Last night, HBO and Naughty Dog dropped the latest trailer and release date information for the next season of its Emmy-nominated series adaptation of The Last Of Us. And frankly, the timing couldn’t be better. Here’s why we need this season of the show now more than ever.

Before going in depth about why the new season of The Last of Us, coming April this year, is important for the times we are living in, first enjoy the latest trailer:

First off, for anyone who has played the second game and loved it, like I did, every frame of this trailer confirms they’re staying very close to the 2020 Game of the Year winner’s story. We get our first glimpses of Abby, the romance between Dina and Ellie, Joel’s return, and some pretty familiar locations. That alone should be enough reason to get excited. However, in my opinion, this season, like the game, has the potential to be important.

Whether or not anyone wants to admit it, hate has grown more prominent now than ever. People feel entitled to send anonymous death threats on comments to posts from companies like Naughty Dog because the company decided to encourage representation in their games. The reception for the trailer for their latest franchise game, Intergalactic, for example, was unfairly negative for a multitude of intolerant, ridiculous, immature reasons. Many of those were because the lead character, played by the amazing Tati Gabrielle, is a non-male POC. And another reason is seemingly because folks held grudges from The Last Of Us Part II introducing the trans character of Lev (played by the delightful Ian Alexander). All without anyone having played a single second of Intergalactic itself.

Sentiments like these tend to escalate further, growing into raw acts of violence. Just look at the attacks on the AAPI community after Trump blamed the Asian community for COVID, or bomb threats against Haitian citizens in Springfield after he falsely stated they were eating dogs and cats with zero basis for his claims. We’re getting to a point where rage and hatred is literally leading to violence.

The world more than ever needs to witness how terrible and horrifying the consequences can be if someone lets blind hatred consume them. Especially if this story comes from folks at Naughty Dog, who are literally seeing the hatred of others being spat at them by the very individuals who should be more receptive to these messages. And thankfully the company has proudly held their stance on inclusion in storytelling, regardless of what the haters have stated.

Narratively, The Last Of Us Part II, while not specifically about intolerance, is about the dangers behind soul-consuming hatred. The game depicted a story about how vengeance and anger can literally destroy a person’s soul, causing them to do unspeakable acts of hostility and violence upon others. It’s also about the consequence of violence leading to further violence, in a cycle of wrongdoing.

While we don’t know what liberties they’ve taken with The Last of Us Season 2 yet that diverge from The Last of Us Part II, my hope is that they stick to what’s been established in the continuity of the game regardless of what the reception might be from the haters. Especially considering the fact that there is a very important message for them within this story. And the characters featured in the game are important to its central themes. The opportunity for greater representation within this season is also a huge plus.

The Last of Us series has grown into a huge hit for HBO, and has introduced a larger mainstream audience to the story of Joel and Ellie. As such, the impact of the games’ narratives have reached a larger audience outside the toxicity of some within the gamer community. So the greater hope here is that the story of Season 2 impacts a greater majority than those willing to threaten game artists and storytellers trying to make an impact on the world with their art.

A lot has changed since the second game came out in 2020. However, now more than ever, one thing is certain. The message of the game, and the soon-to-be new season, could not be more relevant today than they were half a decade ago.

The Last of Us Season 2 hits HBO and Max in April.