SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses main plot developments, together with the ending, within the Season 2 finale of “The Final of Us,” at the moment airing on HBO and streaming on the service recognized at current as Max.
The ultimate scenes of Season 2 of “The Final of Us” are as intense because the present has ever been, and that actually is saying one thing. On her third day in Seattle, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) makes an attempt to pilot a tiny dinghy throughout Seattle harbor in a driving thunderstorm to get to the pier-side aquarium the place she believes Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), the girl who killed her father Joel (Pedro Pascal), is situated. As an alternative, a large wave washes Ellie into the territory of the Seraphites, a.okay.a. the Scars, a violent non secular sect who string up and disembowel anybody they imagine to be an enemy. That’s precisely what they nearly do to Ellie, till she’s saved when the Seattle militia the Washington Liberation Entrance (or WLF) launch a nighttime sneak assault on the Scars’ principal encampment, and so they abandon Ellie to defend their residence.
Then, after she breaks free from the noose, Ellie will get again into the boat and eventually reaches the aquarium as an enormous explosion erupts within the Scar territory behind her. However Abby isn’t there. As an alternative, Ellie finds Abby’s mates Owen (Spencer Lord) and Mel (Ariela Barer); she holds them at gunpoint and calls for they present her the place Abby actually is. Owen tries to shoot again. Ellie fires and kills him, and Mel is shot within the neck within the crossfire — at which level, Ellie realizes Mel is pregnant. As Mel bleeds out, she begs Ellie to chop her fetus from her womb. However Ellie has no concept how, and sits in helpless agony at Mel’s aspect as she dies.
Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Jesse (Younger Mazino), who’ve tracked Ellie to the aquarium, convey her again to the deserted theater the place Ellie’s girlfriend Dina (Isabela Merced) has been recuperating. They agree on a route residence to Jackson, and Tommy leaves Ellie and Jesse within the theater to begin packing up within the foyer. Out of the blue, there’s a loud thump. Ellie and Jesse race out of the theater, and Jesse is instantly shot within the head and killed. Ellie takes cowl and sees a gun to Tommy’s head. She hears a voice, demanding she get up. It’s Abby.
For the primary time since Joel’s dying, Ellie and Abby are head to head. Ellie tells Abby she killed Abby’s mates and pleads for Abby to let Tommy go. “I allow you to dwell,” Abby says, stuffed with fury. “And also you wasted it.” She goals her gun at Ellie, Ellie screams, Abby shoots, and the display screen cuts to black.
Out of the blue, we reduce to Abby asleep on a sofa. Her different WLF compatriot, Manny (Danny Ramirez), wakes her up and tells her WLF commander Isaac (Jeffrey Wright) desires to see her. She rouses herself and walks by what we notice is WLF headquarters, contained in the soccer stadium that after was the house of the Seattle Seahawks. The phrases “Seattle: Day One” come on the display screen, and the episode ends. We’ve gone again in time three days, and now the story is concentrated on Abby.
This twist mirrors the 2020 online game “The Final of Us Half II” nearly precisely; within the sport, Ellie disappears completely as gamers transfer ahead as Abby as a substitute, an train in radical empathy. What the twist means for the present is much less clear.
In a press convention on Could 23 concerning the Season 2 finale, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (who co-wrote the episode with Halley Gross, Druckmann’s co-writer on “Half II”) stated they didn’t know but how a lot — or, relatively, how little — they anticipate Ellie, Dina, Tommy and Jesse to look in Season 3.
“Even when I believed I knew now precisely the way it was going to go, I’m skilled sufficient to know that two weeks from now we might have a unique concept of the way it ought to go,” Mazin stated. “All I can say is we haven’t seen the final of Kaitlyn Dever and we haven’t seen the final of Bella Ramsey, and we haven’t seen the final of Isabela Merced, and we haven’t seen the final of lots of people who’re at the moment lifeless within the story.”
Added Druckmann, “Whether or not you will note them on display screen or not, their presence will probably be there all through.”
In an interview with Selection, Ramsey was extra definitive, saying they “probably” anticipate to have a smaller position in Season 3.
“I haven’t seen any scripts, however sure, I do anticipate that,” Ramsey stated. “I believe that I’m going to be there, however not an entire bunch. We’ve had conversations about that. I kind of have a tough concept of what it’s going to be, however I can’t let you know.”
Within the press convention, Mazin did present extra readability about different elements of Season 3 — primarily regarding unresolved questions concerning the origins of the WLF and the Seraphites, and what drove them to struggle.
“These questions are right and will probably be answered,” Mazin stated. “How did that struggle begin? Why? How did the Seraphites begin? Who’s [their] prophet? What occurred to her? What does Isaac need? What’s taking place on the finish of Episode 7? What is that this explosion? All of it is going to turn out to be clear.” As for whether or not Season 3 will convey Joel again in additional flashbacks — like, maybe, a take a look at what Joel and Tommy have been doing within the 20 years between the outbreak of the pandemic and the beginning of the present — Druckmann wouldn’t rule it out.
“I wouldn’t have guessed we’d have a brief story about Joel’s dad earlier than we wrote the season, so there you go,” he stated, referencing a flashback to Joel’s childhood from Episode 6. “You’ll be able to’t predict this stuff.”
Mazin additionally stated that he and Druckmann entertained a number of choices for learn how to incorporate Abby’s story into the present, together with intercutting her narrative with Ellie’s, or alternating episodes between them. However in the long run, they determined to stay to the construction of the sport, which Mazin acknowledged was a substantial threat for successful present that had already killed off one in all its stars in Episode 2.
“You retain asking individuals, ‘I do know you like this, we’re taking it away and supplying you with this now,’” he stated. “Then, hopefully they go, ‘Oh, you understand what, we truly actually like this.’”
As for Ramsey, they spoke with Selection about their problem with taking pictures that harrowing ultimate scene directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado, why they beloved getting battered with rain and sea on that dinghy, their secret signal language with Merced, and what was scariest about Ellie’s scene with the Seraphites.
Liane Hentscher/HBO
Let’s begin on the very finish. There’s clearly extra that occurs after the reduce to black. Is that the place you stopped taking pictures?
I truly haven’t seen it, to be truthful, so I don’t even know the place it cuts. However sure, I bear in mind, it’s fairly abrupt, and we did cease there. I truly discovered it actually tough. I really feel like we must always have like continued, as a result of it was fairly onerous to similar to all of a sudden cease. However sure, that’s the place it stops. Mwa ha ha!
So much has to occur in these ultimate moments. What’s the emotional choreography of that scene for you?
Yeah, that was a mad scene. I’m seeing my good friend get shot straight in entrance of me, seeing Tommy get threatened and nearly dying, and it’s simply a lot occurring. We truly did that scene a pair instances, to get it excellent. It was a very difficult steadiness, as a result of clearly, a lot tragic stuff is going on earlier than her eyes, however on the similar time she’s seeing Abby, this individual that she’s been ready for therefore lengthy. That was a very difficult scene for me, and it took conversations with Craig and Nina, the director, to determine what the fitting steadiness was of being traumatized and shell shocked versus this aim that Ellie’s needed to kill Abby is there proper in entrance of her — however then clearly, the tables have turns and it’s on her. It’s only a loopy second.
What a part of the steadiness was probably the most difficult so that you can discover?
It was going from the instant grief of seeing Jesse get shot to then being in submission mode and pleading for my very own life while it being Abby — it’s so particular. If it was anyone else, the scene could be simple, however as a result of it’s her, there’s simply a lot occurring in Ellie’s head in that second.
I used to be fascinated by the variations between the present and the sport, particularly with Ellie’s confrontation with Owen and Mel. On the present, killing Mel is an accident and Mel is alive when Ellie realizes she’s pregnant — whereas within the sport, it’s the alternative. How did you’re feeling about these adjustments?
I’d seen a lot of the gameplay of the second sport, however I hadn’t seen that scene, so I didn’t find out about any of the adjustments. To me, what I learn within the script and what we did on the day was simply the way it was. In order that’s one other — I had plenty of difficult scenes on this final episode! However yeah, that was a deep, darkish kind of scene. I used to be actually excited to get to do it and completely terrified, as a result of how terrible! That’s possibly worse than seeing Joel die, as a result of I believe in that second, Ellie realizes she has turn out to be all the elements of him that she by no means wished to turn out to be. And now she’s seeing the implications of her actions and her grief and her revenge and being unable to cease and suppose for a second.
Earlier than Season 2 premiered, you informed me that you just listened to essentially upbeat music earlier than these sorts of scenes. What have been you listening to for that one?
I truly don’t suppose I used to be listening to something. It undoubtedly wasn’t the identical as Joel dying. I actually needed to keep in a sure headspace for that one. Joel dying, it’s so instant and so intense and so, like, loud. This one was far more quiet and intimate and nonetheless. There was undoubtedly extra of a darkening of the insides of myself beforehand.
Ellie spends a lot time getting battered by the weather on that boat. Was that enjoyable to do? I think about you’re in some kind of water tank with followers blowing water in your face.
Yeah. It was proper on the finish of taking pictures, so I used to be completely exhausted, on my final little tether. However it was so enjoyable. I really like water and water scenes, and I simply acquired to be in a heated water tank all day within the studio. I actually had the perfect time. I additionally form of know learn how to do boats and stuff like that, in order that was thrilling for me to be within the water and steering the dinghy.
The scene in the beginning of the episode, when Dina takes Ellie’s shirt off to are inclined to her wounds and Ellie confesses to Dina about what Joel did, is so candy and susceptible. What was that wish to shoot?
It was actually stunning. There was an actual feeling on set throughout that scene of simply tenderness. It was so finished so respectfully. It felt like a quick and uncommon pause and breath in all of it. It’s not fairly often in “The Final of Us,” particularly this season, that two persons are sitting down collectively in a scene and having an emotional, tender second that isn’t, like, traumatizing.
Isabela Merced informed my colleague Kate Aurthur that in the course of the subway sequence in Episode 4, you guys created a secret signal language with one another. How did that work?
We realized there have been plenty of instances that we’d be making an attempt to kind of say to one another, like, “Do you want the bathroom proper now? As a result of I do, however do we have now time?” And Isabela particularly was in skinny denims and typically could be a bit uncomfortable, and she or he’d be like, “Are you able to cowl me whereas I, like, repair myself?” Stuff like that. So Isabela got here up with it. She was like, “We must always simply create an indication for that, so we don’t have to do that awkward factor of making an attempt to say it when there’s individuals round.” I don’t actually bear in mind them now, sadly, however that was good, non-verbal communication.
Did it ever contain motion sequences that have been actually intense and also you wanted some assist? That was a part of Isabela gave the impression to be speaking about.
Effectively, it was all fairly light-hearted. We did have one for “I actually don’t need to do that proper now.” However it was finished in a means of, like, we each know that we have now to do it. I believe that may have been like a bizarre head shake and a tongue out or one thing. It was only a consolation to know that there was somebody in it with you.
What was it wish to shoot the scene the place Ellie is strung up and nearly disemboweled by the Scars? Of all of the scary issues in that episode, it was the scariest to me!
The Scars are probably the most terrifying a part of the season, I believe. The precise feeling of the rope like round my neck — clearly, I’m on a harness and it’s not truly taking place, however it’s tight. So it’s not onerous to behave. I’m absolutely secure, however it’s very simple to trick my thoughts into considering that it’s not. All the scary elements are probably the most enjoyable to movie.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
