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Summary

  • Season 2 of The Last of Us has continuity errors due to timeline changes, like the presence of the Seattle Great Wheel.
  • The show’s creators intended to include game-changing details, leading to deviations from the game’s storyline.
  • Season 2 finale viewership decreased by 30%, suggesting a struggle to sustain the success achieved in season 1.

2023 saw HBO’s “The Last of Us” make a splashy debut on viewers’ screens, demonstrating how seamlessly a popular video game could be adapted. Just two years later, its second season has wrapped up production. Despite the massive success of the first season for the streaming network, the return of “The Last of Us” in its second season has been met with some continuity issues stemming from timeline adjustments that have left a few fans uncomfortable. Now that the finale of season 2 has aired, one notable discrepancy stands out prominently.

The creators of the show, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, have hinted that they would introduce a significant change when the HBO series resumes, which doesn’t come as a shock to fans since modifications have occurred. While the show closely adhered to the main storyline for many of its plots and characters, it didn’t strictly follow the chronology of “The Last of Us Part 2.” Despite being largely faithful to the first game in season one, there were differences. Introducing a real-world location into the second series while adjusting the timeline seems to present unique challenges.

The Last of Us Season 2’s Finale Includes the Seattle Great Wheel, Which Shouldn’t Be There

According to Comicbook, the Seattle Great Wheel, seen by viewers when Ellie went to find Abby at the aquarium in season 2, should not have been part of the finale because it contradicts the timeline. In reality, the Seattle Great Wheel opened in June 2012, long after the critical mass of the Cordyceps brain infection in The Last of Us Part 2. Since the show aimed to stick closely to its storyline even with timeline changes, the Ferris Wheel was included, but it’s unrealistic for that structure to be there in 2003.

As a movie reviewer, I must say that the narrative of Naughty Dog’s sequel, “The Last of Us Part 2,” is significantly larger and more intricate than its predecessor. This complexity may be why the first season of the HBO series stayed relatively straightforward, avoiding drastic changes. However, the second season had to be divided across several seasons of television because the sequel is split into two halves, each focusing on Ellie and Abby’s perspectives over the same three days in Seattle. Interestingly, the timeline shifts appear to improve the flow of season 2. Directly adapting the timeline from the game might have resulted in key characters being omitted in different seasons, potentially inviting criticism from the gaming community. Co-showrunner Craig Mazin hinted that “We will certainly play around with time as it was in the source material, but as Neil said, we will also mess around in ways that we believe are suitable for the show.”

It appears that The Last of Us season 2 has failed to match the success of its first season thus far. In contrast, the finale episode of season 2 managed to attract just 3.7 million viewers in the U.S., a 30% drop from the initial episode’s viewership of 5.3 million. As we eagerly await the arrival of season 3, let’s hope that the number of viewers will continue to grow as they delve deeper into Abby’s storyline.

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2025-05-29 17:54