The Last of Us Season 3’s Big New Character is a Massive Series Retcon

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The third season of HBO’s The Last of Us will cover the second half of The Last of Us Part 2, and fans are curious to see if the show will delve deeper into the character of Jerry than the game did. Recent reports indicate Patrick Wilson has joined the cast. Given that Wilson seems perfectly suited for only one role, it’s surprising – and a little confusing – that the show might be reimagining Jerry’s character in a way similar to the game.

Has HBO’s The Last of Us Cast a New Jerry?

When people learned Patrick Wilson was joining Season 3 of The Last of Us, many immediately thought he’d be playing Jerry, Abby’s father. Jerry is the surgeon Joel kills, an act that supposedly prevents a vaccine for the Cordyceps infection from ever being created. However, Wilson wasn’t the actor who briefly portrayed Jerry at the end of Season 1.

Actor Darren Dolynski played Jerry on the show, and he was notably dressed in full surgical scrubs. This suggests he was likely cast as a temporary replacement, or understudy, to avoid immediately hiring a famous actor for a small, deliberately mysterious role in the first season.

Just as the unnamed surgeon unexpectedly became important in The Last of Us Part 2, he deserves a similar focus in Season 3 of The Last of Us. The show might even recast the role now that they’ll be developing the character further, though that would be a bit ironic and disappointing for actor Darren Dolynski, who would lose the part.

Abby’s Dad is a Man of Many Faces

If Patrick Wilson is indeed playing Jerry, the show really should have planned for that possibility beforehand. The creators of The Last of Us had a good reason for not anticipating the surgeon’s importance – they likely didn’t realize how central he would become to the story. Plus, the significant visual improvements in The Last of Us Part 2 compared to the first game meant they would have needed to update his character model anyway.

Because the TV show The Last of Us is based on the games, the creators always intended to feature the Salt Lake City hospital surgeon as a key character. They deliberately held back details about him in the first season to surprise viewers who weren’t familiar with the games, specifically to create a bigger impact when his connection to Abby was revealed. Unlike the games, the show didn’t need to change or simplify the surgeon’s story, as they planned to develop his character more fully later on.

The Last of Us Season 3 is currently in development.

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2026-03-21 13:07