The Last of Us fans convinced major season 2 twist has already been spoiled (2025)

The first new episode of the wildly popular zombie show opens five years after the events of the season 1 finale, with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) living in the remote (but infection-free) mountain town of Jackson.

Sadly, while Joel might be safe from zombie bites, he’s facing a far worse danger: an angry teenager and Ellie is barely talking to him as the episode begins.

Things are only made worse when, at the end of the episode, Joel knocks out a homophobic man for abusing Ellie, prompting the embarrassed teenager to tell her dear old foster dad that she doesn’t need him to protect her.

However, it’s the end of the episode that really broke fan’s hearts.

As Ellie returns home, she sees Joel sitting on their house’s porch, strumming on her previously broken guitar. Unlike in the game, though – where Ellie joins Joel for an important conversation – she walks by, seemingly unwilling to forgive Joel for whatever it is he’s done.

Or that’s how it seems at first glance. You see one eagle-eyed fan is convinced showrunner (and the episode 1 writer) Craig Mazin has hidden a whopping great big twist in plain sight, and they make a pretty convincing argument.

@neogalaxite wrote on X: ‘At the end of the season they’re gonna cut back to the porch scene and show that Ellie actually turned around and talked to Joel about trying to forgive him WATCH THIS SPACE.’

A number of fans are now convinced this is exactly how the season will play out. ‘100% that’s gonna happen,’ @TheFreshTrumpet replied.

‘They’re trying to throw off game fans with that one lol that scene was so impactful with how it was presented in the game, I think they’ve set themselves up beautifully to do the same here.’

‘EXACTLY THIS OMGOMG (sic) I had the same thought,’ added @saphkiramman. While @ABSoundtrack simply wrote: ‘They damn well better.’

Of course, not everyone’s convinced we’ll see the resolution to Joel and Ellie’s falling out this season. ‘I kinda think it’s gonna be at the end of the third season,’ suggested @PrimaveraVills.

‘The second season is only seven episodes, so it’s likely Ellie’s point of view and flashbacks until Ellie and Abby come face to face again in the theatre.’

@natexhaunted agreed saying: ‘I really believe they should hold off on that scene until season 3 at the farmhouse. It’s a real gut puncher after everything that goes on in the story.’

Of course, it is possible (as distressing as it is to admit) that things played out just how we saw, and Ellie didn’t stop to speak to Joel. It wouldn’t be the first time that Mazin has played with the game’s story.

The 54-year-old changed Bill’s (Nick Offerman) story to huge critical acclaim during the first season, and it’s well within his power to do the same again as he told Metro at The Last of Us season two premiere in London.

‘Well, I can’t walk you through the changes we made, because that would give a lot of things away.

‘But what I can say is that we followed the same process that we did in season one, which is to think about what the game does beautifully that we know, as a fan, I need it to be the same, and then there are things that the game does that are so connected to the gameplay that we don’t really have the ability to do in television, so we’ve made changes.’

Quite what those changes are we’ll have to wait and see, but we can expect them to have major repercussions over the course of the next six episodes and into season three.

‘I think it’s important for fans to know that everything that’s happening now in season two is almost like… it’s like a little seed that’s going to blossom into this very scary fungal nightmare in season three’ Mazin told Metro when we asked about the third season.

‘But all questions will be answered, all mysteries will be solved. Everyone is going to have to face their fate.’

The Last of Us season 2 is available to watch on Sky and NOW, with new episodes released on Mondays.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE: A full breakdown of WWE WrestleMania week and how to watch

MORE: Netflix quietly drops all 8 episodes of ‘best TV series of the year’

MORE: Harry Potter TV series officially confirms 6 ‘extraordinary’ stars joining reboot cast