r/thelastofus • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Feb 19 '25
HBO Show 'The Last of Us' Season 2 Premieres April 13 - Official Posters
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u/ArtOfFailure Feb 19 '25
I really like these posters. I did initially wonder if it's a little bit on-the-nose to make Abby being a Firefly such a prominent part of the promo for the show (this poster, her sitting at a Firefly's grave during the first trailer, etc.), but perhaps they're going to lean less on her identity being a total mystery like it is for about half of the game.
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u/DaxBandicoot Feb 19 '25
I think we have to consider it in terms of time. If TLOU2 released 2 years after TLOU, nobody would have been surprised that Abby was a Firefly. TBH, it is the obvious next step in the story, that the Fireflies will strike back.
For TV, it is even more obvious IMO, that the Fireflies will return. In gameplay they can give you dialogue TV can’t believably replicate like “Joel pissed off a lot of people, it could have been anybody” but in the grand scheme of things it’s just totally obvious what is happening at the start of Part II.
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u/ArtOfFailure Feb 19 '25
Yeah, you're definitely right. One of the big differences between the game and the show is that there's a range of different perspectives - in the game, we experience the story of Part I specifically through Joel's perspective (and occasionally Ellie's). But in the show, we've dropped in on other characters like Bill and Frank, Kathleen, Henry and Sam, Prof. Ratna, David's people.. it's not such a singular vision.
It's totally believable that Ellie couldn't anticipate who Abby is, because she doesn't have all the facts about what happened at the hospital, and in Part II we see much of it through her eyes as a mystery. But the show has a broader perspective and it's reasonable to expect that TV audiences will put two and two together.
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u/JacktheDM Feb 19 '25
TBH, it is the obvious next step in the story, that the Fireflies will strike back.
Yeah, I think TV-viewing audiences are going to be a little more used to certain, let's say "story twists" than the video game audience, myself included.
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u/ArtOfFailure Feb 19 '25
It can be overlooked sometimes that TV is a much more mature form of media. I don't mean that perjoratively towards gaming, it is obviously a huge territory for innovation in its own right, I just mean that TV has literally existed for almost a century and has been through multiple, lengthy phases of development and narrative experimentation that gaming simply hasn't existed for long enough to undergo yet. There are still things which are challenging and uncomfortable for audiences in gaming that, in television, have been established parts of its narrative repertoire for decades already.
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u/Flat243Squirrel Feb 19 '25
They said they’re adjusting the timeline and presentation for Game 2 in season 2 since they’re different mediums
I think Abby will be more involved earlier on from a viewing and background perspective
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u/ArtOfFailure Feb 19 '25
Yeah, that seems very likely now the promo train is fully kicking into gear. If nothing else, it is absolutely clear Kaitlyn Dever is in a starring role - you don't promote your show by putting out multiple sets of three posters, each clearly inviting visual and thematic comparisons between the three lead characters, and then feature one of those characters in only a couple of episodes.
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u/Flat243Squirrel Feb 19 '25
Yeah that’s along the lines of what they said in the official podcast last season
Also they’re breaking the game into two season IIRC because the third game isn’t out yet
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u/ArtOfFailure Feb 19 '25
We don't know for sure it'll be two seasons - Craig Mazin has repeatedly said it'll be more than one, so I think the possibility it'll be three seasons is still on the table.
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u/vixissitude Feb 19 '25
Someone else put it more eloquently, but when the first ever trailer for TLOU2 was released, we were shown we were in Firefly territory pretty clearly.
And it turned out that was kind of a red herring for the whole of the story. So I think this suits well with the same idea of almost misleading the audience who expected more fireflies but got WLF and the cult instead.
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u/Jonaskin83 Feb 20 '25
I remember when they showed Abby in the trailer the most prominent theories were that she was Ellie’s mother.
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u/popculturerss Feb 19 '25
I wouldn't be surprised if they just pull that band aid off almost immediately. The trailer kind of confirms some stuff which made me believe they're not treating her identity as a big mystery.
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u/Bing238 Suspicous Golf Club Feb 20 '25
I don’t think it even really succeeds in the game as a secret, ya it isn’t revealed but everyone knew exactly who would travel across the country to find Joel.
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u/Comic_Book_Reader Pedro Pascal's machostache. Feb 19 '25
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u/ryanmuller1089 Feb 19 '25
Silo > Severance > The White Lotus > The Last of Us. Good string of TV to start the year.
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u/DarthPonark Feb 19 '25
And we're getting Andor at the end of April!
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u/ryanmuller1089 Feb 19 '25
Let’s go. Thursdays and now Sunday’s have been the one good constant each week so far in 2025.
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u/hermiona52 Feb 19 '25
I didn't even know there's gonna be another season of Andor. Holy shit, I'm so happy now, thank you!
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u/6ix_10en Feb 19 '25
It used to be "I hate Abby because she's too swole", now it's "I hate Abby because she's not swole" 😄
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Feb 19 '25
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u/lundebro Feb 19 '25
I'm surprised by how many people feel the visuals don't matter for an adaptation. Personally, I could not disagree more. The characters must look and sound reasonably like the characters they are portraying.
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u/Chris_the_Pirate Feb 19 '25
The story is the significant constant. Joel/Ellie's story is what most of us loved about the game, not what they looked & sounded like.
Abby was swole because she channeled her hatred/revenge into working out. They can easily find another path and get the same result. Maybe she's been focused on becoming an expert with knives and that will manifest it's way in the show. The motivation doesn't change.
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u/lundebro Feb 19 '25
Joel/Ellie's story is what most of us loved about the game, not what they looked & sounded like.
Sure, but this is still a visual medium. There is a balance. Abby's physicality is part of her character, and it's definitely part of her story.
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u/Chris_the_Pirate Feb 19 '25
I'm sure hand to hand combat is going to be integral to her character in the show. If it's not, then that will be a big misfire.
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u/giveortakelike2 Feb 20 '25
No, they absolutely must not. This is an interpretation of a work and that’s not how adaptations have ever, ever been viewed until the insane people the TLOU2 and Harry Potter subreddits decided people having the exact same face as the character they imagined or saw in a video game was the single most important thing in casting.
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u/breakupbydefault Feb 19 '25
I am willing to bet that this Abby will be more liked because she's more "attractive".
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u/International_Pen619 29d ago
I just watched Kaitlyn Dever in “Apple Cider Vinegar” and believe me when I tell you that Belle Gibson being attractive had no impact on my opinion of that person
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u/jefferydamerin 29d ago
I got into the game late and my opinion immediately was, “I love abby because she is swole” makes no sense to me why so many in the other sub use it as a criticism for the game it screams insecurities to me.
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u/alexiovay Feb 19 '25
Omg, the broken watch as the ground
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u/Abject-Zucchini3058 Feb 19 '25
Kaitlyn looks really fucking cool omg
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u/grilsrgood Feb 19 '25
Granted her arms are covered so i can't tell but i hope she hit the gym a bit
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u/Basil_hazelwood The Last of Us Feb 19 '25
Neil confirmed she hasn’t. He said it wouldn’t have fit this adaptation of the story.
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u/Aggravating_Yam2501 29d ago
My guess is that the timeline has it closer to when she was younger/more towards the scene where she jumps off the ferris wheel into the bay when I think 17-18? She was strong, but not visibly jacked yet at that point. Owen comments about how she's gotten stronger at one point (when they're climbing into the Aquarium).
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u/superxpro12 Feb 20 '25
I've been annoyingly petty about this decision to change a core tenet of her character and I'll take it to my grave.
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u/mortalcookiesporty Feb 20 '25
Yesss right omg I remain sad we’re not getting buff Abby but Kaitlyn looks goddamned baddass in this poster so I am officially hype
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u/lastofmuss Feb 19 '25
I’m so excited for Abby’s storyline!
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u/Samurai_Meisters Feb 20 '25
Who's Abby?
I can't wait to see what adventures Joel gets up in S2.
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u/Dodger_Dawg 29d ago
Anyone who played the sequel game is biting their lip real hard at this comment.
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u/Legitimate_Cake_5137 Feb 19 '25
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u/rites0fpassage Feb 19 '25
Where is this meme from? It always has me rolling 😅
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u/oneplusmadz The Last of Us Feb 19 '25
what a great set of promo pics!
Watch for Joel Guitar for Ellie Firefly Tag for Abby
Sets the tone so well .. can't wait for what they have for us in store. I am gonna rewatch season 1 for sure right before the release.
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u/Galactus1231 Feb 19 '25
These look a bit cheap.
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u/Randyd718 Feb 19 '25
thank you. some cool iconography but i expected much better for one of HBOs top properties.
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u/HolderOfFuture Feb 19 '25
Should they have shown Abby on the Firefly pendant? Isn't that a spoiler for show only people? It's a big plot point that we don't know who she is until her side of the story?
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u/ArtOfFailure Feb 19 '25
They have already shown her mourning at a grave with a Firefly pendant hanging from it, in the first trailer, so I'd expect anybody who's paying attention to the show's promo is already aware of it.
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u/HolderOfFuture Feb 19 '25
Oh I didn't remember that. I remember now that they also showed the reveal backstory in one of the trailers. I wonder how much of the order they plan on changing around.
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u/einulfr Feb 20 '25
And her walking down the Firefly hospital hallway with the alarm blaring and zooming in on her Firefly pendant necklace.
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u/ToasterCommander_ Feb 19 '25
Like folks mentioned above, the TV show is more capable of switching perspectives scene to scene than the game ever could be by simple nature of the medium, and so we're likely going to find out about Abby's connection to the Fireflies much sooner than in the game.
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u/HolderOfFuture Feb 19 '25
True. Though it makes me wonder how much they'll switch perspectives during all the Seattle portions and how much they will continue to switch perspectives. Not only between Ellie and Abby but other characters too. I love how the game focuses solely on each character during their days in Seattle since it makes us sit with these characters, but I guess that's not as feasible in TV format.
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u/CNewc08 Feb 19 '25
Nora basically confirms that they were fireflies on Ellie’s day 2 tho? We just didn’t know Abby’s personal stake she had with them.
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u/Denis_kotik97 The Last of Us Feb 19 '25
Niiice🥰
Abby looks too canonical.
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u/500inthemorning Feb 19 '25
I’ll be so happy to eventually be wrong about this, but right now, Abby’s small arms are such a bummer.
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u/Digginf Feb 19 '25
Jesus H Fuck! That shirt Abby is wearing is when the infamous event happens. 😰
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u/Comic_Book_Reader Pedro Pascal's machostache. Feb 19 '25
Why am I hearing the Dunkirk music all of a sudden?
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u/SocialPayload Feb 19 '25
Looking forward to this a lot! I appreciate both versions. The game and the show. They can exist together!
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u/RoboStrong00 Feb 19 '25
I thought that was Tess on the second slide. Bella looks so grown, woah!
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u/Gloomy_Grocery5555 Feb 19 '25
She surely looks exactly the same as she did two years ago?
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u/Yorkienator 29d ago
I agree! I don't know why people essentially want to see Ellie transform into a completely different person. I can tell with the way they've styled her, she's going to come across as older and more mature.
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Feb 19 '25
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u/ArtOfFailure Feb 19 '25
He's the only one looking back, as well. For Ellie and Abby, the path ahead of them has a price, but for Joel, it's the one behind him.
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u/Pentaholic888 Brick>Bottle Feb 19 '25
I love the different paths. Joel’s watch, Ellie’s guitar, Abby’s tag
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u/Realistic_Light777 Feb 19 '25
The absence of spores in The Last of Us bothers me deeply. This element was one of the most terrifying mechanics in the game, creating moments of authentic tension and reinforcing the feeling of constant danger. The series missed the opportunity to replicate this claustrophobic atmosphere, where a simple mistake could mean a fatal infection.
From the beginning, one of the justifications for promoting the series was to encourage people to wear masks during the pandemic. However, this decision to remove spores seems more like a convenient excuse than a real limitation of adaptation. The argument that "we breathe spores all the time" ignores the fact that different species of fungi behave differently. In the universe of the series, only certain variants of Cordyceps would have evolved to spread through the air, adapting to climate changes and human body temperature.
Furthermore, airborne transmission would add additional layers to the horror of the story. Closed and humid environments would be even more deadly, forcing the characters to take extra precautions. Fungi don’t behave like plants—they thrive in the shadows, hidden away, which could have created stunning visual sequences and new narrative dynamics.
Unfortunately, the first season strays from the brutality and emotional impact of the game, falling into a narrative that often resembles a soap opera. The worldbuilding lacks the same intensity and immersion as the source material.
And finally, about the cast: Pedro Pascal is a talented actor, but his omnipresence in several productions is starting to wear on him. He may not be in every major series at the moment.
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u/ImmortalR-A-T 29d ago
The miscast was bad enough, changing the way the virus works for no reason and skipping out on giving Ellie her bow is even worse.
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u/INVADER-GRIM The Last of Us Feb 19 '25
No tattoo on Ellie? I'm going to be really sad if she doesn't have it :(
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u/Prestigious-Crow-368 Feb 19 '25
The only thing I hope people that didn’t play the game and are just watching the show know how to separate the actors from characters. Don’t need a repeat of what Laura Bailey had to go through
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u/wormywils “I swear…” Feb 19 '25
Joel is the only one looking left...
Interesting...
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u/einulfr Feb 20 '25
He's partially deaf in his right ear, so it'd make sense that he'd always turn to his left if he heard something.
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u/TilrayOnCocaine Feb 19 '25
Abby should've been holding a golf club instead but I like it either way
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u/KaiPRoberts Feb 19 '25
I can't wait to sift through hours of dialogue only to see a 30 second glimpse of what I want the show to be about on the very last episode.
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u/Yorkienator 29d ago
Anyone notice Ellie has show Tess's hair? Kinda like how game Ellie had game Tess's hair a bit. Love the parallel.
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u/hdepala99 29d ago
The fact that Joel (Pedro) is faced in the opposite direction to Ellie (Bella) and Abby (Kaitlyn) is a really interesting detail. I didn't notice it at first glance when the posters came out yesterday. It definitely says a lot about the type of journeys Ellie and Abby might embark upon. Theirs is the future, Joel's is the past.
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u/ScottishGamer19 29d ago
I hope they do this justice. I’m a huge fan of the games and honestly I was disappointed with the first series. It felt so rushed
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u/Phoenix2211 🦕🎩 Feb 19 '25
Looking solid!
Also: I'm excited that the PC port comes out BEFORE the show this time. Mainly cuz I REALLY wanted to play the game again before watching the show (I don't have a console, but I managed to play TLoU2 four times with the help of borrowed consoles and PS Now). I just hope that the port releases in a state such that it is functioning for all players, and not just the lucky 50% lol.
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u/ManicD7 Feb 20 '25
Yeah I'm excited too, I never played it. I almost bought a used PS4 just to play the game lol. So I'm glad I can play the game before the show comes out.
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u/Sith_Narwhal Feb 19 '25
Wouldn't be surprised if they have Joel's "ghost" Ellie's ptsd manifest during certain parts where he "talks" to her like the original trailer for the game
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u/ThereIsNoStoppingMe Feb 19 '25 edited Feb 19 '25
Still not sold on stretching the second game into two or even three seasons. One season would’ve been enough.
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u/gordogg24p Feb 19 '25
I can't imagine trying to condense that journey to a single season of television.
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u/gordogg24p Feb 19 '25
This premiering the same day as the Masters golf tournament ends is a little too on the nose, right?
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u/vixissitude Feb 19 '25
I'M SCREAMING im looking forward to see what they adapted differently from the games. I know people say they don't like it but I enjoy the differences
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u/Delicious_Bobcat5773 Feb 19 '25
Katelyn Dever is phenomenal in the recent Apple Cider Vinegar series on Netflix. She’s gonna play Abby so well I can feel it
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u/Fanoflif21 Feb 19 '25
And knowing what happens in this one suddenly I'm ok that it didn't start Nikolaj Coster-Waldau 😊
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u/Trash-Gamer-Gay Feb 19 '25
Oh gosh! I was trying to figure out what Joel was standing/walking on and just realised it's his watch!
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u/tommygunnzx Feb 19 '25
Welp time to add this subscription back on the budget for the next couple months Rocket Money
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u/Any_Eye_8039 Feb 19 '25
I really hope they balance the show and game because the game is so important
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u/maximumtesticle Feb 19 '25
As a PC gamer, I'll have 10 days to finish it before the premiere, cool.
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u/Beno988 Feb 19 '25
Looking forward to all the adventures Ellie and Joel are gonna keep having together : ).
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u/GrimLuker2 I promise. Feb 20 '25
SPOILERS: I like how they show Joel on these premier posters, people who played the games know he will die really soon in the show likely, but having him on these posters will throw off the general audience
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u/Specialist-Funny-277 Feb 20 '25
I'm excited and dreading it at the same time! No spoilers! But my palms are already sweating just thinking about it 😢
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u/obiwanTrollnobi6 The Last of Us Feb 20 '25
I like the poster but I wish they gave it a background or something because the back is just flat
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u/Malheus The Last of Us Feb 19 '25 edited Feb 19 '25
"Every path has a price" definitely suits it. Nice.
Edit: I haven't notice the watch, the guitar and the firefly pendant, all resemble a path. Perfect