“The Last of Us” season two picks up five years after the first: Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) have a strained relationship after he lied to her about saving her from the Firefly hospital, and Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), a Firefly soldier, seeks revenge against Joel for murdering her father.
This sets the scene for some of the most emotionally devastating TV in recent memory. The show masterfully explores how trauma, violence, grief, and love shape each character, bringing viewers closer to Joel and Ellie in particular.
It’s done with astounding elegance, allowing the shock and horror to bleed into intimate moments.
That being said, viewers hungry for jaw-dropping set pieces won’t be disappointed. One assault from an army of the infected, which can be seen in the trailers, is a pulse-pounding fight for survival for Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and the other residents of Jackson, Wyoming. It easily rivals battles in “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon.”
The characters also spend plenty of time skulking around shadowy corridors, fearing they will be hunted by the infected, which brings delicious tension. But much like the first season, the threat of the infected just sets the scene: The real meat of the story comes in the character dynamics and how they have each been changed by their post-apocalyptic world.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Fans of the beloved video games that the show is based on may think they know what’s coming in season two.
Regardless of what does or doesn’t happen, fans should know that the adaptation by showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann is uncompromising.
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Bella Ramsey delivers one of the most powerfully raw performances of the last few years, as Ellie edges closer to becoming something truly dangerous on her rage-fueled quest to Seattle.
But Ellie is too skillfully developed as a character to only be vengeful. The show spends time carefully crafting a beautiful connection between her and Dina, played by “Alien: Romulus” star Isabela Merced, who has difficulties of her own. When this dynamic takes a backseat, it’s used as a clever tool to challenge Ellie’s lust for blood.
Although Ramsey is the driving force of the season, Merced, Pedro Pascal, and Gabriel Luna are there to provide a balance between the trauma, revenge, and those pesky plant zombies.
Pascal, in particular, shows that he’s capable of being more than the grizzled badass he has played in “The Mandalorian,” “Gladiator II,” and “Narcos.”
HBO
Joel’s character is expanded through soft, quiet moments, which will no doubt make audiences emotional. If these are the types of performances that Pascal can deliver, then his career is only going to become more interesting.
Ultimately, trauma is used in the season to lead the audience to question whether its main characters are defined by the horrors they’ve experienced. While some are able to process it and move on, others are completely consumed by it.
Either way, the audience gets one of the most beautifully written seasons of TV of the year, and it’s only April.
