Spoilers are ahead for The Last of Us Part 2 and, potentially, The Last of Us season 2.When I heard that The Last of Us season 2 would be shorter than the show’s first outing, I felt relieved. The Emmy-winning HBO series’ slim 7-episode order — and the way co-creator Craig Mazin has talked about the abridged sophomore installment — indicate a carefully plotted story that spans multiple seasons. Set to adapt some of the material in Naughty Dog’s bestselling video game, The Last of Us Part II, the post-apocalyptic drama’s second season has a lot more to juggle in terms of both the game’s inventive narrative structure and nuanced world-building.

Plus, The Last of Us season 2 is not just a continuation of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) story, it’s a complication of their dynamic. The Last of Us season 1’s ending sets up their messy relationship. While Joel safely delivers Ellie to the Firefly hospital, he realizes that the doctors’ research for a cure will kill Ellie. Unable to lose another kid, Joel goes on a violent rampage, rescuing the unconscious Ellie. To me — and, later, to Ellie — the most frustrating part of Joel’s decision is that he hides the truth from Ellie when pressed.

Ellie Discovering Joel’s Secret Is A Perfect The Last Of Us Season 2 Finale Cliffhanger

Ellie Reckons With The Fact That Joel Took Away Her Ability To Choose

The second game opens with Joel telling his brother what happened, but the two withhold the truth from Ellie. Later, during an extended TLOU 2 flashback sequence, we learn that Ellie found some incriminating evidence while on a run and fled to the Firefly hospital. Joel catches up with Ellie at the scene of his crime, and she isn’t interested in avoiding hard truths any longer. “If you lie to me one more time, I’m gone,” Ellie threatens. Feeling angry, Ellie tells Joel they’re done. While I could also justify saving Ellie in the first game, her realization is a gut-punch.

The deeply emotional, chilling Last of Us 2 moment serves as an appropriate echo of the first game’s (and the first season’s) ending. In a weird way, it provides a measure of closure to that cliffhanger feeling at the end of The Last of Us, and, more importantly, resolves the tension around when, exactly, Ellie will discover the truth. Instead, the crushing scene opens up another arc: Will Ellie forgive Joel? With The Last of Us season 2 boasting just 7 episodes, telling the story in chronological order, so the sophomore season concludes with Joel’s confession, is the perfect path forward.

The Last Of Us Season 3 Could Begin With TLOU 2’s Major Death

Ending TLOU Season 2 With Ellie & Joel’s Conflict Sets The Right Tone For Season 3’s Themes

Ellie’s discovery of what really happened alters her relationship with Joel in a huge way. In The Last of Us games’ timeline, the resentment lingers for years. Although Joel still tries to be a protector and father figure of sorts, Ellie isn’t ready to trust him again. One night in Jackson, Ellie visits Joel to tell him that she wants to be able to forgive him — one day. “I was supposed to die in that hospital. My life would’ve f*cking mattered,” Ellie tells Joel before even mentioning the potential for forgiveness. “But you took that from me.”

If The Last of Us season 2 ends with Ellie realizing the extent of Joel’s betrayal — the way he took away Ellie’s ability to choose her own fate — then The Last of Us season 3 can open much like the second game. The third HBO outing can tease Ellie and Dina’s (Isabela Merced) budding relationship and the fact that Ellie’s still at odds with Joel before introducing Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). By the end of season 3’s first episode, the show could kill off Joel, setting the rest of the season into motion.

Better yet, the series could save the porch conversation for The Last of Us season 3 finale. Doing so would leave viewers wondering about the context and content of Ellie and Joel’s last real conversation. That kind of structure also hammers home just how frustrated Ellie feels — grieving Joel, but still unable to completely forgive him. As Ellie tracks Abby down, Ellie is haunted by this complicated mix of feelings about Joel, and I think this is one of the most effective ways for the show to capture that.

Telling The Last Of Us: Part II’s Story Chronologically Avoids Season 2’s Pedro Pascal Problem

The Beloved Joel Actor Can Stick Around For At Least 3 Seasons Of The Last Of Us

The update regarding the series’ second season is a huge relief for Pedro Pascal’s Joel. Although it’s unclear where season 2 will leave off, The Last of Us‘ commitment to taking its time is apparent. That not only works to the benefit of the larger narrative and its themes, but to the benefit of The Last of Us‘ cast of characters. For newcomers, the pacing allows for more backstory and characterization — but, for Joel, it means a longer stint on the series. That is, if HBO’s The Last of Us followed TLOU 2 exactly, Pascal would have little screentime.