The next season of The Last of Us is set to continue the narrative by adapting The Last of Us Part II. The show could show these events in order, thus recontexualizing the narrative by building up Abby, and the cycle of violence with a different understanding. As such, this serves as an outline for a season 2 and as a summary of the game. Aside from Part 6, where Abby, Joel & Tommy head to Jackson instead and meet Ellie to better establish a relationship between Abby & Ellie before heading to Abby's hideout.
The Last of Us Part II and possible season 2 spoilers ahead!
The first part kicks off with Tracking Lessons, right where The Last of Us ended. Only this time, from Abby's perspective. Here, Abby hangs around with her dad Jerry before convincing him to operate on Ellie. After the (failed) operation, Abby finds her dad murdered, and she swears to kill the man who did it. This is an effective way to show Abby's side right away. It then jumps to the game's Prologue, which sees Joel spilling the whole thing to Tommy and swearing him to secrecy while they're on patrol.
The second part starts with Abby & Owen exploring in The Aquarium. There, Abby expresses she wants revenge on the man who killed her father and has no intention of giving up, despite all leads having dried up. Meanwhile across the Pacific West, Joel takes Ellie to a museum in Birthday Gift for, well... her birthday. At the museum, Ellie spots a mural calling the Fireflies liars, which starts seeding doubts in her. Regardless, these are chapters of (relative) happiness.
The third part solely focuses on Ellie & Joel. It starts with Finding Strings, where Ellie, Joel & Tommy go on patrol. However, Ellie's doubts start to grow more after they find a dead couple, but Joel sticks to his story. Ellie decides to head back to Salt Lake City in St. Mary's Hospital, and confirms her doubts. When Joel finally arrives, Ellie again confronts him. Only now, Joel confirms what really happened. Although Joel did it out of best interest for Ellie, she doesn't want to speak with him anymore.
The fourth part begins with Abby visiting Owen in Winter Visit, and telling him they found Joel & Tommy in Jackson and plan to head there soon. It then jumps a few months to the day of the dance. After a brief altercation with Joel at the dance, Ellie storms off. Later that night, Ellie passes Joel's house, who is on his porch playing guitar. Before cutting to black, Ellie gives one last look to Joel. As this episode only features a few brief moments, it can be used to explore Ellie's & Dina's relationship more deeply.
The Events of March 2nd
The fifth part starts where the game starts, with Waking Up. Ellie is waken up by Jesse, with whom Ellie explores Jackson. This is followed by them arriving at the stables, where Ellie & Dina have a snowball fight, are briefed by Jesse, and go on patrol to clear out infected. It then shifts perspective to Abby with The Overlook, showing she made it to Jackson. At the chalet, Abby heads out to Jackson to get Joel, despite Owen telling her the town is too fortified, but is quickly comes across infected.
The sixth part directly follows up on Waking Up with Patrol. On patrol a storm hits, forcing Ellie & Dina to take shelter before returning to Jackson. Meanwhile, Abby is being overrun by infected like in The Horde, but is soon saved by the very man she is hunting. They flee back to Jackson, where Abby meets to Ellie & Dina. When the storm dies down, Joel & Tommy guide Abby back to the chalet, where Abby's crew realizes who she brought in. Before Joel can react though, he's shot by Abby.
The finale opens with Jesse noting Joel & Tommy haven't returned yet. Ellie & Dina head out to find them, and like in The Chalet, Ellie is the first to find them. Ellie is quickly restrained and forced to witnesses Joel's brutal murder. However, before she is knocked out herself, she swears to kill Abby. The next day, similar to Packing Up, Joel is buried, Tommy races off after Abby's crew and makes Maria keep Ellie & Dina in Jackson. Instead, Maria lets them go and tells them to bring Tommy back.