To be frank, The Last of Us season 2 is probably the most I’ve cried watching a post-apocalyptic TV show. And this is coming from someone who cried my way through The Walking Dead. Some of those The Last of Us tears were happy. Plenty of them were sad. And some were of relief or joy. But the fact remains that season 2 of The Last of Us is a work of art when it comes to stories about loss and those who survive. And like any great piece of art, it makes you feel something. For me, it made me cry.
As a long time fan of The Last of Us, season 2 is the most highly anticipated part of this journey. And this is without diving into the game of it all, which I’m not going to do in this review. It’s the most anticipated part of Joel and Ellie’s journey because it tests them after Joel’s paramount decision to kill all the Fireflies to protect Ellie and the lie that follows. But what comes after season 1, it also acts to test us and how much we love and appreciate this world and the characters in it when we take the next step.
Pedro Pascal’s Joel is just as fearless as he was in season 1. Time hasn’t changed that. Time also hasn’t changed the fact that he will do anything for the ones he loves. The same thing goes for Bella Ramsey’s Ellie. She is all the good parts of Joel and some of the worst. Nevertheless, they are family and season 2 explores that bond in a way that reflects the realities of real life while also acknowledging that they very much live in a destroyed world full of infected.
Season 2 of The Last of Us also introduces a whole slew of new characters. And instead of taking time away from the heart of the story, aka Joel and Ellie, they enrich the world and make it feel alive or utterly terrifying. These additions to the cast also paint a picture of how the rest of the world is doing. Ellie, Joel, or the people of Jackson, they’re not the only ones to survive. And to see more of the world they live in, opens up The Last of Us in unexpected and disturbing ways.
When it comes to season 2 standouts, I obviously want to say Pascal’s Joel. Pascal is a powerhouse and Joel’s whole rugged/grumpy man with a heart of gold who adopts a child is catnip for viewers. But Ramsey’s Ellie is giving Pascal’s Joel some competition when it comes to standouts due to Ellie’s transformation into this fierce, protective, and stand out woman born out of a harsh world and the love and care that Joel has for her. And every single time Ramsey is on screen, I forget that I’m watching a TV show. And that’s exactly what you want when you are creating a show like The Last of Us. You want immersion.
When we throw Ramsey’s Ellie into the ring with Isabela Merced’s Dina, you get an extra level of immersion there. These two disappear into their characters. And whether it’s easy chemistry between the actors or just great acting, you want to know everything about them from how they first met or what they do on their downtime. It’s just pure magic to see them together on screen. Plus Dina really is that girl no matter what situation you’re in. Trust in that.
Then there’s Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever. In a story about loss and those who survive, Abby felt like an outlier in a cast with so many dynamic actors. She didn’t hit the beats with the same emotional residence as Pascal, Ramsey, or even Merced. And I found myself constantly being taken out of the moment when it came to her character. That doesn’t mean that she won’t make you feel things. She will.
Overall, The Last of Us season 2 honors why people connect so much with the story of Joel and Ellie while expanding on this world and making it very clear that the infected might be literal monsters, but there are more dangerous things out there that happen to look like us.
The Last of Us season 2 premieres Sunday, April 13 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
