THE LAST OF US Season 1 Alternate Ending Revealed; Second Game Will Be Adapted Over Multiple Seasons

THE LAST OF US Season 1 Alternate Ending Revealed; Second Game Will Be Adapted Over Multiple Seasons

The Last of Us' showrunners have revealed a slightly different ending for last Sunday's finale, while also confirming that The Last of Us Part II is going to be adapted across more than one season...

By JoshWilding - Mar 18, 2023 10:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Last of Us
Source: GQ (via GameFragger.com)

The Last of Us featured some noteworthy changes from Naughty Dog's hit video game, but for the most part, those were minor enough to not be an issue for the majority of fans. 

That edge-of-your-seat finale definitely did the game justice, anyway, but co-showrunner Craig Mazin has told GQ (via GameFragger.com) that the episode's closing moments almost played out a little differently. While not a drastic departure from how Joel and Ellie's story wrapped up on PlayStation consoles, it would have given that scene a slightly different feel. 

"The change was really more something that Ali Abbasi, our director, had been playing around with. He had this thought of just playing out this slightly longer, sadder version where Ellie says, ‘okay’, and then she turns and walks away," the writer explains. "And Joel looks after her. We see the two of them walking, not really together but apart, down towards Jackson. It lingers and then fades. There was something beautiful about it."

"Everybody was like ‘what do we do?’ And there was that meta-discussion of, are the people that played the game going to be more annoyed that they didn't get it just the way it's supposed to be, or are they gonna be more annoyed that they only got what they had before? And then how will everybody else feel? In the end, there's something very specific about ending on that close-up of Ellie. Not knowing what comes next. Not knowing what she does."

Co-showrunner Neil Druckmann would go on to say that, when they made the game, no one knew if there would be a sequel. While The Last of Us season 2 has obviously been confirmed, he argues that "it's not a cliffhanger, it's a proper ending," due to the fact it does line up with what we first saw back in 2013.

In the same interview, the duo went on to reiterate that their adaptation of The Last of Us Part II will take place over more than one season, though they declined to reveal whether it will be two or even three. 

That sequel was incredibly divisive given one character's fate, but Druckmann did tease some more alterations. "Some of the stuff I'm most excited for [in Part 2] are the changes we've discussed and seeing the story come to life again in this other version. And I think it's exciting because it leans into those feelings you had from the game, really heavily, in a new way."

Are you excited for The Last of Us to return? Do you think they handled the finale the right way? As always, you can weigh in with your takes down in the comments section.

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DTor91
DTor91 - 3/18/2023, 10:01 PM
Week late on this.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 3/18/2023, 10:15 PM
It makes sense considering the game felt like two sequels in one game. Season 2 will probably end with Abby finding Ellie. Season 3 will probably be about Abby's journey leading up to her finding Ellie. Season 4 will probably be about the battle between Abby and Ellie and what happens after with Abby going her seperate ways and Ellie, Tommy, and Dina returning to Jackson and then Ellie leaving to hunt Abby down again.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 3/18/2023, 11:21 PM
@SonOfAGif -
The trouble being, they'll lose a massive chunk of the audience when adapting the second game and an even larger portion of the audience once Joel is killed off. Nobody is connected to series Ellie and she cannot carry the series as the main character.
kirklazarus87
kirklazarus87 - 3/18/2023, 10:51 PM
They wanted Pedro for more than 3 eps
DenimChicken
DenimChicken - 3/18/2023, 10:56 PM
Loved this show, but I thought the finale was too short. Almost as though a whole plot point was cut or something. Anyone else feel that?
SpideyPuffsMJ
SpideyPuffsMJ - 3/19/2023, 1:41 AM
@DenimChicken - I feel like the show rushed through Part 1 to fit it in a less than 10 episode season
SorceresSupreme
SorceresSupreme - 3/19/2023, 1:42 AM
@DenimChicken - Yes, even after having played the game and seeing it unfold very similarly, it felt rushed, it didn't feel as too much of a climax for me.
SorceresSupreme
SorceresSupreme - 3/19/2023, 1:42 AM
@DenimChicken - I still loved it though.
SorceresSupreme
SorceresSupreme - 3/19/2023, 1:43 AM
@SpideyPuffsMJ - Part 1 was 9 episodes because the first one was divided in two but they thought half of it wouldn't intrigue viewers too much to come for the second one, so they combined it. Hence the hour and a half opening.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/19/2023, 5:54 AM
@DenimChicken - it didn't really cut plot, but it did cut danger. That's what I felt this show was missing.
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 3/18/2023, 11:16 PM
What a horribly boring show.

And that season finale was a waste.
connorblaze
connorblaze - 3/19/2023, 1:55 AM
@TyrantBossMedia - @Scarilian - where is all this negativity in this comments section coming from? I haven’t seen a lot of online reception but everyone I know watched this and absolutely loved it. It’s a huge hit. I had no interest in it to begin with because it sounded like just another zombie survival show, seen it a million times, and I don’t play video games. But it blew me away, I love it. The consensus from everyone I’ve spoken to seems to be the finale was oddly short, but very good. Some of them just show people, a couple of them fans of the game. Suprises me to see so many people hating in the comments here. …but it is CBM, you mother[frick]ers are negative about everything…
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 3/19/2023, 2:05 AM
@connorblaze - You we’re doing so well until you had to resort to insults and profanity.

Had you not gone into n that direction I would have taken the time to explain why I at least don’t like the show:
But I’ll pass on that now.
Humperdoo
Humperdoo - 3/19/2023, 2:20 AM
@connorblaze - You sound pretty negative.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 3/18/2023, 11:20 PM
Nobody wants them to adapt the second game
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 3/19/2023, 2:05 AM
@Scarilian - Hi, my new name is Nobody!
marvel72
marvel72 - 3/19/2023, 6:08 AM
@Scarilian -

Nobody such a great movie.


Kurban
Kurban - 3/18/2023, 11:50 PM
So they're drawing out the worse of the two games.
SpideyPuffsMJ
SpideyPuffsMJ - 3/19/2023, 1:40 AM
SPOILER

Doesn’t this kind of prove that offing Joel so abruptly in Part 2 was a stupid idea? lol. The show is not willing to dispatch Pedro like that
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 3/19/2023, 2:32 AM
@SpideyPuffsMJ - Not at all. Do you think people asked the same question when Ned Stark died at the end of the first season? This was ND's vision like it or not, and it's consistent within the world they created. A bunch of the fans wanted to just go on some merry jont killing infected but that's not what the game is about or why it became so regarded in a medium full of zombie themed content. The infected are simply a backdrop for a much more personal character driven drama, what the sequel did was double down on that.

I think any changes that lead to Joel's death being postponed until later in season 2 or even at the very end will be strictly down to building up characters like Ellie and Abby prior to the event that leads to their confrontation. I just feel like that would be more digestible for the general audience.
RealTurner
RealTurner - 3/19/2023, 2:58 AM
@LongMayHeReign - But Stark, and the Red Wedding, and deaths in Thrones in general work because they aren't just shock deaths for the sake of it; they are built into the story, before and after, and with a massive ensomble that can bear the weight of losing those players. At the moment this series absolutely cannot afford to lose Pascal, both an actor, and as the character he plays in the story.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/19/2023, 5:52 AM
@SpideyPuffsMJ - I think it doesn't prove that at all.

Splitting it in 2 does mean they can keep Joel around longer though, but I wouldn't be surprised if the last episode ends with the clubbing.
SpideyPuffsMJ
SpideyPuffsMJ - 3/19/2023, 5:30 PM
@LongMayHeReign - Ok, I understand the game is about story and not action. I think it was a terrible story structuring decision to kill Joel super early on and spend the rest of the game “building up” characters like Abby and Ellie *after* the emotional climax; where there is little to no hope of liking or enjoying playing as Abby after that moment, yet it’s forced on the player for several hours of the story. The show doing the opposite and most likely building up Abby and making her more likable hopefully completely changes how the game did it, because it was not enjoyable to play or watch.
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 3/20/2023, 9:30 AM
@RealTurner - Joel's death was not just for shock, it was consistent to the world they created and was a natural consequence for his decision at the end of the first game. It was also the catalyst for the entire second game so how was his death just for the sake of it?
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 3/20/2023, 9:37 AM
@SpideyPuffsMJ - Granted it took until she was crossing the sky bridge, Abby became my favorite character in the game personally. She had the most redeeming qualities out of her and Ellie yet still lost the most of either of them.

Like I said they'll change the structure to help the general audience digest it better.
RealTurner
RealTurner - 3/20/2023, 11:32 AM
@LongMayHeReign - Sure, but in a video game you are playing something. I know it isn't this way for everyone, but story comes way, way, way in the back, back seat for me in gaming. If the character I'm playing changes to another bunch of pixels and polygons, I'm okay with it. Story can be good, bad, it's just window dressing.

Here they only have the story. As I stated, after that first season, they absolutely cannot afford to lose Pascal after 1-2 more episodes. He is carrying the show. Yes, you can see his death as the in-world consequences of his actions, but that's separate from the show having a way to continue to tell a story that will engage you without him, and without gameplay. They would be down to a big fat ONE actually established character, and that's a look of weight to put on Elle's shoulders at the moment.
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 3/21/2023, 1:07 AM
@RealTurner - I don't expect him to die as early in the show as he did in the game as I've said a couple of time I believe on this article. I expect them to tell all the flashback scenes with Joel and Ellie and Abby and her Dad and friends in chronological order, and then Joel will die at the end of season 2 leading into season 3 being Ellie and Abby on a collision course.
Humperdoo
Humperdoo - 3/19/2023, 2:18 AM
I’m just happy with season 1. I don’t even think I’ll watch anymore seasons because I didn’t like TLOU 2. Unless they change what they screwed up with part 2, I really don’t have much interest in watching it.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 3/19/2023, 2:53 AM
I wasn’t enamored with season 1. There were a few great episodes but a lot of heavy handed story telling and Oscar bait without much of the danger or the game. With that said, I’m super excited to see some of the moments of the second game. I thought the story was good and going the vengeance route worked.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/19/2023, 5:50 AM
@MyCoolYoung - "a lot of heavy handed story telling and Oscar bait without much of the danger"

Aside from it being a missed opportunity the show didn't divert much from the game, that is a pretty good summary of why I'm not the biggest fan either.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 3/19/2023, 11:53 AM
@bkmeijer1 - other than some of the best parts. Like the hunters and infected. It was some missed opportunities with the cordyceps which I found the most interesting deviation from the game.

You mean to tell me they didn’t step on not one cordyceps line that woke up a herd?
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/19/2023, 3:26 PM
@MyCoolYoung - especially in a big city like Salt Lake.

That hive thing was pretty cool though, so I hope they bring that back.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 3/19/2023, 3:40 PM
@bkmeijer1 - me too. Hope it leads into an explanation for the ratking. Just more zombies in general. For a show about finding a cure for the zombie epidemic, the zombies were pretty under control
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/19/2023, 6:36 PM
@MyCoolYoung - yeah, everything seemed to be doing fine.

The ratking though, they better not skip that. That could be really terrifying on screen.
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