsey [Ellie], and we haven’t seen the last of Isabela Merced [Dina], and we haven’t seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story.”
But even if we don’t see living characters on screen, “their presence will be there throughout,” game creator and director Neil Druckmann said. This includes Ellie actor Bella Ramsey, who said they expect to have a smaller role come Season 3.
“I haven’t seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect [to have a smaller role in Season 3],” Ramsey added. “I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch. We’ve had conversations about that. I sort of have a rough idea of what it’s going to be, but I can’t tell you.”
It is worth bearing in mind, though, that Mazin didn’t specify how these characters will return. Perhaps, like last week’s adolescent Joel and Tommy’s surprise appearance, we’ll get to see characters’ lives before the apocalypse. Alternatively, maybe we’ll see them in more temporary flashbacks, much like Ellie and Joel’s interaction with Eugene. Either way, it should be good news for fans who’ve seen their favorite character succumb in both Season 1 and 2 (for me, that’s Jesse’s demise in the finale this week. It’s all so quick and brutal!).
As for the living characters that we may see less often, such as Ellie, Dina, and Tommy? It’ll be interesting to see how Season 3 develops as we spend more time with Abby and her crew, and less time with those who’ve come to know so well from the Jackson community.
HBO has hailed the success of The Last of Us Season 2, saying an “influx” of viewers has raised the series’ global audience to over 90 million since Season 1 ended. In the U.S., Sunday night’s Season 2 finale saw 3.7 million cross-platform viewers. The Season 2 premiere episode enjoyed 5.3 million viewers, which shows a decline from series opener to series closer, but Warner Bros. said it expects the audience for the Season 2 finale to grow “significantly” due to low viewing levels over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
It’s also worth noting that the Season 1 finale set an audience record of 8.2 million viewers, so the Season 2 finale has some way to go before beating that figure.
Last week, showrunner Craig Mazin indicated a fourth season is pretty much essential for the series. In an interview, Mazin agreed that in order to wrap up The Last of Us’ story from the two Naughty Dog-developed video games in Season 3 would mean Season 3 itself “would take forever.” So, while there’s a “decent chance” Season 3 will be longer than Season 2, at the end of the day, “there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season.”
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
