The Last of Us HBO

We can't help but feel a little apprehensive as we inch closer to the start of Season 2 of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us. As we are now officially entering The Last of Us 2 territory, it's almost time for the much larger TV audience to discover one specific reason why that game was so controversially received.

We won't actually spoil it here for those still in the dark, but suffice it to say, Season 2 is likely going to kick off with a bang, one which players of the game will undoubtedly recall. We had some small debate here at Push Square about the exact timing, but we imagine that we'll see *that scene* in the first episode, airing on 13th April. The official word from the creator himself is that "I'm not confirming or denying anything".

Speaking to the newly resurrected Game Informer, Naughty Dog's big boss and HBO showrunner Neil Druckmann is both "excited and curious" to see how mainstream audiences will react. As 40 million people ultimately watched the series premiere, we imagine many will be returning for Season 2, and your parents likely aren't prepared for what happens next.

However, Druckmann implies that the scene in question might not play out precisely how players of the game remember: "When we're making it, we're just so focused on making it that I try not to think about what the reaction will be, but I'm very excited and curious to see what the reaction will be from people who are not familiar with the story and people who are familiar with the story, going over similarities and differences."

The Naughty Dog boss himself is now long-enured to the oftentimes overblown reactions of fans unused to challenging media, and is instead just intent on doing the very best job of bringing the games to life possible:

"I don't have any control over [fan reactions], so I'm not going to be worried about it. I have control over crafting the thing in front of me and leading a team to do that. So I want to make sure that we make something we're extremely proud of and very thoughtful in making. Then, we put it into the world, and the reaction is not up to us. That's up to our fans and how they react."

Are you ready for Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us? Do you think we will see the scene in question in the first episode, or will Druckmann and co drag things out? Try to hammer out the timeline in the comments section below.

[source gameinformer.com, via eurogamer.net]