By Maya Bourne
DISCLAIMER: This article contains SPOILERS for both seasons 1 and 2 of The Last of Us. In addition, I have never played the video game, so all opinions will be based solely on the TV show. Enjoy!
Season 2 of The Last of Us, premiering on Max on April 13, carried immense anticipation, especially for me, as I loved the first season and have rewatched it countless times since it came out two years ago. I absolutely loved all of the plotlines and character development prevalent in the first season. I especially enjoyed how each character had very thought-out motivations and reasons for their actions, which made their decisions understandable, even if I didn’t agree with them. I loved the deeply emotional storylines, especially those with Sam and Henry, Ellie and Riley, and Bill and Frank. Each episode seemed to simultaneously fill and destroy my heart, leaving me tear-stained and yearning for more. All of that being said, I was extremely excited for the second season of The Last of Us, hoping for even more amazing plotlines and character growth, and I think I stand in the minority when I say that this season was very good!
The Last of Us, especially in the first season, heavily relied on Ellie and Joel as the main two characters to drive the plot forward. Joel’s decision to kill everyone in the hospital in order to save Ellie’s life was heartbreaking and extremely hard to watch, and Ellie’s distance from Joel after the events with David proved equally emotional. Because of this, I was very excited to see how Ellie and Joel would continue on their journey together and where they would go next. I was, of course, extremely surprised however when Joel was killed in the second episode. Having never played the games, I had no idea what was going to happen, and his death truly flabbergasted me. The entire second episode was one of the most amazing and emotional episodes of television I have seen in my entire life. The episode, having only a 56 minute runtime, accomplishes more than I have seen in triple the amount of time. There are several storylines happening simultaneously, and they all converge at the end in the absolutely devastating death of Joel Miller. The acting in this episode especially also blew me away. Bella Ramsay and Pedro Pascal are two amazing actors, and their performances had me sobbing in my bed while watching.
Episode 6 was another one of my favorites out of the season. I loved seeing Ellie and Joel interact after watching Ellie navigate her life virtually alone for the past three episodes. Their struggles and arguments felt raw and genuine, like conversations I could imagine having in real life. Joel’s surprise at Ellie’s personal growth, getting a tattoo, doing drugs, and experimenting with her sexuality, all created some truly emotional scenes between the two as Joel learns more about parenting a teenager, a feeling I’m sure is relatable to many. This episode also shows the aftermath of the dance that occurs in the first episode of the season. In that episode, Ellie walks past Joel standing on the porch; however, in episode 6, we see the end of that scene, in which Ellie returns to the porch and the two share an emotional conversation about the events at the hospital. This episode was truly amazing to me, as was the flashback episode in the first season, like a breath of fresh air from the current events.
Many people have criticized this second season for its casting choices and focus on the romance aspect of the plot, and I personally could not disagree more. Having never played the game, I came into The Last of Us with no predetermined vision for each character, which I think made accepting the casting choices easier; however, I still find the amount of hate centered around their casting choices shocking. Bella Ramsay is an amazing actor and has some of the best line deliveries in the season. Yes, Ellie does say some cringy lines every once in a while, but those missteps can be placed not on the actor but the writers. With the script and character they are given, Ramsay does an amazing job with Ellie, showing the lengths she will go to hide her true grief and anger at the loss of Joel. Ellie constantly wears the mask of an upbeat teenager, but a few times, we see the mask slip, and the raging daughter breaks out, like in the scene with Nora. Despite the amount of hate targeted at Bella Ramsay, I still believe they are an amazing actor, and the same goes for the rest of this extremely talented cast.
I do have one minor problem with this second season, however, that I feel the need to address: the finale. I love a good season finale: the high stakes, big fight scenes or visual displays, and the inevitable cliffhanger to end the season. However, episode 7 just didn’t feel like a finale to me. Rather, it felt like another regular episode, one that should be followed by at least two more. In my opinion, this is because of the episode cuts from 9 episodes down to 7. There is just no possible way to finish the season in a thrilling way in that short of a runtime. The finale felt unfinished, like there should be more to see, an episode we missed. Unfortunately, we won’t see that episode for another 2 years, though, so I guess we will have to wait. Overall, I really enjoyed season 2 of The Last of Us. The plot points were engaging, and there were some extremely suspenseful moments as well, keeping my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. I also loved the addition of the spores and stalkers, which helped to keep the infected “interesting” instead of staying with the same clickers and runners as season one. Despite its few flaws, this season was truly great, and I can’t wait to see where this show goes next!