'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 3's opening credits has a heartbreaking change

We're still not over the death of Joel (Pedro Pascal) but, like it or not, The Last of Us is entering a new chapter — and that means some brand new opening credits.

The change in opening credits between Season 2, episode 2 and episode 3 isn't a big revamp, but it's still pretty devastating in a subtle way.

So what's the difference?

How are The Last of Us Season 2, episode 3 opening credits different?

Aside from the crushing absence of Pedro Pascal's name at the very start of The Last of Us' opening credits, the sequence in Season 2, episode 3 looks pretty much the same as usual: The camera winds through a morphing, cordyceps-inspired tapestry, with fungal plants sprouting into the shape of a city alongside the names of the cast and crew.

The change, however, comes right at the very end. In previous episodes, the camera moved through a spiral of fungus to show a blurry and overgrown landscape, from which two distant silhouettes — mean to represent Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) — sprout up from the ground. In episode 3, however, the smaller silhouette is the only one that remains.

Seeing the two shapes in previous episodes re-enforced the idea that it was Joel and Ellie against the world, two survivors struggling through a post-apocalyptic landscape together. Now, the message is clear: Ellie is on her own again. Joel is gone, and she's going to have to carve out her own path.

New episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 premiere on HBO and Max Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.

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