The Last of Us: The decryption of the final of season 2 with Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann
We analyze with the two showrunners the shock events which concluded the suitable season of the video game The Last of Us: Part II.
The last episode of season 2 of The Last of Us has been available since today in Max, and he hasn’t finished talking. An intense, tragic, abrupt – and resolutely exciting final. As fans try to digest the events, the two showrunners Craig Mazin And Neil Druckmann have spoke at a press conference to explain their choices. First was there.
Attention spoilers!
An assumed cliffhanger
While Ellie persisted in finding Abby to satisfy her revenge, she ended up shooting Mel and Owen. And it was therefore Abby who ended up finding her to take revenge again, sticking a ball in Jesse’s head without warning. “”I let you live and that’s what you did.“Indigines Joel’s killer, before then shooting Ellie. Was the young woman touched? Killed? Will we know later …
For Neil Druckmannthis cliffhanger was obvious:
“”We considered other options, but none really held the road. This final point has always established itself as the natural destination of the season. “
A daring choice, which the two creators fully assume. “We have to take risks as a series”he adds. And this one will surely make the fans moan …
Jesse: an inevitable sacrifice
Especially since this final brutally leaves Jesse on the tile, he who had become in a few episodes one of the most loved characters of fans. Protector, loyal, almost too pure for this ravaged world, Jesse did not survive the conclusion of season 2 and the character embodied by Young Mazino knows the same fate as in video games The Last of Us Part II (2020).
“Jesse’s fate has always been sealed”slice Druckmannwhich ensures that no alternative has been envisaged: “He is a deeply altruistic character, a boy scout with the Joel. This is what makes him also endearing … and as vulnerable.”
And Jesse’s death is not without consequences: she will deeply impact Ellie (Bella Ramsey), but also Dina (Isabela Merced), of which Jesse was the former companion – and the father of the unborn child. “How could it not upset the whole balance?”questions Druckmann.
Craig Mazin go even further: “Ellie is partly responsible for the death of Jesse. It is not she who presses the trigger, it is Abby. But if Jesse is there at that time, it is because of her.” A domino effect that could well crack the Ellie-Dina relationship in season 3:
“Dina followed Ellie in her quest for justice for Joel. But now that Jesse is dead, who will she really blame it?”
Ellie’s obsessive spiral
Haunted by Joel’s death, Ellie actually embarked on a bloody man hunt after Abby. By the way, she killed two of the members of the commando who came to Jackson to kill Joel. Mel and Owen are no longer. Which is not likely to alleviate his thirst for revenge:
“Che lives, it’s an obsession. We have always talked about it between us as an addiction. It is like a drug that she would be addicted. The real question is: can it really free it? “
Craig Mazin Insist: “When Joel dies, Ellie howls: ‘you will all die!’ Not just ‘Abby, you are going to die’.
Mel’s baby
In the game, Mel is waiting for a child from Owen. But in the series, things are deliberately more vague. Craig Mazin was questioned by journalists about the identity of the baby’s father and he replied:
“”Well, in the game, it’s Owen. But in the series, it’s a little different: we don’t really know who the father is. We took another direction than that of the game.“”
She dies in a different way: in the game, Ellie kills Mel and Owen in an act of self -defense, Mel having been the aggressor during the altercation. But in the series, the approach is much darker: we see Bella Ramsey Pulling Owen while he advances towards her – the ball also touches Mel, involuntarily. “It is really a collateral damage. It is much more dark than in the game and it’s done on purpose …”
But where did Alice go, the game dog?
In the finale of season 2, Ellie enters the aquarium in search of Abby. Video game fans The Last of Us Part II then expected to see at a particularly cruel moment: the dog Alice stabbed to death by Ellie! On the PlayStation, this scene is striking, even traumatic – especially since we learn to love Alice during the segment where we embody Abby. Faithful and endearing, Alice saves the player’s life and plays with him in a memorable sequence. But in the series, this chilling execution does not take place. Why this choice?
Craig Mazin replies with humor, in reference to an episode of his series Chernobyl :: “We are entitled to a single episode of dog murder in a life (laughs) There are two golden rules in Hollywood: 1) does not spend your own money; 2) do not kill a dog on the screen!” More seriously, Mazin specifies:
“In live action, violence takes on a completely different dimension. It is more graphic, more brutal. There is no symbolic screen or animation to filter the impact. It becomes really disturbing.”
For his part, Neil Druckmann Stresses that the aquarium scene is already surrounded by extremely heavy sequences: Ellie borders on death, Mel and Owen are killed, Jesse dies soon after. “We are not one to hide behind our little finger. But at one point, we have to make choices. And there, it would probably have been too much.”
