The Last of Us season 2 confirms my favorite scene from the games is included, and I'm ready to be broken all over again

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

Even before The Last of Us season 2 trailer smashed my heart into tiny pieces, we knew it was going to be bleak. The arrival of Kaitlyn Dever's Abby among everything else (*gestures wildly at everything in The Last of Us Part 2) ensured it's not going to be for the faint of heart or, indeed, the full of heart.

The bleak, grim trip through the end of the world, though, does have its moments of joy – as few and far between as they are.

Instead, we're getting the brief interlude in Seattle between Bella Ramsey's Ellie and Isabela Merced's Dina that sees the former take her trusty guitar and serenade her companion.

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Ellie begins gently plucking the guitar strings and begins a slow acoustic cover of A-Ha's 'Take on Me'. A genuinely emotional reprise from the horrors that have been (and the horrors to come), it's probably Ellie's final moment of serenity and the beginning of the one fleeting connection that remains for her in the world. I mean, just look at Dina's face. She's in love.

What hurts the most is that the scene – which you can see in its entirety above – is completely optional in the game, which feels like one more gut punch from Neil Druckmann and the team for not checking every nook and cranny in the semi-open world.

Ellie (Bella Ramsey) playing a guitar and serenading Dina (Isabela Merced) in The Last of Us season 2 — (Image credit: HBO)

Given Isabela Merced's hype for the series and Bella Ramsey's praise of their co-star, we expect this rendition of the '80s pop classic to be a spine-tingling standout in a series filled with death, destruction, and way, way too many fungus.

Alongside Ramsey and Merced, the cast also includes Pedro Pascal as Joel, Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Young Mazino as Jesse, Danny Ramirez as Manny, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora Harris, Spencer Lord as Owen Moore, Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Catherine O’Hara as an as-yet unnamed character.

The Last of Us season 2 premieres on HBO in 2025. For more, check out the new TV shows headed your way in the near future.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.