The Last of Us season two teaser gives a first look at Kaitlyn Dever as Abby

HBO has released the first teaser for the second season of The Last of Us.

The teaser is short, but it gives us a look at some of the returning and new faces coming to season two. New faces include Kaitlyn Dever as Abby and Catherine O’Hara’s yet-to-be-named character (although previous rumors suggested her character would be named Gail).

You can watch the teaser below, towards the end of HBO’s latest sizzle reel. It starts around the 01:15 mark. After the trailer, I’ll break down a few bits that I noticed, so be aware of spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 (the video game) below.

The first clip we see is a panning down to a party scene, lit by string lights. The back of a girl’s head is visible as she looks out over the dance floor.

This is Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, and the scene shown here is actually an exact replica of that same moment in the game.

As the above footage plays, we hear a woman’s voice ask, “Did you hurt her?” to which Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, responds, “No.” The trailer then cuts to Ellie’s terrified arm and her tattoo.

In the game, it is revealed that between the events of The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2, Ellie first covered up her bite wound (which she sustained in the mall with her friend Riley during the series’ DLC, Left Behind) with a chemical burn, and later had her ex-girlfriend Cat give her a tattoo over the spot.

The moment seen in HBO’s teaser seems to indicate Ellie getting a tattoo, suggesting we might meet Cat during the show’s second season (or, this is just a brief flashback scene and maybe it’s just Cat’s hands we see).

After we see Ellie’s arm, we see the lady who was talking to Joel, and that is Catherine O’Hara’s character. I was wondering if O’Hara would be playing a member of the WLF or a Seraphite, but she seems to be a Jackson native given her seemingly close relationship with Joel.

O’Hara previously said that she filmed scenes with both Joel and Ellie, so I’m now wondering if she’ll try to act as a mediator between the two during the Jackson scenes (those who’ve played the game know that there’s friction between Joel and Ellie after the events of Part 1).

My other theory is that she’s some sort of regular therapist that Jackson’s community trusts. Her role in the show would be more of a completely new character, so that would fit. The first season also dealt with Joel’s trauma and mental health, so this could be the next evolution of his journey.

At this point I don’t know exactly what happens in the next scene. Ellie is seen screaming as someone off-screen tries to hold her down on some kind of bed.

First, I wondered if this was a traumatic dream that Ellie had, and if she was imagining herself in Firefly Hospital and unable to stop Joel from his killing spree.

I then wondered if this was someone else pouring the chemicals on her bite wound, and Ellie was screaming in pain. This would indicate that Ellie and Joel had entrusted it to various other members of the Jackson community, so I’m not sure how likely this is. Thoughts are welcome!

We’re back outside for the next short clip, which shows a snowy landscape with a large walled structure – Jackson – being stormed by a large horde of running attackers. Although we can’t see their faces, it’s fair to assume that this is a horde of infected runners.

The next clip shows Gabriel Luna’s Tommy using his gun to fire into the snow, I assume at these runners, in order to defend Jackson. In the game, the citizens of Jackson regularly patrol the surrounding areas to defend the settlement from the infected.

The next few clips are again short, but we do get our first official look at the Seraphites from season two: Isabela Merced as Dina and Jeffrey Wright, reprising his role as Isaac.

Previous footage had leaked of Merced on set with Ramsey while they were filming in Canada. An image of Wright also appeared online, and it seemed to suggest that we’d learn more about Isaac’s backstory when season two airs.

Finally, we get our first quick glimpse of Dever’s Abby. This image is almost a carbon copy of the same moment in the game. We see Abby in a dark cap fleeing from a swarm of infected.

She is on the verge of being overwhelmed by the swarm, as a wire fence is pressed down on her as she tries to crawl through the snow to safety.

The last few images of the teaser show a horse ride in the snow (something we also see in the game).

We also see Ellie and Dina running in a subway from a clicker. I think this represents the ‘Tunnels’ section of The Last of Us Part 2, where the two make their way through train cars while fighting enemies.

The final shot of the teaser shows Joel, with a tear streaming down his cheek, telling O’Hara that he saved Ellie. At the beginning of The Last of Us Part 2, Joel confides in his brother Tommy. He may do this again in the series, but I wonder if this tête-à-tête between Joel and O’Hara’s character will open the season.

Then the teaser ends.

So, what do you think so far? I would have liked to see more of Abby and the WLF, but this was really just a teaser, so I’m sure we’ll see more of them in the coming months.

The second season of The Last of Us is set to air in 2025. It won’t cover the entire second game, but will feature “far more infected” than the first season.