Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Last of Us season 2, episode 7 and The Last of Us Part II!
first The Last of Us season, The Last of Us season 2 has made a lot more changes to its source material. Some of these changes, such as Tommy's role in the story and the early reveal of Abby's motivations, have had a domino effect, causing changes further down the line. However, The Last of Us season 2, episode 7 manages to make these nine changes on its own.
The Last of Us season 2, episode 7 returns to the show's main timeline after The Last of Us season 2, episode 5 mostly focused on flashbacks of Joel and Ellie. Ellie has returned from killing Nora, bringing new information about Abby's whereabouts to Dina and Jesse at the theater. The group decides that it is time to head home thanks to Dina's condition, with Ellie and Jesse heading back into Seattle to find Tommy. Jesse and Ellie eventually split up, but once the four characters reunite at the theater, Ellie's actions lead Abby right to them.
9 Ellie & Jesse Think Tommy Is At The Aquarium In The Game
Since Tommy Is Tracking Abby
Image via Max
Ellie and Jesse's main quest in The Last of Us season 2 finale is to find Tommy, who split off from Jesse in order to look for Ellie. In the HBO show, Jesse and Tommy set up a rendezvous point at a library. The duo decides to head there, where they await Tommy's return. When they hear about a sniper on the WLF's radio channels, they head out again, believing it to be Tommy. On the way, Ellie spots the aquarium. She re something Nora said that alluded to Abby being at the aquarium, causing her to leave as Jesse continues searching for Tommy.
This is wildly different from how this search plays out in The Last of Us Part II. In the game, Tommy is the first one to arrive in Seattle. Ellie, Dina, and later Jesse track him throughout the three days, with them discovering the remains of Tommy's methods of tracking Abby. Through their hunt for Tommy, they learn that he has discovered that Abby is hiding out at the aquarium. Ellie and Jesse decide to go there, believing that this is where Tommy is headed. A radio communication reveals that Tommy is at the marina, but Ellie decides to go to the aquarium anyway to find Abby.
8 Shimmer Is Still Alive In The HBO Show
The WLF Didn't Kill The Horse
Another major change has to do with the fate of Shimmer, Ellie and Dina's horse. In The Last of Us Part II, Shimmer is killed when the duo hits a landmine, with a WLF soldier shooting the wounded horse. In the HBO show, they simply stash Shimmer away in a building, presumably going back for her later. The season 2 finale finally reveals why this change was made. When Ellie asks Jesse how he found the theater, he explains that he discovered Shimmer, letting him know he was on the right track. Furthermore, the gang talks about going to get Shimmer, although Abby's attack interrupts this plan.
7 Jesse Discovers Dina's Pregnancy In A Different Way (Thanks To A New Scene)
It Is Less Obvious In The HBO Show
A scene not featured in the game is added early in the season 2 finale, with it centering on Jesse giving medical treatment to Dina. Before he pulls the arrow out, he attempts to give Dina some alcohol. She refuses, which Jesse realizes is uncharacteristic of her. Later, when Jesse is talking to Ellie, he notes that this is strange. This combined with how she and Ellie have been acting causes Jesse to realize that Dina is pregnant, something that Ellie accidentally confirms. In the games, Dina's constant sickness is what clues Jesse in to her pregnancy.
6 A New Scene With Isaac Is Added
Hinting At Abby's Season 3 Story
Image via Max
Since HBO's The Last of Us isn't forced to keep the player character's perspective, it is allowed to have unique scenes that don't feature Ellie, Abby, or Joel. Early in the season 2 finale, a conversation between Isaac and another WLF soldier occurs. There, Isaac talks about how he expects that he will be dead by the next day, alluding to the WLF's attack on the Seraphites. He also talks about Abby's disappearance and her role in the WLF. This helps to characterize Abby and highlight how her story is occurring in the background, a benefit that the game doesn't have.
5 Ellie's Journey To The Aquarium Is Much Shorter In The Show
But It Contains One Extra Stop
Image via Max
The midpoint of The Last of Us season 2 finale occurs when Ellie decides to split up and seek out the aquarium on her own. Although it is a difficult trek, it occurs pretty quickly. She finds the boat, avoids some WLF soldiers, washes up on the Seraphite island, and then sails to the aquarium.
The Last Of Us Season 2 Just Left Out One Of The Game's Best Joel & Ellie Flashbacks
The Last of Us season 2, episode 6 adapts most of Joel and Ellie's flashbacks from the video game, but it left out one of the very best.
The trek to the aquarium is much more involved in The Last of Us Part II. Ellie's journey takes much longer, with the player controlling Ellie as she makes her way to the dock. Along the way, an intensive sequence where Ellie has to face a Bloater and several other Infected takes place. However, the endpoint is the same, with Ellie finally making it to the aquarium.
4 Ellie Goes To The Seraphite Island In The HBO Series
Further Teasing Abby's Season 3 Story
The one obstacle that is added to HBO's version of this The Last of Us Part II section is Ellie's brief time on the Seraphite island. While in the boat, the storm and intense waves blow Ellie off track. She eventually washes up on an island, where she is greeted by a group of Seraphites. The Seraphites kidnap Ellie and prepare to kill her. However, the Seraphites decide to spare her at the last second, with them announcing that WLF forces have made it to the island.
Ellie never goes to the Seraphite island in The Last of Us Part II, with her instead losing the boat and swimming the rest of the way to the aquarium. This Seraphite island scene is most likely meant to set up Abby's story in The Last of Us season 3, as it is an integral chapter in her arc.
3 Ellie's Killing Of Owen & Mel Goes Down Differently
She Intentionally Kills Mel In The Game
When Ellie finally arrives at the aquarium, her killing of Owen and Mel goes down very differently. In The Last of Us Part II, Ellie finds the duo and asks them where Abby is. She pulls out her map and tells Owen and Mel to point out where Abby is. When they attack, Ellie shoots Owen. Mel attempts to stab Ellie, but Ellie wrestles away the knife. She intentionally stabs Mel, realizes that Mel is pregnant, and then leaves. Ellie leaves her map behind, eventually allowing Abby to figure out where Ellie and the gang are.
Joel's "Future Days" Scene In The Last Of Us Season 2 Solves An Ellie Mystery In Seattle
The Last of Us season 2, episode 6 is finally here, and this Joel and Ellie flashback finally explains a major Ellie mystery from episode 5.
The show's version of this scene is different. Firstly, Ellie has the duo use a map that is already in the room. This could make it more difficult for Abby to locate Ellie in season 3, although this will probably be explained. Secondly, Ellie's killing of Mel is accidental, with a stray bullet hitting her neck. The sequence in which Mel attempts to talk Ellie through how to do a C-section is also added in the HBO show, as she dies immediately in the game. This change may be a bit controversial, as Ellie's accidental killing of Mel is more ive than her intentional killing of Mel in the game.
2 A Gunshot Is Heard At The End Of Abby's Theater Attack Scene
Hinting That She Shot Ellie
Image via Max
When Abby finally arrives at the theater, she shoots Jesse and keeps her gun pointed at Tommy, who is on the ground. At the end of the scene, Abby points her gun at Ellie. The scene then cuts to black and a gunshot is heard before the episode cuts back to Abby's perspective on Seattle Day One. While this theater scene is almost an exact recreation of the scene from the game, the gunshot sound effect is added. In the game, the next gunshot doesn't occur until Tommy attempts to attack Abby. Lev shoots Tommy with an arrow, at which point Abby shoots Tommy in the head.
1 HBO's The Last Of Us Skips Several Abby Flashback Scenes
They May Be Included In Season 3
Image via Max
Immediately after the final theater scene, the HBO show jumps to Abby in the WLF facility on Seattle Day One. This is not what happens in The Last of Us Part II, with it instead cutting from the theater to a childhood memory of Abby and her father. Several more flashbacks occur, showing her father debating the morals of killing Abby, Abby discovering her father's body, and Abby and her friends in the aftermath of killing Joel. Only then does the Seattle Day One scene play, with HBO's The Last of Us seemingly rearranging the order of these scenes.
The Last Of Us
- Release Date
- January 15, 2023
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Craig Mazin
Cast
Joel Miller
Ellie Williams
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- Writers
- Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
- Franchise(s)
- The Last of Us
- Creator(s)
- Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
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