6 'The Last of Us' Season 2 Theories Fans Can’t Stop Thinking About

Pedro Pascal has played such a vital role in this show's success that it's virtually impossible to imagine his character, Joel, getting nixed and never returning. So yes, while his character is no longer alive, it's very likely we'll see him through a couple of flashbacks.

Neil Druckmann, a showrunner and co-creator of the game, even teased that he'll be seen again after episode two. On the official Last of Us podcast, he said, “This is where the story starts in earnest,” he said. “But I will say that we do know there are some mysteries here, some gaps, in Ellie and Joel’s relationships. And I think this is a spoiler because we put a trailer out there with lots of shots in it. This is not the last that we will see of Joel.”

On the show, fans are made to assume that Eugene simply had to die because he'd gotten infected. However, one Reddit fan speculates that more details will be revealed about his death, writing, "Eugene’s character may be expanded significantly to provide narrative balance and emotional contrast. An infection arc feels too predictable for Eugene’s death—there may be more subversive or tragic elements at play."

So, what's the real backstory if it's not an infection that caused Eugene's death? Per ScreenRant's Ben Sherlock, it just might've been a murder. He writes, "Eugene is an ex-Firefly, so I’m thinking that, at some point in the TV show’s five-year time jump, he found out about what Joel did to the Fireflies. In the game, when Ellie finds out Eugene was a Firefly, she wonders if he knew about the massacre. In the TV show, I bet Eugene found out, confronted Joel about it, and Joel killed him to keep his secret, then told everyone Eugene got infected to cover up the murder."

Now that Abby got her revenge, Ellie's gearing up to return the favor—and she'll go through quite the transformation as she continues to grieve Joel's death. But guys, could it be possible that Eugene's wife has a revenge mission of her own?

Reddit fan LaraCroftJolie wrote, "What if Gail, after what Joel did to her husband, decides to get revenge? She somehow gets in touch with Abby (using a radio in Eugene’s secret place?) or someone from her group and tells them where Joel is. Joel kills Eugene. Ellie finds out Gail betrayed them (either by going back to Eugene’s place and finding something that connects Gail and Abby or getting it out of one of Joel’s killers) and kills her. Like father, like daughter."

Those who are familiar with the game suspect that the season will end with Abby and Ellie's face-off at the theater. One Reddit fan writes, "The obvious choice is to end on the theater confrontation between Abby and Ellie, mirroring the game’s structural midpoint. This offers a dramatic cliffhanger and introduces a possible dual-perspective shift in future seasons."

Still, they point out that it may be "too soon to reach this point, since the show seems to be introducing us to Abby from the get-go and not in a second half (season 3) like the game."

Another fan shared that season two could end at the hospital, which would help drive the plot forward.

Redditor Hot_Bel_Pepper wrote, "Instead of the theater it could end in the Hospital to trick people that didn’t play the game into thinking that they’ll have a confrontation there, then season three could cover the final day of Seattle and Santa Barbara. Then, you can truly build up to the Rat King. And one of the final scenes could be Abby’s dream when she sees her Dad Alive. Meanwhile, Ellie would end with the scene where Dina is helping her clean up while she’s truly broken from what she’s done."

Sherlock also speculates that the final episode will reveal more about Abby's history, which would offer "a sense of closure that would be missing if it ended at the theater."

He wrote on ScreenRant, "There were set photos covering all three of Ellie’s Seattle days, from the battle on Capitol Hill with Dina to her journey to the aquarium with Jesse, and there were almost no photos featuring Abby actor Kaitlyn Dever. This suggested that the TV show would follow the same story structure as the game, covering Ellie’s entire journey through Seattle before going back to show Abby’s perspective of the same three days."

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