The Last of Us is one of the most recognizable games of the last decade. Created by Naughty Dog for PlayStation, the game and its sequel became instant bestsellers and a pop culture sensation. Its emotional storytelling, inventive worldbuilding, and stellar voice cast earn a place in the pantheon of greatest games of all time. To top it off, its HBO live-action series somehow recaptures its magic, breaking the curse of video game adaptation. Here we take a look at The Last of Us season 2 review
The first season was triumphant on all fronts. If you’re familiar with the game, the series, created by Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin, pretty much faithfully recreates the game’s storyline. In this post-apocalyptic world, grieving father Joel (Pedro Pascal) is forced to transport an orphaned girl named Ellie (Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey) to a secret compound where they’re developing a cure against cordyceps, a parasitic fungus that turns humans into walking monsters. Ellie is the first known infected person to be immune to the cordyceps’ effect, making her the key to mankind’s survival. But the journey is perilous, and both Joel and Ellie still grapple with their own deep emotional wounds.
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For complete newbies to The Last of Us-verse, the show plays like a high-brow The Walking Dead, balancing human drama with adrenaline-fueled setpieces. But even with knowledge of the source material, fans can still find plenty to appreciate in this adaptation. That’s due in no small part to the terrific performances of co-leads Pascal and Ramsey. Pascal has by now mastered the art of playing gruff but protective father figure, honed from playing The Mandalorian on the Disney+ series, while Ramsey brings back some of Lady Mormont’s bite (The North Remembers!) as tough cookie tomboy Ellie. The duo has a tension-filled dynamic derived from Joel’s trauma of losing his daughter (which the show takes pains to unfold in the first episode’s harrowing prologue). Safe to say, you’re gonna root for these two come hell or high water.
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Season 2, set a few years after the first, expands the series into darker territory. With Ellie grown, she has more agency and butts heads with Joel a lot more. The critical decision Joel made at the end of season 1 comes back to haunt them. The arrival of a new antagonist, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her Firefly gang, plays with the show’s morality, forcing us to confront the idea of good and evil. The zombies are secondary adversaries – it’s the humans you must watch out for. That takes the series into wilder territory both emotionally and intellectually.
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The Last of Us Season 2 Review
HBO clearly spares no expense for this production. The worldbuilding is spectacular, recreating the dystopian world of the game with such vivid details. The sights of abandoned hotel lobbies, fallen towers overrun with plantations, and insane looking fungus crawling on every surface are eerily beautiful. The monsters - Clickers, as they’re called - have ingenious designs exuding a gross yet fascinating effect. It’s also a great choice by the creators to keep Gustavo Santaolalla’s guitar score from the game. His haunting chords are just the perfect accompaniment to Joel and Ellie’s story - there’s no need to fix what’s not broken.
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The Last of Us Season 2 Review
All in all, The Last of Us Season 2 is both a visual treat and an emotional thrill ride, a rarer-than-should-be combo for a genre piece.
