Summary
The conclusion ofThe Last of Usseason two has come and gone, leaving many fans feeling satisfied and excited forwhat’s to come next. One of the biggest surprises is that the show isn’t quite ready to wrap up the story just yet, and there are still plenty more characters and arcs from the game left to be explored and seen on the big screen.
Much like the second game, season two is an emotional roller coaster that condenses a lot of heartbreak and trauma into just seven episodes. Bringing a few standout performances and faithful adaptations of some of the game’s most iconic scenes, the show sets the bar high, with some of the episodes surpassing even a diehard fan’s expectations.
Spoiler Warning: Major plot details about the show and the game will be discussed in this article
7Future Days - Episode 1
A Tense Happy New Year
Season two started off in a pretty slow-burning way, setting up where the characters ended up after the chaos at the end of the first season and introducing a few new characters into the mix in the town of Jackson. It is very clear that there’s some tension between Joel and Ellie but the reason behind it isn’t fully understood until later in the show.
Overall, the episode is a calm reintroduction to the world, showing off the new stalker zombies and the growing threat of the infected. It is also nice to seeDina and Ellie and their relationshipin its infancy, starting out as a friendship but quickly growing into something more. The episode doesn’t try to do too much and serves its purpose as a set-up for the moments to come after.
6The Path - Episode 3
Pressing On Through The Pain
Episode three marks a significant transition in Ellie that had only begun to show itself. After witnessing Joel’s death first-hand and being powerful to stop it, the show skips three months later to when she has physically andsupposedly mentally recovered. And at the first oppurtunity she gets to go after Abby, she and Dina quickly leave for the open road in search of revenge.
The episode is a great one in terms of character and word building, as despite the losses and the damage dealt by both the infected and Abby’s crew, the town tries its best to move on and survive however it can. It demonstrates the will to carry on despite all the tribulations thrown their way, something that Ellie takes in a slightly different direction, seeking retribution for the family she lost.
5Day One - Episode 4
Ellie’s Secret Finally Revealed
Day One is where viewers are given their first glimpse at Isaac Dixon, the ruthless WLF leader who hates nothing more than the Seraphites and their group of radicals. Not even five minutes into his screen time, he is shown murdering an entire platoon of FEDRA soldiers and torturing a captured Seraphite with a scolding pan, demonstrating the lengths he will go to get what he wants.
The episode also shows off Ellie’s immunity to Dina, something that had previously been kept in the dark, and results in an intense standoff where Ellie pleads with her to wait it out and see the truth. The tension is great throughout and getting to see some infected in a claustrophobic environment like the subway adds to the horror and grittiness of the action.
4Convergence - Episode 7
The End Of The Road
Episode seven rounds out the season with a bang, both literally and metaphorically. Everyone makes it back to the theater mostly unscathed, and Ellie and Jesse hatch a plan to search for Tommy, leaving Dina to recover from her injuries. They go back and forth, with Jesse taking the moral high ground and asserting his position as an objective good in opposition to Ellie’s reckless decisions.
After a lot of struggle, she finds two of Abby’s crew and ends up killing both in cold blood, only to return to the theater where Abby confronts her for what she has done. It’s an unexpected twist that leaves the show with a decent cliffhanger, but the episode struggles to decide how it wants to portray Ellie, whether as a bloodthirsty killer or an emotionally fueled mess.
3Feel Her Love - Episode 5
No Longer Just An Infected Bite
Feel Her Lovesees Ellie and Dina continuing their pursuit and has them stumble upon a large group of Stalkers that show even more of that heightened intelligence that was only seen briefly before. They are surprised by Tommy who saves them from the encounter and the group flee from the infected and WLF soldiers into Seraphite territory, showing off all three threats in a single location in a nice blending of primitive and military oppression.
After a long journey and many close calls with the enemy, Ellie finally gets to taste some of that revenge she is seeking, chasing Nora into a quarantined area that had been teased in an earlier episode and gets to witness first-hand the evolution of the virus from a physical transmission through bites, to an even deadly version in the form of spores. The two share a back and forth, and Ellie lets her true emotions come out, throwing into questionwho is the hero and who is the villian in this story.
2The Price - Episode 6
Emotional Flashbacks And Shocking Revelations
The Price is a particularly interesting episode in that almost everything that occurs is a flashback to the past few years, chronically Ellie and Joel’s relationship and the eventual coldness that was shown before. Chronicling several birthday moments, the two are shown bonding after the simpler things in life and the love between them could not be stronger.
Then the viewer is shown the gut-wrenching encounter with Eugene and the decision that Joel made to end his life without giving him an opportunity to say goodbye to his wife. This, combined with Ellie confronting Joel once and for all, puts everything out in the open and clarifies a few questions that were unanswered towards the start. A great episode that sends Joel off with respect and love, showing the emotional connection in the most meaningful way possible.
1Through The Valley - Episode 2
Gripping Action And Heartbreak All In One
No other episode can even come close to Through The Valley, as it has literally everything anyone could want. A giant horde of infected chasing stragglers into confined places, Jackson being attacked from all sides by 1000s of clickers, and the first and final encounter between Abby and Joel, ending his life and setting into motion the journey that Ellie undertakes to avenge him.
So muchemotion and so much pain, crammed into a single episode, the acting performances of everyone involved were simply remarkable, and the cast really brought the characters to life in ways only they could. This, paralleled by the chaos in the town and the first look at a Bloater, makes the episode really stand out as delivering on all asks and all desires.
