I Revisited The Last Of Us Season 1 Ahead Of Season 2, And There's One Thing I Think The Show Keeps Doing Well

The Last of Us Season 2 is coming, and your girl is freaking excited.

It’s been two years since the first season of The Last of Us graced our screens, and I have been having serious withdrawals as a girl who has loved the video games since they first came out. The first season, even with all the show changes from the video games, became one of my favorite shows ever—because, of course, it did.

It also quickly surpassed several other TV shows at the time and became one of the biggest HBO series. Now, with the 2025 TV schedule in full swing and the premiere not that far from away, I decided to revisit the first season – and there’s one thing they did that I truly hope they keep doing in Season 2 – and it’s probably not what you expect.

As A Fan Of The Game, I’m So Excited For Season 2

As I said in the introduction, I’m a fan of these games. But it goes deeper than that.

The Last of Us is a game that changed my entire perspective on gaming. I legit bought a Playstation 3 with my own money just so I could play the game, because I was desperate to experience the same story that all of my favorite Let’s Players had back in 2013. From there, I was a changed woman.

This game has defined what I feel is a good video game, with a story that will utterly shatter me into pieces and gameplay that will be hard to replicate anywhere else. Then, of course, the year I graduated college, the second game came out – and I don’t care what anyone says, I love that freaking game with a passion.

I have devoured each of these games, spending hours upon hours finding every single little Easter Egg and small side story I could. I straight up believe that somewhere in my life, I will use the name Ellie for something I hold dear – whether that means a future kid or a book character or whatever. I don’t know, but that name is getting used somewhere.

So, of course, I am eager for Season 2. I’ve been following the filming, the casting announcements that make The Last of Us cast even better, and more. And I decided to rewatch the series in honor of it coming back – but there’s one thing in the first season that the show keeps doing well that I need to see as much – if not more of – in Season 2 .

I Really Think They Do A Good Job Of Expanding The Stories Of Characters We Know

As I mentioned in the introduction, the show has made several changes. The storyline is basically the same – Joel has to take Ellie across the country because she’s the last chance at finding a cure, and everything else you would expect.

But the little changes that they made really improved the story and made it that much deeper. The change to Bill and Frank’s storyline legitimately made me sob my eyes out. Making Sam deaf and having to use sign language to communicate makes so much sense, and it makes his death even more heartbreaking. Everything that was changed was grounded and made sense.

Do you want to know what I also love more, though? The new characters. I need new characters.

But I Also Think The Way They Include New Characters Is Awesome

I’m not talking about the new characters that were added for The Last of Us Season 2. Those are characters that we all already know about from the game, all of which play an essential role in the continuation of Ellie’s story, as well as another new main character, Abby.

That’s one of the things I wanted for Season 2 of the show—to keep the characters the same and not change the story. From what I’m seeing—and avoiding all spoilers—it looks like they are going in that direction.

I’m talking about the brand new characters that we got to meet in Season 1 that were never even a part of the games. I’m talking about Melanie Lynskey’s Kathleen or Christine Hakim’s Ratna, who was the person who advised a bombing to stop the spread of the infection. Heck, even the addition of the game actors and their characters added to the fun.

When it comes to some of the best video game adaptations out there, it can be really concerning when one decides to mess with the storyline and add new characters that might not be exactly what the audience is expecting. In fact, as a fan of this series, it’s still scary for me to think about it.

But, The Last of Us does it so well, where each new character really serves a great purpose or is needed to push the plot forward. Or, and this is my favorite, it adds context to things that we never knew—like how factions work within the districts that Joel and Ellie travel to, or how the spread even began.

As someone who has theorized about this series probably since the beginning, it’s always so freaking lovely when the writers and the creators take the time and effort to add a character that means something. But it’s the extra mile where they add to the story and answer questions for the loyal viewers who genuinely want to know what is going on.

This show has done so well at achieving that, and I really hope we get to see a lot more of that.

I Really Hope That Season 2 Includes Even More New Characters – More Than Season 1

On the bright side, we do know that there will be at least one new and original character in Season 2 of the show, and that character is played by Catherine O’Hara.

Honestly, when I first heard of the casting news for this, I was surprised—considering Catherine O’Hara is not the first person I think of when it comes to the apocalypse—but I’m not necessarily complaining.

At the time of writing this, we don’t know who she will play. We did see her in the teaser for The Last of Us Season 2, and she was asking Joel some questions. For all I know, she could end up playing a therapist of some kind.

Either way, it’s a new, original character, and with The Last of Us’ track record on these characters, I have a feeling I’ll fall in love with her just as much as I have with the other ones.

So, now I need to count down the days until the premiere. I need more, and I need it now, please. April can’t come soon enough.