Premiere Review - HBO's The Last of Us, Season 2

Every path has a price.

The Last of Us is a 2023-present post-apocalyptic drama series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, produced by Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog, and distributed by Warner Bros. Television Studios. The second season is based on Naughty Dog's 2020 video game, The Last of Us Part II. The series stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

"Say the thing you're afraid to say." - Gail

Plot

Five years after the events of the first season, Joel Miller and Ellie Williams have settled in a gated, protected community in Wyoming where they are cut off from the Cordyceps infection. As the pair try to manage their new life, revenge-seeking foes threaten to tear apart everything they've worked for.

The Sweet

It feels like this year is the year of all of my favorite shows returning. Severance, The Last of Us, The Bear, and, of course, Stranger Things all have new seasons coming out this year. Out of these, if I'm being honest, The Last of Us was probably the one I was least excited about (maybe The Bear, too). And this episode is a reminder of how stupid I was to think that way.

The opening episode of the season is a relatively slow re-introduction to this world, but I think it worked for the story they are telling. As a point of reference, I have not played The Last of Us Part II and, although I know the major thing that happens in it, I don't really know much of the main story. As someone without the knowledge of the games, I thought that this did a nice job of allowing us to slowly immerse ourselves back in the post-apocalyptic setting of the show. There's a five year time jump, so we need to almost re-establish the characters and where they are at in life, and I think the episode does a really good job of doing that.

I really enjoyed all of the new characters that we were introduced to here. Isabela Merced's Dina is a fun foil to Ellie that serves as both a different character for her to interact with besides Joel as well as a romantic interest. Merced was immediately charming and charismatic, and I think her chemistry with Bella Ramsey was really good. I also enjoyed Jesse, Dina's ex and Ellie's friend. He wasn't in a ton of it, but he just brought some more levity to the episode. But the best new character is Catherine O'Hara's Gail. She's an original character for the show, and, although she's literally only in one scene, she's awesome. She has this very interesting dynamic with Joel that I did not really expect from her, and it leaves you feeling uncomfortable but sympathetic towards her character. I am excited to see what they do with her throughout the rest of the season.

One of the things I was mixed on at the end of season one was Joel's final choice, but this episode reaffirmed it as a great ending to the season. It makes sense for this character to selfishly save Ellie and, in doing so, doom the rest of mankind. And that choice carries over into this season, where it has consequences. It really does a great job of exploring Joel's guilt and how it might be affecting his relationship with Ellie as well as showing the repercussions that it will have on the rest of the season. I love it when stories give the audience morally gray dilemmas that we have to contemplate, and The Last of Us is doing a fantastic job of digging deep into the affects of Joel saving Ellie.

I also actually really loved the pacing of this episode. The Last of Us rarely has an episode that isn't absolutely devastating, so this is a rare occurrence, and I like that they let us spend time with these characters while they are somewhat happy. It lets you linger on these moments while also setting up dynamics and arcs that will carry throughout the entire season. And, despite these happy moments, you can feel the dread and impending sense of doom looming over the entire episode, which just makes me terrified for what the rest of the season has in store.

The Sour

The main negative I have on this episode is unfortunately Ellie. No flack against Bella Ramsey: I think they are great and the backlash against their casting is completely ridiculous. The major problem is that she is just unlikable here. She does not listen to anyone. She takes risks that put herself and, in turn, everyone in the town in danger. They give her this rebellious, aggressive side that, instead of being inspiring and charming, feels angry and aggravating. I think exploring the fact that she isn't actually Joel's daughter is really interesting, but the way she treats him is just horrible. I don't think this will be the entire season, but it was a frustrating way to reintroduce her character.

Besides that, I don't really have many negatives. This was definitely not a slam-bang start to the season, but I think it does an effective job of setting up where things are going while also re-familiarizing us with this world and these characters.

Final Thoughts and Score

The season two premiere of The Last of Us sets the stage for a thrilling and emotional sophomore entry. Although a bit slow, the exploration of the morally gray and impending sense of doom make this a very solid kickoff to one of my most anticipated shows of 2025.

I am going Sweet here. Age range is 14+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)

"Future Days"

"The Last of Us"

Fun Factor: 8.5/10

Acting: 9.5/10

Story: 8.5/10

Characters: 8.5/10

Quality: 8.5/10

Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann

Rated TV-MA for strong bloody violence, frightening themes and images, language, thematic elements

Premiered on April 13, 2025

Episode runtime: 1 hour

Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller

Bella Ramsey as Ellie Williams

Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller

Isabela Merced as Dina

Young Mazino as Jesse

Kaitlyn Dever as Abby

Rutina Wesley as Maria

Catherine O'Hara as Gail