The Last Of Us co-creator Craig Mazin compares one upcoming season 2 action sequence to a fan-favorite Game of Thrones battle. Premiering in 2023, the HBO show adapts the hit PlayStation video game franchise from Naughty Dog, following survivors Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they traverse the U.S. following a deadly fungal outbreak. After season 1's glowing reviews and strong viewership, The Last of Us season 2 is now only weeks away, with trailers teasing that the show's central characters will be dealing with an action-packed siege on the fortified city of Jackson, Wyoming.
In a recent interview with THR, Mazin, who co-created the show with Neil Druckmann, is asked whether he took any inspiration from Game of Thrones and the impressive ways in which it stages battles while putting together the Jackson sequence in The Last of Us season 2. The co-creator admits to being a major fan of the HBO fantasy series, bringing up the "Hardhome" season 5 episode and accompanying battle sequence as one that gets action right in terms of connecting the spectacle with an underlying story purpose. Check out his explanation below:
Certainly as a Thrones fanatic, I remember from watching “Hardhome” and not thinking about how complicated and impressive the action was. What I remembered was how moving and important the things that were happening inside the action were. That Wildling woman [Karsi], seeing her get turned, and seeing The Night King raise the dead and being like, “Hey, you and me, Jon Snow, we’re on a collision course, my friend, and the more you fight me, the worse it gets for you.” The desperation, the total loss.
That is really our philosophy about action. What’s the point? So in building this sequence, we were very ambitious because we just wanted to show how bad it could get. But always the question was: Why? What is this about, what does this change, and what does this mean for our people moving forward?
Jackson is, as we see in episode one, is growing, it’s expanding. There is a certain cockiness. They don’t seem particularly worried about the trouble outside. They’ve gotten a little complacent. They have a New Year’s Eve dance. They’re going to therapy,. They’re refurbishing homes. They’ve got patrols down to a science. On the other hand, you’re like: Guys don’t you know you’re living in a TV show?
What This Means For The Last Of Us Season 2
Hardhome Was A Game Of Thrones Game-Changer
Though Game of Thrones became an infamously controversial show during its last two seasons, it did stage some truly memorable action set pieces throughout its eight-season run. The Battle of Hardhome may not have been the biggest battle featured in the show, but it was shocking, with Kit Harington's Jon Snow suddenly finding himself facing off against an army of wights and White Walkers during a trip north of the Wall. On IMDb, "Hardhome" currently ranks as the fourth highest-rated Game of Thrones episode of all time.
There are some similarities between "Hardhome" and The Last of Us season 2's Jackson siege that are obvious from trailers alone. Both take place in snowy landscapes, for example, and both pit human forces against an attacking army of monsters attempting to breach wooden walls. In Game of Thrones, "Hardhome" cements just how big of a threat the Night King and his army are to all of Westeros, reinforcing Jon's motivations. It's unclear what the Jackson siege means for The Last of Us' cast of characters, but it's seemingly set to disrupt the established order in a major way.
Our Take On The Last Of Us' Hardhome-Style Battle
Season 1 Proves The Jackson Sequence Will Be Thrilling
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The Last of Us season 1, episode 5, "Endure and Survive," proves that Mazin and Druckmann – and that episode's director, Jeremy Webb – know how to handle massive battle sequences. Much of season 1 is about smaller moments of intense action with the infected and with other survivors, but the episode 5 battle is blockbuster-sized, capturing the chaos of combat against an army of infected, including the dreaded Bloater form.
The Last of Us season 2's Jackson battle is shaping up to be even bigger than the one in episode 5, with more infected on-screen than ever before, potentially meaning mass human casualties. If the episode that features this battle takes after Game of Thrones' "Hardhome" episode, it's certainly taking some inspiration from a stunning hour of television, making it one to look forward to.
