THE LAST OF US Season 2 Showrunners Explain Bold Cliffhanger Ending: "We Have to Take Risks" — GeekTyrant
The Last of Us Season 2 showrunner Craig Mazin recently opened up about the team's decision to end the season on a controversial cliffhanger, explaining that while they considered other routes, the final choice came down to staying true to the DNA of the story.
Mazin said during a press conference attended by GamesRadar+:
'We were open to a different ending. We talked about it a lot. We considered everything. You know, of course, you want to plan. Maybe we should just interlace the stories.
'Maybe we should just go back and forth. Maybe we should try this, maybe try that, and then in the end, I just remember saying, 'Isn't this part of the genetics of how this story functions? It's just part of the genetics.''
Warning: spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 2 finale.
Unlike the game, which lets the brutal confrontation between Ellie and Abby play out, the show cuts the scene short, right after Abby shoots Ellie. That's where it ends.
The next moment, we see Abby waking up in the WLF compound on Seattle: Day One. For fans of The Last of Us Part 2 , this signals that season 3 will shift focus to Abby, showing her side of the story as Ellie and Dina rampaged through Seattle. But for those new to the world, the cut leaves a chilling implication… did Ellie just die?
According to Mazin, that ambiguity was a calculated decision and gamble.
'Now, what it means is we have to take risks as a television show, and HBO [has] to back us taking risks. But then again, we just did kill Pedro Pascal—they understand that this show is going to be a different show every season, which is a sort of a tricky thing to do when you're a hit show.
'You keep asking people like, 'I know you love this, we're taking it away and giving you this now,' and then, 'Oh, well, you know what? We actually really like this. Oh, that's nice.' Now we're giving you this, because that's how the story works, right?'
Love it or hate it, The Last of Us isn't playing it safe. This isn't a comfort show, it's a pressure cooker of emotional storytelling, and Season 2's ending is a reminder that the creators are fully leaning into the riskier side of adaptation.
With season 3 already primed to dive deeper into Abby's arc, the show continues to echo the structure and emotional tension of the games, just not always in ways fans expect.
So… how did you feel about that ending? Bold move or too much bait-and-switch?
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