“Last of Us” Season 2 Runtimes, Abby Change

The runtimes for the seven episodes that constitute the second season of HBO’s “The Last of Us” have been revealed and those hoping for some super-sized episodes are going to be disappointed.

Scooper ViewerAnon posted the list on Reddit, revealing that the new season clocks in at a total of 379 minutes (6 hours, 18 mins) – decidedly shorter than the 524 minutes (8 hours, 44 mins) of the first season.

That first season had two super-sized episodes that exceeded the hour mark – the first at 81 minutes and the second at 76 minutes. The rest ran between 43 and 59 minutes.

The second season’s longest is the sixth episode at 60 minutes which is being touted as the new run’s most emotional hour. All other episodes clock in between 45-59 minutes. The breakdown is as follows:

Episode 1 titled “Future Days” – 59 minutes
Episode 2 titled “Through the Valley” – 56 minutes
Episode 3 – 56 minutes
Episode 4 – 53 minutes
Episode 5 – 45 minutes
Episode 6 – 60 minutes
Episode 7 – 50 minutes

The news comes as further details about the new season have begun to emerge in recent interviews, especially about how it will change things up from the games – with a lot of it revolving around Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby.

Speaking with The Washington Post, game creator Neil Druckmann indicates the series will not be following the game’s distinct structure when it comes to Abby’s storyline. Instead, she’ll be immediately introduced in the premiere, and her storyline will be explored more than in the game, where much of it is held back until the second half of the title.

Druckmann says one reason is that by splitting the game’s story into two TV seasons, had they retained the original non-linear and perspective-shifting structure then Abby’s motivations wouldn’t factor at all into this season, and people would have to wait years for an answer. That’s something Druckmann says “didn’t feel correct”.

Another reason is the perspective shift that comes with the jump to TV: “The other reason, in the game, you play as Abby, you’re connected. We can withhold certain things here.”

Showrunner Craig Mazin says plenty of times they tried to copy scenes from the game in real life, but also had to adapt those: “Ksenia Sereda, who is our lead director of photography, has a way of saying, if we did this in reality, it would look horrible. She finds things that evoke the feeling you had in the game without necessarily copying.”

“The Last of Us” Season 2 premieres on April 13th.

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