Those that have not performed “The Final of Us Half II” could have felt a bit baffled on the finish of the HBO adaptation’s sophomore season. After an entire season following Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) on their quest to kill Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) in Seattle, the season 2 finale rewinds in its closing moments and reveals what Abby was as much as on the time that the pair from Jackson first arrived within the metropolis.
Commercial
It is a nod to how issues are paced within the recreation, which does the very same rewind and has gamers transfer by means of the identical few days they only performed as Ellie, however this time from Abby’s perspective. And provided that “The Final of Us” season 2 treats this second like an enormous reveal, it appears to be signaling that the present will probably be following the identical mannequin, with no less than half (if not all) of “The Final of Us” season 3 following Abby and her surrounding characters throughout the identical timeline as season 2 covers for Ellie.
Writing that every one out, it sounds moderately sophisticated, although the thought of a “Rashomon”-style rewind and perspective swap has been a standard cinematic instrument for a lot of many years. It is also admirable for the present to remain loyal to this distinct narrative construction from the supply materials. Regardless of all that, HBO is taking an enormous threat with this obvious perspective swap for season 3, and never simply because Abby is not precisely the most well-liked character within the fandom. Displaying the identical three days from two completely different views again to again is one factor when all of it happens seamlessly, however given the manufacturing schedule of status TV like “The Final of Us,” this live-action model might wind up extra complicated than poignant.
Commercial
The hole between seasons might actually harm The Final of Us
The facility of a “Rashomon” story is the power to match. That is a bit completely different on this case as Abby’s journey throughout these three days in Seattle covers nearly totally completely different terrain than Ellie’s, however the level stands: Absent main retreads, “beforehand on” moments, and flashbacks, a variety of the importance of how these two characters orbit one another could doubtless be misplaced as a result of hole between seasons.
Commercial
There’s additionally the matter of viewer curiosity. It is no secret that many gamers of the video games disliked enjoying as Abby as a result of they seen the character as a real villain after her homicide of Joel. That perspective was largely stoked by misogyny, hateful transvestigation, a scarcity of media literacy, and on-line grifters, however even with out all that, enjoying as Abby is supposed to be uncomfortable at first. The intention of the sport — and we will debate all day how successfully it accomplishes that intention — is to place you within the sneakers of a vengeance-driven zealot after which push you to unwind that fervor by seeing a special aspect of issues.
Once more, the facility there may be within the immediacy of the comparability. Most individuals do not rewatch reveals proper earlier than a brand new season comes out, which signifies that if season 3 largely consists of Abby’s story, it might really feel extra like an unbiased story with not one of the characters followers have come to know and love, moderately than an intentional juxtaposition to Ellie’s journey.
Commercial
Regardless of the problem, The Final of Us season 3 might nonetheless be nice
In brief, splitting up Ellie and Abby’s tales between seasons is an enormous threat. Had season 2 been given the manufacturing capability for 10 episodes as a substitute of seven, it is doubtless that it might have labored in each characters’ tales on the similar time, leaping backwards and forwards in a extra conventional method, or swapping to Abby for the ultimate batch of episodes. The selection not to try this is clearly very intentional — the artistic crew needs the distinctive impact of the arduous swap. And whereas that could be harder to drag off on TV than it was within the recreation, it’s doable that season 3 might completely nail it.
Commercial
One of many advantages of doing issues this manner is maintaining every season comparatively self-contained so far as the core themes and story being informed. Season 2 is about Ellie fighting grief, loss, and rage within the wake of shedding somebody she had a sophisticated relationship with. Abby’s story, with out moving into spoilers, is about institutional loyalty and the breaking factors folks attain earlier than doing the precise factor. By standing agency on these concepts, season 3 could possibly be a improbable story in its personal proper, particularly with Dever within the driver’s seat.
Catch-up montages and intentional dialogue can do lots to fill within the gaps in folks’s reminiscence. However even nonetheless, this can be a big swing from HBO, and solely time will inform if “The Final of Us” season 3 can pull it off.
Commercial
