Oh, The Last of Us. In season one, The Last of Us broke our hearts over and over again, but at least we could hang onto the beautiful dynamic between Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie when times got tough. But as a small but devastating change to The Last of Us‘ intro credits drives home something we already knew, that time is now officially over. Get ready for only tears, tears, and more tears, every time you crack open a brand new episode of The Last of Us. Here’s what has now officially changed in The Last of Us season two’s opening credits.
The Last of Us has a beautiful and symbolic opening sequence, which we love. And the amazing and terrible thing about symbolic intros is that they can be adapted as the story changes, to include new story and plot developments. Starting with episode three of The Last of Us season two, one such change officially took root. And it’s a devastating one. Throughout season one and into season two, The Last of Us concluded its credits with a meaningful final sequence which showed Joel and Ellie, rising, or growing if you will, out of a tangle of Infected vines. Joel and Ellie emerging from the fungus spoke to how their relationship was the heart of the series. And a little bit offered the solace of knowing that two of our heroes were overcoming the dangerous circumstances in which they lived despite the odds. But no more.
As many know, in The Last of Us season two, episode two, Joel met his death. Abby, a Firefly whose surgeon father he had murdered in Salt Lake City, killed him. It’s a vicious cycle of death and revenge. And the fallout is that now Ellie must take on the apocalyptic world of The Last of Us. This point is conveyed in many ways. But the change to The Last of Us intro credits is one of the most poignant and elegant. Now, instead of the intro ending with Joel and Ellie rising to meet us, Ellie emerges alone. OUCH. Talk about one last twist of the knife.
The Last of Us season two, episode three sees Ellie begin her own quest for revenge. And so, the cycle keeps turning its vicious turn. We just hope we don’t wake up one day to find the intro credits have changed again and now NO ONE is waiting to greet us as we enter the newest episode of The Last of Us.