Warning: this article contains SPOILERS for The Last of Us season 2.
HBO Max finished airing its hit seriesThe Last of Usseason 2, which apapts the first half ofThe Last of Us Part IIvideo game.The Last of Usseason 2 focused on Ellie five years after the events of the season 1 finale, where her relationship with Joel is strained due to his murder of the Fireflies. The majority of the season sees Ellie venture to Seattle and attempt to kill Abby afterAbby murders Joel in episode 2. ByThe Last of Usseason 2’s ending, Ellie comes face to face with Abby in a jarring cliffhanger.
Overall,The Last of Usseason 2 was a strong outing, delivering a strong assortment of episodes.The Last of Us’s castremained phenomenal throughout, with Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced in particular delivering consistently great performances. Likewise, the show’s tone, direction, and set design were also great, making every episode feel unique and exciting. With that being said, every show has some episodes that shine brighter than others, thanks to their plots, their emotions, and their character development, and the same is true forThe Last of Us.
7Episode 3: “The Path”
Episode 3 Has The Lowest Stakes Of The Season
The Last of UsSeason 2, episode 3 is the worst episode of the season, though none of the episodes could really be termed bad. The reason episode 3, “The Path”, ranks the lowest of season 2’s episodes is thatit feels far more transitional than the season’s other episodes.The Last of Usseason 2, episode 2 is a huge episode since it brings Abby to her destination, sees Jackson get attacked by infected, and includes Joel’s death. Episode 3 feels calmer and more lackluster in comparison, with Ellie dealing with Jackson’s town committee before venturing out on her own.
Episode 3 does introduce the Seraphites and hints at Dina’s future pregnancy announcement, but those remain less important than the full discoveries later on. The most positive aspect of the episode is its emotional nuance in dealing with Joel’s death and the intensive clean-up that Jackson will have to undergo. However, it still ranks the lowest becauseit sets up Ellie and Dina’s time in Seattle but lacks the big reveals and discoveries of many of the season’s other episodes.
6Episode 1: “Future Days”
Episode 1 Sets Up The New Season & Raises Questions
The first episode of a new season can be a tricky thing to get right, butThe Last of Usdoes a good job for the most part. Especially because so much time has passed, and a lot has changed for Joel and Ellie between seasons 1 and 2. This episode has to set up a very different show from season 1.Episode 1, “Future Days,” introduces a lot of great new characters, including Jesse and Dina, who will become very important very quickly.
Overall, it is a solid return to Joel and Ellie’s world, but the season builds from there.
Episode 1 also lets audiences know that Joel and Ellie are not in a great place, creating intrigue about what happened in the intervening years. It also shows their lives in Jackson, including the relative safety that the town has compared to everything they went through to get there. Excitingly, the episode introduces a new type of infected, teasing something big for the future, and it introduces Abby as the season’s main antagonist. Overall, it is a solid return to Joel and Ellie’s world, but the season builds from there.
5Episode 5: “Feel Her Love”
Episode 5 Has A Big Cordyceps Reveal
The Last of Usseason 2, episode 5 sees Ellie and Dina continue their search across Seattle for Abby, despite knowing how dangerous the city is. They decide to cut through WLF-controlled territory to get to Abby, but they run into trouble along the way when they enter a warehouse full of infected. The episode brings Jesse back to save them, though Dina is injured in the process, and Ellie chooses to go forward alone.Episode 5 also sees Ellie torture Nora for information about Abby, proving again that she is willing to do anything it takes for revenge.
The Last of Uschanges a few key details in episode 5, including adding the airborne spore to the show for the first time. The spores exist throughout the games, and while it makes sense why the creators did not include them earlier, their addition is one of the best parts of the episode because it allowsThe Last of Usto explore another facet of Cordyceps infection.This reveal and Nora’s torture are hugely important forThe Last of Us, so I wish the episode had spent more time exploring that and how it impacts Ellie’s psyche.
4Episode 4: “Day One”
Ellie & Dina Have A Big First Day In Seattle In Episode 4
The Last of Usseason 2, episode 4, was great fun to watch from start to finish, and it included several huge reveals. The episode gives more context about theWLF’s overthrow of FEDRA in Seattleas well as the extent of their conflict with the Seraphites. Episode 4 also includes arguably one of the best action sequences and set pieces of the entire season in the form of the abandoned TV station and then the subway cars. Ellie and Dina find the TV station with dead bodies in it before being chased into a subway filled with infected.
Ellie revealing her immunity to Dina and Dina revealing her pregnancy to Ellie hugely impacts their relationship going forward.
The sequence is incredibly enjoyable to watch, as Dina and Ellie scramble through the train cars while the infected relentlessly pursue them. Even more importantly, the scene ends with Ellie allowing herself to be bitten to save Dina, setting up two important revelations. Ellie revealing her immunity to Dina and Dina revealing her pregnancy to Ellie hugely impacts their relationship going forward.Moving through their respective fears allows both characters to finally express how much they love each other, making episode 4 a solid entry in the series.
3Episode 6: “The Price”
The Joel Flashbacks Make Episode 6 One Of The Most Emotional
Joel and Ellie’s father and child dynamic is one of the best aspects ofThe Last of Uson the whole, so season 2, episode 6, felt like a perfect return to form. Immediately following episode 5’s gruesome torture scene, the entirety of episode 6 functions as a series of flashbacks across Ellie’s birthdays during the years they lived in Jackson.The years of Joel’s presents to Ellie are both delightful and innocent and completely heartbreaking to watchbecause audiences already know his fate.
The episode works perfectly to convey Joel’s love for Ellie and his desire to make her happy despite the fact that their relationship is growing increasingly strained.
The episode works perfectly to convey Joel’s love for Ellie and his desire to make her happy, although their relationship is growing increasingly strained. It also finally gives audiences context for some of the lingering questions about Ellie learning the truth about Salt Lake City and what happened to Eugene.Episode 6 is an emotional roller coasterthat is incredibly well acted and well juxtaposed to Ellie’s torture in the previous episode, though it does leave fans waiting for the season’s big finale.
2Episode 7: “Convergence”
The Season Finale Sets Up The Last Of Us' Future
After episode 6’s stunning flashback scenes,The Last of Us' season 2 finale “Convergence” ends with a bang. Episode 6 has a lot of heartwarming scenes that show Bella Ramsey’s Ellie as far happier and arguably naive than for the majority of season 2, and episode 7 destroys that image.Audiences are truly able to see just how far Ellie has gone for revenge, and how much of herself she has lost in that process. The episode also uses Jesse to highlight this as well, as he attempts to make Ellie see what she stands to lose.
Despite knowing that Dina is injured and Tommy may be surrounded, Ellie selfishly goes to the aquarium and ends up killing Owen and Mel. Though she makes it back to the theater safely, Ellie is not the person she once was, setting up the path she will continue to go down in season 3. Likewise,The Last of Us' season finale brings Abby back in their deadly confrontation, just before shifting to her perspective. The explosive finale is packed with action,but it also effectively conveys the gravity of Ellie’s choices, which pull her and Abby down together.
1Episode 2: “Through The Valley”
Episode 2 Has Two Huge Moments For The Season
Though season 2, episode 1, introduced the new characters and setting forThe Last of Us, episode 2 is what truly kicked the season into high gear. “Through the Valley” has all the elements that the show needs to be great, and it combines them seamlessly. The episode shows that Abby is steadfast in her desire to kill Joel, which will eventually spell her and Ellie’s mutual destruction, even after Joel saves her life. Additionally,Joel’s death sequence is given the gravity it deserves,and Bella Ramsey’s performance of Ellie’s reaction in that moment is phenomenal.
At the same time, the residents of Jackson are attacked by a horde of infected, creating the best infected scene of the series so far. The snow-covered town is overrun by the sheer size of the horde, but they still manage to emerge victorious thanks to some excellent and resourceful fighting. “Through the Valley” does not waste a moment of its runtime nor any of its characters, making it the best episode ofThe Last of Usseason 2 and one of the show’s best overall.
The Last Of Us
Cast
The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama series set two decades after a global catastrophe. It follows Joel, a seasoned survivor, who is tasked with escorting Ellie, a teenage girl, across a desolated United States, transforming into a harrowing journey of survival and companionship.
