【Lina Romay】

The Lina RomayLast of UsSeason 1 expanded the world of Naughty Dog's beloved game, and the second season is no different.

With the return of the HBO series, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann send you right back to the settlement of Jackson, Wyoming, where we left Ellie (Bella Ramsay) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) on the edge of town after everything that happened in Salt Lake City.

In Season 2, Ellie and Joel have been reunited with family since then, namely Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and his wife Maria (Rutina Wesley), two of Jackson's leaders. But with this pair comes a new character to The Last of Us, one who didn't appear in the Part II game: their son, Benjamin.

---

You May Also Like

---

---

SEE ALSO: 'The Last of Us': What you can expect from Season 2

I'll be referencing some light game spoilersin this article, so if you'd rather the narrative remain a mystery, turn back now.

Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller in "The Last of Us." Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO

It's one of the first differences between the game and the TV series in Season 2, the addition of Maria and Tommy's young son. The series' time jump covers five years we don't get to see between Seasons 1 and 2, during which time Benjamin has been born in Jackson.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

In the game, Tommy and Maria don't have any children. Adding Benjamin to their lives in the show allows actors Luna and Wesley to explore their characters' relationship with each other in a different way, illustrating how new life emerges and creates relative stability in a show where such a thing is rare. In Season 1, Maria explains to Ellie during the haircut scene in episode 6 that her son Kevin died before the Cordyceps outbreak, so Season 2 gives Wesley more room explore Maria's complicated relationship with motherhood.

Uncle Joel! Credit: Liane Hentscher / HBO

Benjamin also provides a major new opportunity for Joel's character, whose experience with fatherhood has been traumatic to say the least — first, losing his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) with the outbreak of the Cordyceps pandemic, and second, struggling to establish his bond with Ellie. The scene in Season 2, episode 1 where Joel bonds with his nephew over "shooting monsters" as Uncle Joel is outstandingly sweet, and honestly the first time we've seen Joel show his playful paternal side for an age.

However, I suspect the main impact Benjamin's presence in the show has is that it will add emotional weight to Tommy's life-changing decision to leave Jackson for reasons we'll leave unclear. It's a deeply traumatic departure for Maria, as Tommy's partner, and it'll be even more wrenching in the show now that Tommy is both a husband and a father. The stakes have changed for Tommy in the show, and his decision to leave Jackson takes on expanded significance.

---

Related Stories

---

• 'The Last of Us': What you can expect from Season 2
• Yes, 'The Last of Us Part II Remastered' is worth it: 3 convincing reasons why
• It was tough, but we found the 25 best movies on Max
• 'The Last of Us': Every episode, ranked least to most heartbreaking
• The best action movies on Netflix right now

Just remember, family members have not fared well in The Last of Us— never forget Season 1, episode 5, the series' most heartbreaking episode of all.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Watching The Last of Usand want to play the games? Here's how.

Topics HBO Streaming The Last of Us

• Digital Culture
• Science
• Shopping
• Games
• Life
• Social Good
• Deals
• Entertainment

• Dealbreaker
• Li Auto reportedly shelves plan to build third plant due to regulatory hurdles · TechNode
• Mazda forecasts “tough” competition to worsen near
• Semiconductor Industry Association urges restraint on China chip restrictions · TechNode
• Right to Burn
• BYD starts hiring spree for battery plant in Hungary · TechNode
• India rejects BYD’s $1 billion EV factory proposal, cites security concerns · TechNode
• Geely’s truck arm, Farizon Auto, secures $600 million in Series
• Show Workers the Money!
• Automaker Smart plans to raise $250

• Amazon's new Kindle Scribe has a stylus for note
• The complex allure of cursed images
• Hurricane Ian: Webcam showed Charlotte Harbor, Florida as landfall neared
• PETA criticized Google's Steve Irwin art and people are not happy
• Watch the powerful moment Cohen stared directly into the camera and slammed Trump
• Please enjoy the star of the 2019 Spirit Awards: Glenn Close's dog Pip
• The 'absolute unit' UK museum found a cute lost bat, named him Merlin
• Watch this dad's hilarious reaction to his 8
• The time is ‘Now for Northern Ireland’ to decriminalise abortion, campaigners say
• Prince William and Kate Middleton are the king and queen of draught beer

• The Saran-Wrapped Soul
• Alibaba invests a further $845 million in Lazada three months after last round · TechNode
• China’s Great Wall Motors to enter Uzbekistan market · TechNode
• BYD and MeetKai collaborate to create virtual metaverse showroom · TechNode
• Queer Poserdom
• Geely unveils Boyue Cool Smart + compact SUV · TechNode
• How to unblock XVideos for free
• Warner Music Group and TikTok forge expanded licensing agreement · TechNode
• Let’s Do It, Pruitt!
• Temasek China chief says AI companies in the A

• It’s Fun to Be in the DSA!
• Temu to expand platform access to local sellers in the US · TechNode
• China to boost private enterprise in effort to revive growth · TechNode
• Meituan introduces in
• Sex, Lies, and Videotape
• Mazda forecasts “tough” competition to worsen near
• AliExpress partners with PingPong to provide cross
• Shenzhen partners with Ehang and AutoFlight to develop low
• Hang the Landlord
• WeChat Pay now accepts foreign credit cards for payment in China · TechNode