The Last of Us series arrived at MAX in early 2023, when we were already experiencing the relaxation of the worldwide isolation of previous years, and the subject of the opening scene, which talks about a (fictional) fungus called Cordyceps, could – and does – cause a kind of apocalypse by transforming human beings into violent and uncontrolled creatures. Too close to home, but that wasn’t the secret to its success.

There was a huge expectation for the series because it is the adaptation of a hugely successful game, released in 2013 by Naughty Dog, and considered one of the best games in history, both for its gameplay and its deeply emotional narrative. Therefore, the TV adaptation generated a mix of enthusiasm and fear.

Having Pedro Pascal in the lead role of the crowned Joel was enthusiastically accepted by fans, but not so much his Game of Thrones colleague, Bella Ramsey, who divided opinions in the role of Ellie. But the first season was a hit with high audience numbers and overwhelmingly positive reviews.

It took two years for the story to be picked up again, and one of the most positive aspects for fans was how faithful the season was, with the most emblematic moments of the plot preserved in detail. On the other hand, due to the SPOILERS, there was hope that the series would expand the game’s universe, exploring new aspects of the post-apocalyptic world and the depth of the secondary characters. This has not yet happened.

Although some changes and expansions to the narrative have happened here and there, in general, the series has remained faithful to the original. That said, a month before its release, The Last Of Us is already flirting with the position of being a “phenomenal series”, breaking views records with the final trailer, accumulating more than 158 million views worldwide, on all platforms, and that’s just in the first three days of release. Can you imagine when it premieres?

And, of course, in the trailer breakdown, the most attentive ones noticed a change that could distance the series from the game, but on dangerous ground. That’s because the images suggest that an important part of the plot involving the antagonist Abby Anderson (Kaitlyn Dever) could be transferred to her enemy, Ellie. And what does that change? A lot.

SPOILERS ahead.

Abby will enter the plot – for the uninitiated – as a young woman who, like Ellie, is traumatized by the losses throughout the dystopian reality that divides humanity post-Cordyceps. She wants revenge for her father’s death and is a cold, trained, strong and violent young woman. Her father was the surgeon who was killed by Joel to save Ellie, which is why it is so complex for the three of them to collide and for Abby to be able to carry out her personal mission.

Obviously, by brutally killing Joel (which should be the end of the second season), she transforms Ellie into a woman determined to avenge her adoptive father, in a plot where the inverted transformation of the two (Abby begins to understand the emptiness of revenge and evolves as a person while Ellie begins to lose her humanity) is the great asset of The Last of Us. But the decisive turning point in Abby’s recovery is when she is captured by the Seraphites, an extremist religious group that rejects technology and is known for its violence. Her encounter with them is terrifying and definitive for the character’s turning point.

If they really remove this trauma from Abby to Ellie, her relationship with Lev and Yara would completely change the context, as would the character’s humanization, if they intend to maintain this turning point. Since I’m not a gamer, I don’t have a strong opinion on what this change potentially does to The Last of Us, but it seems essential to me. I like gray characters, and I hope they don’t simplify Abby. And that they don’t take Future Days out of the series in any way! Seeing Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey with guitars in hand already gave me goosebumps… and the countdown begins!

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