“Logo Text [This story contains spoilers for The Last of Us season two, episode seven.] The Last of US SEASON TWO Ended with A Gunsot and A Cryptic Title Card: “Seattle Day One.” What does it all mean? The Hollywood Reporter First Spoke to Co-Creator Craig Mazin, and Mazin and Co-Creator Neil Druckmann Also Took”, – WRITE: www.hollywoodReporter.com
[ThisStoryContainsSpoilersfor[ThisstorycontainsspoilersforThe Last of Us Season Two, Episode Seven.]
The Last of Us Season ended with a gunshot and a Cryptic Title Card: “Seattle Day One.”
What does it all mean? The Hollywood Reporter FIRST SPOKE to CO-CREATOR CRAIG MAZIN, AND MAZIN AND CO-CREATOR NEIL DRUCKMANN ALSO DOUTTERS DURING A FINAL Press Conference Tackling Several Burning Questions.
The FIRST QUESTION, OF COURSE, IS WHTCHER ELLIE (Bella Ramsey) is Dead from What Seened to Be Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) Shooting Her wasted it! ”).
If you don’st to KNOW the ANSWER to that one, Skip the rest of this paragraph. Mazin Firmly Says We Haven’t Seen the Last of Ellie. Also, The Show Has Been Extremely Faithful In Its Adptation of Its Source Material, The PlayStation Games The Last of Us an The Last of US Part II. In the game, Ellie survives this encounter with abby and have a major role to play in the rest of the story.
As for the ending shower abbya being roose from Sleeping and A “Seattle Day One” Title Card, this Likely Signals Another Shift in the Show’s Narrative Focus. While the Creates Declined to Explicitly Confirm this Durying InterViews, Just As the Show’s Perspective Shifted from Joel Show Follows The Tracks Laid Down by the Game. This isn’t just a Clever Narrative Device, But Part of theme of the Show.
“I don’t THINK Television is Supped to Work Like This,” Mazin Says. “We’re Clearly Breaking Quite A FEW RULES, AND I LOVE THAT. AND I LOVE IT BECAUSE that is the point. This is not someting we’re doing as a gimmick. The Point of this Story – and this is Looked at from so Many Different Angles in so Many Different Ways – is that the Entire Concept of Protagonist is Flawed. The Entire Concept of Villain is Flawed. Our Way of Processing the World Through Heroes and Villains is A Mistake. It Ends Up Creating These Barriers Between People That Shouldn’T Beat. IT ENDS UP GIVING OURSELVES JUSTIFICATIONS AND CONVENENCES FOR BAD BEHAVIOR, AND IT ENDS UP ALLOWING US to Judge Other Summarily for Things that We Don’winde. We Know This Is A Challenging Thing to Keep Track of Emotionally. We Understand People Are Going to Be Provoked. But Part of this Story Is About Examining WHY We’re So Comfortable with Following One Person’s Point of View About Everything. ”
“Abby is the hero of her story,” Mazin Added Later. “WHEREVER WE GO NEXT, WE’ll Always Be Centering on Somebody, Whther It’s Ellie and Dina, or Abby and Owen… [But] Everything is Under the Cloud or Sunlight of Joel – What Joel Did to Abby and What Abby Did to Joel. ”
The Finale Also Saw The Death of Jesse (Young Mazino), Who Was Shot by Abby. “IT’s an interest situation besse dies in part because of elie, but elie doesn’t Pull the Trigger – Abby does,” Mazin Says. “And we understand that dina had this Great Relationship with Joel and She have gone in pursuit of abbyst of a sense of justice for that. So now quest. [for Jesse’s death]? Jesse’s Death is Going to Change Things for Her. ”
Another Big Moment – and a very Different One Game – Was The Traumatic Death of Abby’s Pregnant Friend Mel (Arila Barr).
“In the Game, Ellie Fights Owen (Spencer Lord), and Ten Fights Mel, and IT’s Only After Mel Dies That Her Coat Opens and Ellie Realizes She’s Pregnant,” Mazin Says. “BUT FOR this, Ellie Is Not Really Capable of Killing Owen – You Look at Bella and You Look at Sfere Lord, He’s 6’4 ″ an anust incredibly imposing. Kill Them.
Continued Mazin: “Not to be A Toormentor, But To Just Reflect Reality, Mel Is A Doctor and Understands in that Moment as Shee Dying Thatre Is A CHANCE TO SAVE HERTIN. WHATEVER SAVE THEIR CHILD. To Save their Child, and I Don’t Understand What Saying Because they’re’re’re’re utter of oxygen and sliping. HER FAILURE ISN’T OVER YET.
We Also Asked Mazin IF Ellie – Given Her Crushing Experience with Mel – would have still kildled abby if Ellie HadTten the Drop on Her Rather Thanks. “I would Say unquestionable,” Mazin Says. “IT woldn’t even be about whather shet it in her, it wound be about what kind of doesn’t HAV IN HER – WHICH IS Any ABITY TO RESTRIN HERSElf in the Pursuit of that. I Think Ellie Wuld’ve Crocked Down Right Next To Abby and Given A Very Similar Speech To The One Abby Gave to Joel. ”
As for ending on a cliffhanger, mazin Says they didor of other winds to end the Season.
“We Considered Everything,” Mazin Says. “Maybe We Should Just Interlace The Stories [of Ellie and Abby]? I just remember saying, ‘isn’t [switching perspectives] Part of the Genetics of How This Story Functions? ‘ It’s Just Part of the Genetics. Now What Itans Is We Have to Take Risks As A Television Show, and HBO IS BACKING US Taking Risks. But then again, we just did kill Pedro Pascal. Like [HBO] Understans that this show is going to be a figuferent show every season, which is a tricky thing to do some you’re a hit show. You Keep Asking People Like, ‘i Know You Love This, We’re Taking It Away and Giving You This Now.’ ‘
Another Key Question: Will Joel Appear in Season Three? Mazin Made It Sound Like A Potential Flashback Side Trip Featuring Joel and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) Isn’t Off The Table. “NEXT SEASON WE PROBABLY WILL HAVE A LOT more FLEXCIY [to tell side stories]”Mazin Says.“ Maybe a Side Trip to Jol and Tommy Terrorizing The Countryside, We’ll Never Know. I wouldn’t have guesed we’d have a short story about Joel’s Dad Before We Wrote the Season. ” DTen Later He Said: “[Tommy’s] Been In War, and We Also Know That for Some Time, He and Joel Were Doing Some Pretty Bad Things. SO there is the potential of seeing this outer side of tommy, and that is now about HIM DELIVERING ON His Understood Promise to His Brother. ”
The Duo Also Teased Season Three – to Some EXTENT, AS they DIDNN’T WANT TO GIVE Anything Crucial Away.
“We’re Telling You That Next Season, One, There’s An Epic Nature to Everything That’s About To Happen,“ Druckmann Said. “BUT This Other Story Is Going to be Really Important Coming Backing to Joel And Ellie and Everything We’ve Seen So Far.”
Adds mazin: “All i can say is we have the Seen of Kaitlyn Dever, and We Haven’t Seen the Last of Bella Ramsey, and We Haven’t See of The Last of Isabel Lot of People Who Are Currently Dead in the Story. ”