The Last of Us showrunner explains the importance of Jackson in Season 2

The HBO adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game The Last of Us successfully completed its first season, and it was a roaring success. It broke a number of records when the season finale aired, surpassing the likes of House of The Dragon in terms of overall viewership. The TV adaptation allowed the showrunners to explore places and storylines that couldn’t be accessed in detail in the original games. One of them was Tommy Miller’s hideout at Jackson.

How The Last of Us TV show explored more of Jackson than the game

In an interview with Kinda Funny, The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann talked about how the TV show gave him more space to explore the town of Jackson, “One of the things we wanted to do in the game and just couldn’t do it, because we ran out of time and money is we wanted to go into Jackson, so if you look at The Last of Us 1 art book, there’s all this concept art of the inside of Jackson, because that’s where we originally wanted to do, and then we couldn’t pull it off. So it felt like the show gave us this other opportunity.”

Dina, the love interest in The Last of Us Part II — is a rare bird in gaming: A relatable Jewish character.

The Last of Us showrunner’s subtle nod to Dina in Season 1

Druckmann also went on to explain why exploring Jackson was necessary, “It’s like, ‘Well, it actually makes more sense to go into Jackson, instead of the dam to show this thriving society, and here’s this thing that you could come back to.’ And once we’re already inside, well, it makes sense to show Shimmer or it makes sense to show like some of their locations from ‘Last of Us Part II,’ or this cameo that might or might not be this character that everybody thinks it is.”

Ashley Johnson wants to see Bella Ramsey’s version of Ellie & Dina’s relationship

In one of her recent interviews with Deadline, Johnson expressed what she is looking forward to seeing in Season 2, “In thinking about Episode 7 with Storm Reid and Bella going to the mall and having that moment of being able to be kids … you get to see them smile and be happy. I’m excited to see those moments in Season 2 with Dina and see Bella’s version [of that romance].”

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