Oh the humanity! As if HBO’s The Last of Us hasn’t hurt me enough already. Now we’re even entertaining the possibility that a third season might not be enough to wrap up the events of The Last of Us Part II. Let’s get into it.
In an interview with Collider, showrunner Craig Mazin mentioned that the team is always thinking ahead when planning out the series, and that they’ve thought ahead “to Season 3 and Season 4” to try to get as much visibility as possible.
When asked about Season 3 specifically, Mazin stated: “I think there’s a decent chance that Season 3 will be longer than Season 2, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different… But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome.”
“The thing about Joel’s death is that it’s so impactful. It’s such a narrative nuclear bomb that it’s hard to wander away from it. We can’t really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story. I’m not sure that will necessarily be true for Season 3.
Collider
I think we’ll have a little more room there. But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome.”
From the way Mazin has answered these questions, it does sound a lot like he’s more interested in exploring side characters like Bill and Frank from Season 1, and Eugene from Season 2. It’s not necessarily that the content from The Last of Us Part II can’t be wrapped up in Season 3 — in fact, I’d be very surprised considering how rushed Season 2 has felt — but that there’s no narrative space for these other side characters to breathe.
The idea is that with Season 3 more focused on Abby and away from the impact of Joel’s death, having episodes about side characters will feel less jarring. Even so, I’m not sure dragging out the show will do the story any favors, especially considering we’re probably in for a two-year wait in-between Seasons 2 and 3.
The Last of Us is now available for streaming on HBO Max.
