Most have heard by now that The Last of Us season 3 is presumed to be its last. This news, whether shocking or expected, isn't necessarily a good thing.
What can arguably be known as one of the best zombie franchise television shows and live-action video game adaptations hit a decline after season 2 aired. Season 1 blew audiences and ratings away, following the same story as the video game of the same name.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey were cast to play the two main characters, Joel and Ellie, as they traveled across a desolate and dangerous landscape two decades after the world ended due to a fungus infection. Ridden with pasts full of pain, our jaded anti-hero Joel and foul-mouthed Ellie develop a father-daughter bond, ultimately leading to Joel making a decision that would affect the remainder of humanity.
As season 1 concluded with a lie and a choice, season 2 followed the sequel game The Last of Us Part II. Sticking to the original source material, the show made the worst mistake by choosing to kill off Joel rather than leaving his fate open-ended, which would've still worked for Ellie's desire for revenge.
The problem is that Joel's death is a passing of the torch, now placing Ellie as the main character, which infuriated fans of the video game. Naturally, fans of the show, whether they knew what was coming or not, were equally infuriated.
This is but one of several reasons many argued led to the show's decline. And now it seems HBO has deemed one more season long enough to wrap everything up.
The problem is that one more season isn't enough time. A lot of content will either be left out of the season itself, or everything will be rushed. A fourth and final season would make more sense. It has been confirmed that season 3 will follow Abby's story, as audiences will learn more about the character and her quest to find and kill Joel for murdering her father, the doctor at the Firefly hospital.
Even though we already know her reason for killing Joel, which led to Ellie's revenge and resulted in several of their friends getting killed, there is still so much that needs to be shown, explained, and explored. There's just no way a seven or eight-episode season will be able to successfully unpack everything. And this would be a real shame, as Kaitlyn Dever's performance as Abby in season 2 was truly remarkable.
Although we will most likely fail to sympathize with Abby, she does deserve to share her side of the story. Currently, The Last of Us season 3 is expected to begin filming in April of this year, which could mean a 2027 release date. However, an official premiere date has not yet been announced.
We're remaining hopeful that the third and final season will bring back the audience that left as well as deliver a satisfying conclusion.
You can stream both seasons of The Last of Us on HBO Max.