What We Lost: 7 Massive ‘The Last of Us’ Storylines HBO Cut from Season 2!

The Last of Us Season 1 didn’t have to make too many cuts. After all, the game is only around 10 hours long, and when taking into account all the time it takes to gather resources and beat infected, the story runs even shorter than that. The Last of Us isn’t in the same boat while adapting the second video game because, despite having at least two seasons to get through everything, there are so many major storylines to cover. Season 2 comes out of the gates swinging, sending Abby’s crew to Jackson Hole and having them kill Joel while making minimal changes.

As The Last of Us Season 2 progresses, it becomes clear that notable moments from the games won’t be exact replicas of their video game counterparts. The storylines on this list, though, don’t even get a chance to see the light of day in the HBO series.

1) Abby’s Crew Isn’t at Full Strength

The beginning of Season 2 features a scene in Salt Lake City, not long after Joel goes on his rampage, with Abby and her friends looking at the graves of the fallen Fireflies. They vow to get revenge on the man responsible, and after five years, they get their chance in Jackson Hole.

Abby, Mel, Nora, Owen, and Manny arrive in Wyoming and locate Joel pretty quickly. However, the rest of their allies from the game, Jordan, Leah, and Nick, are not present. The show may be saving them for Season 3, but there’s no mention of them in Seattle, making it feel like they just didn’t make the cut.

2) Abby Never Gets Mad at Owen

There’s definitely tension between Abby and the rest of the group while they’re in Wyoming in HBO’s The Last of Us, but it’s easy to chalk that up to her attitude. After all, her dad was the one tasked with making the cure, and Joel killed him without a second thought. However, the game drops a bombshell on Abby right before she meets Joel, making her even more unhinged during their encounter.

While talking alone with Owen, Abby learns that Mel, his current girlfriend, is pregnant with his baby. Abby doesn’t take the news well and runs away, which lands her in trouble, and Joel helps her get out of it. The show takes a different approach, having Abby just go out on patrol without learning about Mel’s secret.

3) Maria Doesn’t Have a Change of Heart

Joel’s death shocks the Jackson community, but it hits Ellie harder than anyone. In Season 2, as soon as she leaves the hospital, she prepares to head to Seattle. Dina stops her before she leaves alone and agrees to help, even getting Seth to give them food and a horse.

Maria has Seth’s role in The Last of Us Part II because Tommy heads out before Ellie gets the chance. Wanting her husband to get home safely, she gives Ellie and Dina her blessing to leave. Maria isn’t as on board in the show, though, because the council shoots down the plan to send a team to bring Joel’s killers to justice

4) Ellie and Dina Don’t Make a Pitstop at the Synagogue

Ellie and Dina spend most of Seattle Day 1 in the game getting the lay of the land. The parts of the city they are in still have FEDRA roadblocks, and it takes a lot of work to get around them. At one point, they need gasoline, so they visit a synagogue, where Dina starts talking about her past.

Dina talks about her family’s ties to Judaism with Ellie while they search the building, providing great insight into her character. The show doesn’t take the time to visit the synagogue, only having Dina discuss her family in passing.

5) Tommy Fails to Use His Old Tricks

Since Tommy leaves for Seattle before Ellie and Dina, they find plenty of his handiwork. They come across a couple of dead WLF soldiers, including Nick, who have clearly been tortured. Ellie immediately realizes Tommy’s behind the bloody scene because tying people to a chair and getting information out of them is one of the signature moves he learns from Joel.

Live-action Tommy takes his sweet time leaving Jackson, so he’s unable to leave breadcrumbs for Ellie. The most she gets is hearing about his actions on the radio as she listens for information about Abby’s whereabouts.

6) Boris Doesn’t Go on a Rampage

As Ellie looks for Tommy in Seattle, she searches different buildings and finds remnants of society before the conflict between the WLF and the Seraphites. One person she keeps reading about is Boris, who lived in the area when the WLF rose to power.

Boris didn’t agree with the WLF’s methods, but his friends feared for their lives, so they turned him in. Upset by the betrayal, he forced the turncoats into a room full of spores and watched them turn. Ellie finds him after he turns into an infected and has to put him down. The show doesn’t have Ellie search for Tommy until much later, meaning there’s no time for Boris to make an appearance.

7) Ellie Never Gets to Fight a Bloater

the-last-of-us-part-1-bloater.jpg

Ellie and Jesse head out to find Tommy when they hear WLF soldiers are taking fire from a lone gunman in The Last of Us Season 2. However, just as they zero in on his location, Ellie notices the Ferris wheel and aquarium that Nora mentioned before she died. She leaves Jesse to get Tommy alone, grabbing a boat to travel on the water.

During this journey in the game, Ellie runs into a few obstacles, including a bloater in an arcade. The show avoids having Ellie fight any infected, opting to have a group of Seraphites get their hands on her before she arrives at the aquarium.

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