The Last of Us season 2, episode 7: The biggest changes between the HBO show and the PlayStation game

The Last of Us season 2 has now come to an end with a very dramatic final episode. The HBO adaptation wraps up several of the major storylines while also neatly setting up the already-confirmed season 3. However, if you're a die-hard fan of the game it's based on then you might have noticed that there are a few changes along the way.

Not only does the HBO show tweak the chronology of the Naughty Dog game, but it also introduces a number of new scenes. We get into the granular details of this below if you're keen to find out exactly what changes have been made. Naturally, we'll be getting into big spoilers for the season finale of the show as well as what's happened up to this point in The Last of Us Part 2 game as well. We recommend you're up to date on both to not have any details spoiled for you.

Ellie knows where Abby is

In the show, Ellie returns to the theater and it's only later that she realizes where Abby is. However, in the games, she learned the truth from Nora and knows that Abby is hiding in the aquarium. She goes on to get cleaned up by Dina in the same way but Ellie doesn't reveal the truth about who Abby really is or that she knew about what Joel did.

In the games this moment leads directly into the flashback when Ellie found out the truth from Joel finally. This scene was actually shown in the previous episode but it was made to seem like it came after the dance, not two years earlier.

Jesse and Ellie head to the aquarium

Instead of trying to meet Tommy in a bookshop, in the game, Jesse and Ellie decide to head to the aquarium which is where they'll wait out Tommy. They do encounter some WLF people on the way, but they're teammates and it's not nearly as antagonistic as in the show. They do get split up along the way though and it's just Ellie who makes her way across on the boat.

Ellie doesn't go to the island

In this episode, Ellie briefly goes to an island on her way to the aquarium where she encounters some more Seraphites. This doesn't happen in the game. Ellie only goes to the island later.

Mel's death is a bit less accidental

In the show, Ellie shoots Owen when he aims a gun at her and Mel gets caught in the crossfire. In the game this is a bit less accidental as Mel attacks Ellie after she kills Owen and she fights back in self-defence, killing her. She then stabs Owen again. It's all a lot more brutal in the games. However, when Ellie realizes that Mel is pregnant, she does feel the same devastation but Mel doesn't try to get her to cut the baby out – that's a particularly grisly introduction for the show.

Isaac's plan

By this point in the games, Isaac hasn't even been introduced so we don't see any of the lead up from him and his team about the big mission they have planned and his hopes for Abby's future.

Abby's flashback

After Abby kills Jesse, we do get a flashback to her past, but it's not what we see in the show. Instead in the game, we go right back to when Abby was younger and spending time with her dad. This then culminates in her waking up at the WLF headquarters. It seems like the show will be saving Abby's flashback to her father's death until later in the series.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now available to watch digitally. For more, check out our guide to The Last of Us season 2 release schedule and read our The Last of Us season 2 review.