HBO’s Last of Us Season 1 has the perfect cliffhanger setup

HBO’s The Last of Us has made a huge impact since its debut, with the show being renewed for a second season before the third episode aired. Now that we all know the show will be adapting even more of the available source material, it’s time to start thinking about how they’re going to wrap up the show’s first season.

We all know that HBO’s adaptation stays as true to the video games as possible, with the first season set to follow the adventure of Ellie and Joel throughout the duration of the first game. If the show were to be renewed (which luckily it is now), it means the second game could be split into two more seasons of content.

That means we’ll see everything that happens in the first game of this season, including that nerve-wracking scene where Joel carries an unconscious Ellie in his arms as he flees the hospital. This is such a pivotal moment in the games, and if the show has proven anything so far, it’s that it’s likely to be a star moment of the TV adaptation as well.

What we don’t see in the games, however, is the aftermath of what happened at the hospital, and this is where the TV show could create some brilliant cliffhanger tension ahead of season two. The second season of HBO’s The Last of Us was to end with a younger Abby tripping over her father’s corpse, collapsing, and then igniting a fire within herself that burns for revenge.

This would cue viewers that Abby is an important character to watch out for in the future, and give the audience a little more understanding of the reasons for her actions and why she uses such a cutthroat when referring to Joel and Ellie meets .

It would also fix one of the source material’s biggest problems. The Last of Us Part II kinda throws Abby into the mix and makes her seem like a big bad villain in the beginning. She is revealed to be a terrifying, violent person after killing Joel, while Ellie’s obsession with revenge is fully justified.

I didn’t really like or understand her until I played more than her and experienced what was really going on in her head. Seeing things from Abby’s perspective left me with this terrifying realization: Ellie’s feelings and hatred towards Abby and her need for revenge are exactly how Abby felt towards Joel after her father’s death.

Despite what you may initially believe, Abby is no more of an antagonist than either Joel or Ellie. In fact, she is thought to be only a few years older than Ellie, meaning she was little more than a child or young teenager when her father was snatched from her; not by the virus, but by murder by Joel.

Such a change would also help create clearer parallels between Ellie, Joel and Abby early on. All three characters have a lot in common as they all had to make selfish decisions in moments of desperation that caused others to suffer. They’ve all suffered losses, all have been forced to make sacrifices, and most importantly, all find someone they would do anything to protect – Joel with Ellie, Ellie with Dina and Abby with Lev.

This, in turn, would sum up one of the series’ most important themes beautifully: there are no good people in The Last of Us. There are only those who will do whatever it takes to protect themselves and the people they care about. Nothing is black and white and the gray people remain, leading to conflicts erupting between Joel, Ellie and Abby. There’s real potential to dig deeper into Abby’s injury in this context, and for the show to give viewers that understanding of how complex the situation is, way ahead of the games.

What do you think of this potential cliffhanger? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out the rest of our content. We have a variety of The Last of Us posts, so feel free to scroll down and check out the related articles for yourself.