The second season of HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us is set to air sometime in the first half of 2025, and fans were given their first peek into what it would hold when the official trailer was released this past September. While there were a number of easter eggs hinting at how the show’s producers were staying true to and/or veering away from the franchise’s roots, the most fascinating element of the trailer was its narrative framing device: a conversation between lead character Joel (Pedro Pascal) and a therapist played by Catherine O'Hara. This raised some eyebrows, as Joel never goes to therapy in the show’s source material: The Last of Us video games from developer Naughty Dog.
That got gamers asking: would Joel as a character choose to go to therapy at all? The video game community’s consensus is that their version of Joel would never do such a thing, calling into question how far the team behind the TV show — which is headed up by Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann — will change things for this adaptation.
It's true that Joel would probably benefit from a therapy session; in both the games and the show, he kills a hospital full of people to save his surrogate daughter Ellie from a surgical procedure that could cure the zombie virus that's devastated the world at the cost of her life. And then he lies to her about it. TheGamer recently published a piece entitled "Sorry, Joel Would Not Go To Therapy," which argues that Joel is an interesting character specifically because of the fact that he appears to deny himself any regret regarding his decision to save Ellie at the end of The Last of Us Part I.
In spite of this conclusion, author Andrew King is not surprised that Joel is getting the treatment that so many other violent male characters have gotten in prestige TV shows, especially on HBO. "The first season of HBO's In Treatment saw Gabriel Byrne's psychologist Paul Weston treating a fighter pilot with PTSD," King writes. "In the first season of Succession, the Roy children (sans Kendall) sit down for a joint session with their cruel, distant father, Logan. The Last of Us isn't the first HBO show to send a gruff man to therapy." And of course, The Sopranos was in some ways built around lead character Tony Soprano, the original violent male prestige character, going to therapy.
"It makes sense in a vacuum, but it doesn't make sense for Joel and it's a weaker story decision than the one Naughty Dog made for the game," King continues. "In The Last of Us Part 2, Joel won't admit that he did anything wrong. He even tells Ellie that he would do it all over again. She forgives him in spite of that. She has to accept him as he is, despite his decision to ignore her agency at the end of the first game. If Joel is tormented by his decision, that's a very different Joel – and a less compelling one."
While I'm still not exactly sure how therapy will fit into the overarching narrative of HBO’s epic adaptation, one thing is becoming clear. In spite of the fact that Druckmann directed the video game version and has expressed a desire to hew closely to his source material, it looks like distinct choices are being made when it comes to the treatment of The Last of Us’ main characters. These choices are bound to have implications for how each of their fates play out, adding a level of suspense to the show’s second season that will likely draw more eyes.
Still, would Joel really go to therapy? It’s clear that his character in the video game wouldn’t make this choice. But apparently TV Joel would, and the fact that we’re dealing with a new take on his character is all the more reason to watch when the show’s new season drops. Because love it or hate it, this team is making creative choices that could impact one of popular media’s most important modern franchises. It will be fascinating to see how it plays out when the second season arrives next year.
