Cordyceps your eyes on this.

HBO has released its first teaser for the second season of The Last of Us.

The teaser is short, but gives us a look at some returning and new faces coming to the second season. New faces include Kaitlyn Dever as Abby and Catherine O’Hara’s still to be named character (although previous rumours suggested her character will be called Gail).

You can check out the teaser below, towards the end of HBO’s latest sizzle reel. It starts at around the 01:15 mark. After the trailer, I will be breaking down a few bits I noticed, so please be aware of spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2 (the video game) below.

The first clip we see is panning down on a party scene, lit up by fairy lights. The back of a girl’s head can be seen, as she watches out over the dance floor.

This is Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, and the scene shown here is basically a carbon copy from that same moment in the game.

While the above footage is playing, we hear a woman’s voice asking “Did you hurt her?”, to which Pedro Pascal’s Joel replies: “No.” The trailer then pans to Ellie’s scarred arm, and her tattoo.

In the game, it is revealed that between the events of The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2, Ellie covers her bite mark (which she received in the shopping mall with her friend Riley during the series’ DLC, Left Behind) first with a chemical burn and later, by getting her ex-girlfriend Cat to tattoo over the area.

The moment shared in HBO’s teasers appears to be Ellie getting the tattoo, suggesting that we may meet Cat during the show’s second season (or, this is just a brief flashback scene and Cat’s hands may be all we get to see).

After seeing Ellie’s arm, we get to see the lady who was speaking to Joel, and it’s Catherine O’Hara’s character. I previously wondered if O’Hara would play either a member of the WLF or a Seraphite, but she appears to be a Jackson resident given her seemingly close relationship with Joel.

O’Hara previously said she had filmed scenes with both Joel and Ellie, so I now wonder if she will try and act as a mediator between the two during the Jackson scenes (those who have played the game will know there is friction between Joel and Ellie after the events of Part 1).

My other theory is she is some kind of resident therapist that Jackson’s community confides in. Her role in the series was previously said to be an all-new character, so that would fit. The first season did also address Joel’s trauma and mental health, so this could be the next evolution of his journey.

Right now, I am not exactly sure what is happening in this next scene. Ellie can be seen screaming as someone slightly off screen tries to hold her down on a bed of sorts.

First, I wondered if this was a traumatic dream Ellie was having, and she is picturing herself inside the Firefly hospital unable to stop Joel from his killing spree.

I then wondered if this was someone else pouring the chemicals on her bite scar, and Ellie screaming in pain. This would suggest that Ellie and Joel had confided in several other members of the Jackson community, though, so I am not sure how likely this is. Thoughts welcome!

We are back outside for the next brief clip, which shows a snowy landscape with a large walled structure – Jackson – being stormed by a large horde of running assailants. While we can’t see their faces, it is fair to assume that this is a horde of infected runners.

The next clip show’s Gabriel Luna’s Tommy using his gun to shoot out into the snow, I assume at these very runners, defending Jackson. In the game, Jackson’s residents regularly patrol the surrounding areas to defend the settlement from infected.

The next few clips are again brief, but we get our first official look at season two’s Seraphites, Isabela Merced as Dina and Jeffrey Wright, reprising his role as Isaac.

Previous images had leaked of Merced on set with Ramsey, as they filmed in Canada. An image of Wright also appeared online, and appeared to suggest we will be learning more about Isaac’s backstory when season two airs.

At last, we now get our first very quick glimpse of Dever’s Abby. This image is again almost a carbon copy of the same moment in the game. We see Abby wearing a dark beanie hat fleeing from a swarm of infected.

She is on the cusp of being overcome by the swarm, with a wired fence being pressed down over her as she tries to crawl through the snow to safety.

The final few images from the teaser show a horseback ride in the snow (something we again see in the game).

We also see Ellie and Dina in a subway running from a clicker. I am going to suggest this represents The Last of Us Part 2’s ‘Tunnels’ section, where the two make their way through train cars while fighting off enemies.

The final shot from the teaser shows Joel, a tear rolling down his cheek, telling O’Hara he saved Ellie. At the start of The Last of Us Part 2, Joel confides in his brother Tommy. He may well still do this in the series, as well, but I wonder if this tête-à-tête between Joel and O’Hara’s character will be what opens the season.

The teaser then ends.

So, what do you think so far? I would have loved to see more of Abby, and the WLF, but this really was just a teaser so I am sure we will see more of them in the coming months.

The second season of The Last of Us is due to air in 2025. It will not cover the entirety of the second game, but will have “a lot more infected” than in the first season.