Since the critically acclaimed release of The Last of Us video game, the series intended to follow the storyline that has garnered fans worldwide. Now, with the release of season two, fans are noticing the first episode’s deviation from the game and new additions that had not been previously seen before. According to Comicbook, season one typically stayed true to the game itself, with only a few changes. Now it seems that the show is taking the storyline in a brand new direction. Showrunners Craig Mazin (School for Scoundrels, Mythic Quest) and Neil Druckmann (Uncharted) spoke about their excitement towards the opportunities amid the release and talk about season two’s first episode.

**Season two spoilers ahead**

Before the opening credits of the series premiere, the episode begins with showing a handful of Fireflies members, which had previously been reportedly killed by Joel in the ending of season one. Actress Kaitlyn Dever (Them That Follow, See You When I See You) who stars in the role of Abby, leads a group of survivors as they bury their dead. In anger and revenge, Abby vows to find Joel and kill him slowly for what he had done to the Fireflies. In comparison to the video game, Part II had previously introduced Abby without any context, leaving fans to wonder whether she was friend or foe. By adding the scene into the series with Abby burying dead Firefly members, Mazin and Druckmann have confirmed her role, which says she is a looming threat towards Joel.

Aside from adding in this change, the series also shows giraffes roaming around Salt Lake City once again. Mazin and Druckmann’s decision to bring back the giraffes, after the video game seemingly only showed them once and never again, adds new life and differences to look forward to in the upcoming episodes. While marveling at all the new and exciting changes being brought to season two, Druckmann spoke to Variety stating he loved the idea.

“I get excited when I see these opportunities,” he continues, “I’m like ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told in the game was superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”

Following Druckmann’s comments, Mazin refers back to the video game which started it all for them, giving the credit to the element of surprise from the video games. “There are things where we don’t have the element of surprise, perhaps, the way the games did,” Mazin says. “A lot of people who played the first game understood that Joel’s daughter was going to die very quickly in the first episode. Those people weren’t surprised. They felt it because it’s the journey.”

The Last of Us season two is currently airing every Sunday on Max, citing seven episodes in total. These episodes will air 9PM ET and 6PM PT.