Why The Last Of Us Season 2 Isn't Trying To Replicate The Shattering Bill And Frank Episode

An episode of television like "Long, Long Time" comes around once in a blue moon, and the creators of HBO's "The Last Of Us" know it. At a press conference attended by /Film ahead of the show's second season debut, series co-creator Craig Mazin noted that he and franchise co-creator Neil Druckmann explicitly discussed their plans not to deliver a repeat of the side character-centric tearjerker from season 1. Instead, they teased an episode that Mazin called "gorgeous" and "different," while still differentiating it from the ballad of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett).

"One thing that Neil and I talked about was making sure that we didn't just say, 'Oh, that Bill and Frank episode, people really like that,'" Mazin recalled. "Let's do a Very Special Episode of 'The Last of Us' season 2.'" In classic TV jargon, Very Special Episodes are often those that address social issues or preach on important topics, but it's clear here that Mazin means that the pair didn't want to force the creation of a distinctive one-off in the style of the self-contained yet sweeping third episodes of season 1. "It just has to happen as it happens," he said.

Mazin, who in addition to co-creating and producing was the credited writer for the majority of "The Last of Us" season 1, then went on to single out a particular season 2 episode without giving away any spoiler-adjacent details. "I will say that there's a gorgeous episode this season, directed by Neil, that is different," Mazin teased. "It's not Bill and Frank, but it is, in its own way, its own thing, because it needed to be. Just you wait." A year ago, Druckmann was confirmed as a season 2 director, and when season 1 came to a close, he told /Film and other press conference attendees that the sequel season will at some points be "different radically" from the game on which it's based.

As season 1 proved, different isn't always a bad thing when it comes to adaptations. Pedro Pascal's version of Joel is softer and more loveable than the version first introduced in the award-winning Naughty Dog game series 12 years ago, and Melanie Lynskey's character wasn't even in the game at all. Plus, "Long, Long Time" is some of the best evidence in recent memory that expansion can be as important as accuracy when it comes to adapting from one medium to another. If not for an out-of-left-field masterpiece from the final season of "Succession," the disarmingly tender and intimate story would've been the best episode of the year it was released — or perhaps even the decade to date. It's good that Druckmann and Mazin aren't simply trying to replicate the acclaim and heartache of "Long, Long Time." Sometimes, the best way to follow up a rousing success is by doing something totally different.

We know "The Last of Us" can do a stunner of a one-off episode, but what should we expect the Druckmann-directed hour to include? Players of the video game will likely think first of a day that unfolds at the Wyoming Museum of Science and History, one that's pivotal to both Joel and Ellie's relationship and the heart of the sequel game's plot. Interestingly, though, Mazin and Druckmann openly referenced the game's museum scenes elsewhere in the press conference (and the museum scene can be seen in promotional material for season 2), so it's possible the "different" episode they plan to deliver is something else entirely.

There are certainly other characters in "The Last of Us Part II" who deserve more screen time in this serialized version of the story. Kaitlyn Dever's Abby is a second main character this time around, but she's unfamiliar to viewers who didn't play the games, so scripts will need to do a lot of work to set up her place and perspective in the post-apocalyptic landscape. Lev, a trans man who endures a lot in the game, also deserves some extra care and attention. Plus, the sequel has a deep love story to explore, an enigmatic cult, and more than a few dark nights of the soul for Joel, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), and all the other cordyceps survivors. There's also the chance that the episode could focus on Eugene, as the character was only seen in a photo in the game but will be played in the show by Emmy-winner Joe Pantoliano. You can't put "The Sopranos" and "Bound" actor in a show this major without giving him something major to work with, right?

We'll find out when "The Last of Us" returns to HBO on April 13, 2025.