The first season of The Last of Us, created by Neil Druckmann (creative director of the video game), and Craig Mazin (screenwriter and producer of the equally apocalyptic Chernobyl), was a superb adaptation of Naughty Dog’s game of the same name, which remained remarkably faithful to the original and enriched a much-loved story.
After breaking countless ratings records during its premiere two years ago, the gritty post-apocalyptic drama has returned for its second and much-anticipated installment.
For those who have not yet had the opportunity to enjoy this outstanding HBO drama, here is a brief recap. Throughout the first season, we met Joel (Pedro Pascal), a jaded smuggler devastated by the early loss of his daughter, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) an orphaned teenager, who has grown up without any sense of belonging and who, mysteriously is immune to the infection that caused the fall of human civilization. As in the video game, Joel and Ellie traverse what is left of North America to have the young girl tested for a cure for the devastating Cordyceps fungus.
As the world crumbles, ravaged by the horrors of the epidemic plague, Joel and Ellie help each other to stay on their feet. He pours into her the love he could not give to his deceased daughter Sarah (Nico Parker). The young woman finds in him a father figure to take refuge in.
After the arduous and treacherous road trip, which lasted the entire season, the smuggler and the teenage girl finally become family.
If you thought The Last of Us was beautifully bitter and harsh, we invite you to brace yourself for the sequel, in which Ellie’s darker side is revealed.
What is the price to be paid for violence? Where is the line between good and evil? Is there anything redeeming about being the kind of person who protects family above all else, even at the cost of the lives of countless innocents? The new installment of The Last of Us attempts to answer these questions and then some.
Before getting into the nitty-gritty, an essential clarification: the new season, made up of seven episodes, is only a partial adaptation of the acclaimed videogame The Last of Us Part II, while the first season, with nine episodes, covered the entire original game.
Craig Mazin explained it in the following way: “It’s a big animal to take apart, you know? Because it’s a much bigger story and it’s a more complicated story. It’s a beautiful story. It’s more than a season’s worth of television, for sure.”
What is the second season of “The Last of Us” about?
As in the polarizing video game, in the denouement of the first season, Joel decides to save Ellie’s life. Even, perhaps, from dooming the entire world.
“I saved her,” Joel repeats to himself as he is eaten away by guilt and his conscience weighs heavy. The thing is, this time, fatherly love didn’t save the day. On the contrary, it compounded the misery of a desperate and dying world.
The new installment begins with a time jump of five years, after the events of Salt Lake City. Joel and Ellie are settled in Jackson, Wyoming, in a community that Tommy (Gabriel Luna), Maria (Rutina Wesley) and other members have painstakingly built. The town has farms, children playing, dances, psychologists, love affairs… you get the idea.
Everything seems as peaceful as it can be in the midst of a zombie catastrophe. But, something has changed radically between Joel and Ellie: what happened in the Firefly hospital haunts them and its consequences articulate the plot of the second season of The Last of Us.
In the present day, Ellie is a remarkably more mature and insightful 19-year-old. Joel, meanwhile, is in a state of deep disillusionment, and the plot becomes bleaker as the episodes progress. As you might sense, Ellie is plunged into feelings of betrayal and guilt upon discovering that Joel sacrificed a possible cure for the Cordyceps infection in order to protect her life.
Aware of this stark reality, Ellie experiences more than ever a deep guilt for her survival as the future of humanity is extinguished.
Things only get worse when a military faction led by Abby Anderson (Kaitlyn Dever) enters their lives with a mission of revenge. To say more would spoil the experience. Suffice it to say that the actions of Abby Anderson and her companions toward Joel and Ellie spark an unfortunate cycle of violence that will scar them forever.
From Ellie’s perspective, she is the victim of an unforgivable act, so she will seek to respond in kind to Abby, her aggressor. It is a fact that each individual possesses a threshold of tolerance, and Abby’s behavior incites Ellie to choose violence as a way of life.
A visceral hatred drives Abby and Ellie, the two key characters of this season. Both are faced with the same thirst for revenge and little do they suspect that they will kick off a devastating cycle for all involved.
It is fair to note that the new season broadens its focus beyond the battle-hardened Joel and the headstrong Ellie. Jackson’s community strengthens the supporting characters more than the previous installment, which relied on special guest roles that came in and out of Joel and Ellie’s lives in as little as one episode. Now, the protagonists have had time to cultivate new relationships, especially with Joel’s brother Tommy, Ellie’s friend Dina (Isabela Merced), and one of the town’s young leaders, Jesse (Young Mazino).
Of course, we’re going to mourn more than one death this season. Of course, we’re going to miss some great characters. But we are left with one valuable consolation, and that is that Ellie is an interesting enough character to carry all the weight on her shoulders and actress Bella Ramsey is more than talented enough to take on the responsibility.
With the tagline “Every choice has consequences,” the season meditates on the sins of the father, survivor’s guilt, the consequences of revenge and evil, and the cyclical nature of violence.
A visual spectacle
The second season of The Last of Us is often a visual spectacle, skillfully crafted throughout. The production design and special effects of the series not only manage to reach the heights of its source material, but they add their own cinematic flair at the same time.
Certainly, the series has been shot with great skill. The apocalypse continues to be portrayed on an astonishing scale, with decaying cityscapes, stunning natural scenery, and details, both beautiful and gruesome, of a ravaged world. The thoughtful lighting work is noteworthy. In the most poignant and humane moments, shots are drenched in warm sunlight while, when horror lurks, shots are often (and quite appropriately) bathed in blood-red tones.
Created by Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, The Last of Us continues to invest a lot of time, and a lot of money, into elaborate scenes of mayhem, and intense action sequences that reflect the essence of the video game.
It is fair to say that the tense moments leave the viewer almost breathless, even when we already know that our protagonist will survive the bites of the infected.
In any case, the monsters are not the only creatures to fear in this story: humans, with their ability to act with benevolence or perversity, are shown as a threat equal to or more frightening than the clickers themselves.
The Last of Us continues to be a near-flawless display of prestige television. In fact, numerous critics have compared the visual achievements to shows like Game of Thrones.
“It’s definitely a bigger, far more ambitious and risk-taking season…,” said actor Pedro Pascal. He couldn’t have been more accurate in his description.
Our verdict
Season 2 of The Last of Us is incredibly well-made, with often hauntingly beautiful visuals and packed with stellar performances. Fans can expect the same painful ups and downs as HBO’s first season, but amplified as the story gets bigger and more complex.
The only flaw in the new installment of The Last of Us is having to wait for season three to put the whole puzzle together.
The Last of Us airs new episodes on HBO and Max every Sunday.