The TV adaptation of one of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time has done wonders for itself. Anyone who has played the game before got to enjoy the characters and world they fell in love with, while people new to the franchise got to experience it for the first time. The show did great among viewers and raised the hype for the next season. However, the producers and writers may need to take some liberties on how they approach the new season that is said to come out later this year.
The first season’s story and plot points were mostly replicated in the adaptation. Aside from a few things added and removed, the story got to the same point as it did in the game, which makes sense. Unfortunately, The Last of Us Part 2 is not nearly as beloved as its predecessor. Most of the game had players following Abby, a new character introduced that incited rage and annoyance from fans. This dislike of the character comes from a certain point in the story that I won’t spoil for those who have not played the game. I will just say that the game somewhat ruins a lot of what people enjoyed about the first game and has resulted in mixed thoughts between the critics and the general audience.
In other words, to make the next season exactly like the game will not go over well with new and old fans. To me, this signals an opportunity for the showrunners to alter course and mix things up with the new installment. Similar things have happened with media adaptations before to make up for shortcomings that the original work had. If anything, it would be better to change the order in which certain events occur to make the big moments more meaningful and impactful. This could be a chance for the adaptation to improve the mistakes made by the game and add more creative freedom to improvise new dramatic stakes.
