The Last of Us has finally returned for its long-awaited second season and the HBO series delivers, once again. Similar to how the first season adapted the first video game of the series, The Last of Us Season 2 adapts The Last of Us Part 2. This is a far denser and more complex story than the first game; it’s non-linear, it deals with heavy themes, and it takes risks that arguably probably would’ve never been allowed if the first game wasn’t such a smash hit. Personally speaking, this is the season I have been most excited to see, just to witness how showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann bring this layered and divisive story to a new audience and medium.
The Last of Us Season 2 picks up five years after the events of the first season. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) are living peacefully in the quaint town of Jackson, though there’s more tension between the two since we last saw them. Of course, Ellie is older now and, as a result, has some teenage angst, prompting her to demand more freedom and agency from Joel. Joel’s late daughter never made it to Ellie’s age, so it’s a new and turbulent time for the two, all underscored by Joel’s dark secret from the finale of Season 1.
In Season 2, Joel has softened. He’s kinder, jokes more, and is trying to be more emotionally cognizant. This is a revised version of the Joel we saw before the apocalypse — someone who is now mostly unshackled from the trauma that oppressed him. However, at the same time, it seems like he’s trying to project what his idea of a daughter should be onto Ellie, as he assumes the role of a surrogate father. While a lot of parents probably project ideas on to their children, Joel is doing this with someone who isn’t technically his kid, which adds an extra layer of drama to their relationship.
As a result of all of this, Pascal gives an incredibly vulnerable, career-defining performance. Joel in Season 1 had shut off his feelings and kept everyone at arm’s length and it felt like, at any moment, his emotions were going to boil over and he could break, having been unable to unpack everything he’d gone through. In Season 2, he’s someone who feels deeply and is trying to connect with Ellie to the best of his ability through things like music.
Last time we saw Joel, he mowed down a bunch of soldiers, got stabbed, and broke off a guy’s kneecap with a knife. He was borderline unshakable, even when he was on death’s door. This time, his biggest threat isn’t a bullet — it’s pushing Ellie away. When the two butt heads, Ellie’s words cut deeper than any blade ever could. The rift that is created between them is palpable, and the pain it deals to Joel is consistently present on his face and in his voice. There’s a certain heartache when you break through a tough guy’s armor and hurt his feelings, and Pascal portrays that brilliantly.
Despite Jackson being a peaceful place, things quickly go awry — as is expected from this universe — and everyone in town has their world turned upside down. Ellie and some allies, including her new love interest, Dina (Isabela Merced), channel their anger by hatching a plan to track down a group of people who wronged them and take revenge.
Although Joel is a big part of Season 2, Ellie is largely the center of this story. Some fans, including myself, admittedly, had some concerns that Ramsey would not be able to fulfill Ellie’s role this season, since it is more physical and Ramsey is smaller in stature. It seems Mazin and Druckmann were fully aware of this concern and it’s addressed immediately with Ellie holding her own in an incredibly brutal fight. While there are some moments where Ramsey’s Ellie isn’t the most intimidating person in the room, it’s clear they made an effort to show Ellie as a formidable force, and it largely works.
Ramsey’s physical strength and appearance aren’t what makes their version of Ellie stand out, though, it’s the emotional depth that they provide. Despite the games having a great deal of violence and action, the show is focused more on the moments between the gunfights and brawls. Ramsey is able to channel something that emphasizes the loneliness and confusion that Ellie feels.
Ellie is a girl who is not only growing up in the apocalypse where she has witnessed some of the most horrific things humanity has to offer, but she also harbors the secret of immunity. The little girl who was in awe of things like giraffes and shopping malls is now crushed by the horrors of the world around her. There are still glimmers of that bright-eyed Ellie, such as when she enters a music shop and plays a guitar for Dina, though there’s a hint of melancholy to it, like there’s a cloud ready to rain on any mildly positive moment. Still, companions like Dina give her hope that she will get through to the other side of the mess that is burdening her and give her the peace she longs for.
In addition to Joel and Ellie, actress Kaitlyn Dever also steps up to the plate as Abby in The Last of Us Season 2. There’s not much I can say about this character’s role in the story that doesn’t spoil the show, but she’s a major threat to Joel, Ellie, and their respective allies. Dever makes Abby an emotional force to be reckoned with, but her screen time is quite limited. Nevertheless, she makes the most of her brief screen time by showing herself as a broken woman who is searching for catharsis through violence.
I found Dever’s take on Abby easier to empathize with compared to her game counterpart. She exposes the character’s sensitivity far more, highlighting the character’s unmitigated anger as something that comes as a result of profound sadness and tragedy. She’s not just some stone-cold killer or wrecking machine, she is someone who is almost releasing her emotions through violence and rage. Ironically, the same goes for Ellie, allowing them to be like mirrors of each other, which makes the story feel almost poetic.
The Last of Us Season 2 is a story of perspective and about how maybe things aren’t as black and white as they may seem. The show allows us to see different sides of multiple stories for Joel, Ellie, and Abby. There’s even an ongoing war between a militia and a fanatical religious group happening in the background of this season, adding even more depth to this theme. A lack of empathy or understanding for others, even those you believe have wronged you, can create vicious cycles that lead nowhere.
The Last of Us Season 2 is also a story about love, similar to the first season. While Season 1 was partially about how love can save us, Season 2 is about how love can be punishing. What happens when your love is stolen from you? What happens when your love causes you to do things that are selfish and destructive? It’s an emotion that’s so powerful that it can take you high and low, something that virtually every character, heroes and villains, experience in this story in some capacity. It’s something they all feel they have to protect and avenge if necessary. The thing that makes someone feel so high with joy and ecstasy in their emotions can also be what turns someone hateful.
For fans of the game, I do think there will be some people that are rubbed the wrong way by some changes. While the core storyline remains intact, there are some changes that make characters behave in ways that don’t fit this story. Ellie responds to something in the show in the complete opposite way than she does in the game, immediately sucking out any interesting drama that was previously born from that moment. For all the changes that are made, the show avoids making some changes that may make sense for TV. As already noted, the game lets you play through its story in about 20 consecutive hours, while the show is dividing that story over the course of many years with plans for up to two more seasons. For newcomers, that may make some big moments feel unsatisfying or unfulfilling, as they might not get a resolution until 2027.
That’s not to say there are zero good changes; there definitely are. Season 2 takes the opportunity to expand on characters barely featured in the game to offer them more meaningful roles, making relatively small adjustments to key scenes that actually strengthen them, and doubles down on the infected. Season 1 was a bit lacking when it came to the infected, but Season 2 has moments with infected hordes that left my jaw on the floor. The scale of some of these action scenes is unbelievable and will definitely please those who want to see more from the fungal monsters.
After watching all seven episodes twice, I can say that The Last of Us Season 2 is bigger, better, and bolder than Season 1. While it still has some flaws, it’s uncompromising in its vision and takes swings that few other high-profile stories would ever dare to. There are things about Season 2 that will undoubtedly cause fury for both fans of the game and the show, but the show’s willingness to challenge audiences by tackling big themes is incredibly commendable in this fairly safe era of franchise television. It’s brutally raw, vulnerable, and it will likely drive viewers to tears every other episode, thanks to the powerhouse performances from Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal.
Rating: 4 out of 5
The Last of Us Season 2 begins on Max and HBO on Sunday, April 13th at 9PM ET and will air every Sunday night after that.
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