The Last Of Us: 8 Big Questions We Have After Season 1

Ellie outside in The Last of Us finale
(Image credit: HBO)

I can’t believe it. It’s finally over. 

After years of anticipation, of hyping up the trailers, of counting down the days until it premiered, The Last of Us Season 1 has come to an end. After several changes to the storylines but many amazing reviews, episodes that completely redid characters from the games, and so much more, the new HBO series has taken the world by storm and broke records along the way – and made me, a veteran player of the games, very happy. 

Obviously, non-gamers could be left with some big questions after that finale – and honestly, with how the show has been going, it makes me have some questions, too, because the creators could end up changing around some things from Part II (of the game). Here are some of the biggest questions we have now that The Last of Us Season 1 is over. 

Joel concerned in The Last of Us finale

(Image credit: HBO)

Is Joel Going To Face The Consequences Of His Actions?

I mean, this is arguably one of the biggest questions I’m sure anyone who watched the show has. In the season finale, Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) goes all Rambo on everyone in that firefly hospital when he discovers that Ellie was being prepped for brain surgery because the doctors there think they could make a cure out of her immunity – and they didn’t even ask Ellie or Joel whey they wanted. 

Because Joel was never really meant to be the hero of The Last of Us, he does what we were pretty much expecting – taking down every single last firefly in that hospital so he could get out with Ellie and save her. One needs to ask, though – is Joel going to face repercussions for his actions? 

Gamers who have played The Last of Us: Part II know the story of what happens, but the series on HBO has been changing up more and more things lately, so who knows what is going to happen to Joel.

Ellie smiling in The Last of Us finale

(Image credit: HBO)

Will Ellie Ever Find Out The Truth?

Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) has pretty much taken over our hearts with her sailor mouth and witty jokes over the last nine weeks, and while we’ve gotten some big reveals about her past and so much more, she was dealt one of the biggest lies ever in Season 1's finale when Joel told her the fireflies were done searching for a cure and didn't need her anymore. 

That isn’t the case, and we all know it. Judging by the way Ellie says, “okay,” it doesn’t look like she’s quite convinced by Joel’s answer when she asks him to swear that everything he said was true. But, something that big can’t stay locked in forever. Whether Ellie finds out about what happened on her own or Joel tells her, I have a feeling Ellie might end up finding out the truth behind Joel’s actions soon enough – and if it happens, it most likely will not be pretty. 

Gabriel Luna in The Last of Us.

(Image credit: HBO)

Will Joel Reveal To Tommy What Happened?

Out of everyone in The Last of Us cast, I actually ended up liking Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna) much more than I did in the game, because he seriously had so much more personality and depth this time around. We saw that Joel and Tommy were close brothers, despite the things that had pulled them apart. 

Joel has returned to Jackson at the end of the season with Ellie, so it makes me wonder if he will come clean to Tommy about what happened. If he tells him, does that mean he’s going to tell Ellie? Or just keep that to himself? With them being so close, I have a feeling that Tommy is going to ask about it, regardless of what happened, but we’ll just wait and see. 

Merle Dandridge in The Last of Us.

(Image credit: HBO)

Are There Any More Fireflies Out There?

From what Marlene said in the finale, she had to use all her forces to somehow get across the country safely and still barely managed, and now, Joel has taken out a good portion of the people she had – including the doctor who would've worked on Ellie. So that begs the question – are there any more fireflies out there? 

It seemed Marlene was the leader, and now that Joel took her out, where would other fireflies go if they were alive? Who would be the leader? Where would they regroup? We don’t see anyone else alive when Joel leaves, so we can probably presume that at least the fireflies who were in the area are likely all dead, but who knows – there just might be a few strays out there who are particularly angry with Joel and what he did. 

David in HBO's The Last of Us

(Image credit: HBO)

Did Any Of David’s People Survive And Want Revenge?

Okay, so, let’s be real and say that David was somehow even more terrifying in the show than in the game and I despised every single second of it. 

On a real note, we didn’t really see all of David’s group be killed. In the video game, we play as Joel for a good amount, as well as Ellie, who takes out several of David’s people, but in the show, we only see Joel take on a few. Ellie kills James (played by Troy Baker), and David, but after that, Joel is able to find Ellie and they leave together. 

We didn’t see any of David’s other group members – and that could mean trouble for both Joel and Ellie down the line. Granted, I’m pretty sure they took out a good portion of the men there, but that doesn’t mean there still couldn’t be some former group members lurking around. 

The first bloater in HBO's The Last Of Us

(Image credit: HBO Max)

Are We Going To See Any Other Versions Of Infected?

Why not? They’ve made so many little changes to the show that have really worked in favor of it, from the change in Bill and Frank’s storyline to the origins of the virus to everything else – I would so be down for some different versions of infected. 

I’m not sure how much grosser you can get from a bloater, considering those things are just covered in fungus and completely nasty and scare the absolute living hell out of me – pretty sure I’ve waste so many shotgun shells just trying to take those guys out in the game – but it would be cool to see some new designs for infected specifically created for the TV show – maybe like how The Walking Dead did it in its final seasons, but more realistic, if that makes sense. Don't need infected who suddenly grow gills or stuff like that.

Tess and runner in The Last of Us

(Image credit: HBO Max)

And Will There Be More Infected Overall Next Season?

I think one of the biggest complaints I saw from fans of the game was that there didn’t seem to be that many infected in the show. 

While that didn’t really bother me, as I saw it more as a show about surviving and found family than anything else, it did surprise me that there weren’t more runners or clickers around in a world that is supposedly infested by them, so that makes me wonder if Season 2 might bring us more infected.

One of the creators of the show opened up about this decision in an interview with Variety, saying that they chose to focus more on the relationships rather than the action. But I don’t know, I think I would have liked to see additional infected. We only saw the bloater once in the whole series. It would be nice to see more kinds of infected.

Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us.

(Image credit: HBO)

Are We Going To Jump Right Into The Game's Events From Part II? Or Have A New Story?

I have to say, if Season 2 of The Last of Us jumps right into the events of Part II of the game, I don’t think the world is going to be able to handle it, because there’s just so much that happens right out the gate. I do wonder, though, if we’re going to be getting some new story that might be original to the show.

The creators of the show confirmed in an interview with Variety that the events of Part II of the games would take place over “multiple seasons,” so I think that might mean we’re going to start off Season 2 strong, but that also builds the idea that there could be original content coming, as well. Part II is such a long and complex story that it makes sense to split it up, but at the same time, I’d be interested to see something original for the drama, instead of just jumping right into Part II.

What are your biggest questions regarding the end of The Last of Us Season 1? Are you just as excited as I am for Season 2? Excuse me while I go wait in a fetal position for another few years until it comes out – I can’t stand these long periods of time without a show anymore. I need more Joel and Ellie now. 

Alexandra Ramos
Content Producer

A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter.