Season Review: The Last of Us Season 2

Welcome back to the blog readers. If you remember way back in the infancy of my blog, you would remember that The Last of Us (2023-) is the first show that I ever reviewed on my blog. I remember being completely enamored with this show from the very beginning. Pedro Pascal became Joel Miller. Bella Ramsey became Ellie. That season's third episode is one of the best episodes of television I have ever seen. Everything resonated with me. I hate that the dual strikes of 2023 meant I had to wait longer for this second season to premiere, but would the wait be worth it? Stick around to find out.

The Last of Us was created for television by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, with both of them serving as showrunners for the second season, based on the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020) by PlayStation Studios. The season featured direction from Mazin, Druckmann, Mark Mylod, Peter Hoar, Kate Herron, Stephen Williams, and Nina Lopez-Corrado. The season stars Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Isabela Merced, and Young Mazino. In the season, set five years after the events of the first, Joel and Ellie are living a quiet life in Jackson when Joel's past comes back to haunt him, leading Ellie to embark on a quest of revenge with her new flame Dina.

NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the season. I also will not be spoiling the events of the video game The Last of Us Part II (2020) on which this season is based.

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Like I said already, the first season of this show became one of the greatest things of television I have seen in a long time, and the wait between seasons was unbearable to me. I had seen some early reviews calling the second season incomplete and not as good as the first season, which surprised me (and somewhat made me a bit nervous) because of how well the first season was received (and how many Emmy nominations it got). But I was steadfast in my high levels of anticipation for this season, and I know reception amongst the fans has been very divisive to say the least, but I am here to let you know right now all of that was noise to me. This season was just as good as the first in every way. The performances (especially from Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, and Isabela Merced) were all stellar as always, the story is faithful to the second half of the game whether you like that or not, and the action is as incredible as always.

I first want to talk about the performance of Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller. I remember how much people blasted HBO when he was cast in this show originally. Lest you forget, Pascal is a phenomenal actor appearing in projects like Game of Thrones (2011-19), Narcos (2015-17), The Mandalorian (2019-), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Gladiator II (2024), and the upcoming The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025) and Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Secret Wars (2027). Pascal blew me and a lot of good people away with the brutal, accurate, and grounded portrayal of Joel he gave in the first season. He even won a SAG award for his portrayal of Joel. But knowing we were not going to get as much of Joel in this season as we did in the first season made me a bit nervous that we was not going to be able to deliver the same level of performance from the first season. Oh boy, was I wrong. There is a part of me that believes that Pascal exceeded his work in the first season entirely, and there are a few episodes that really sell me on this idea. First and foremost has to be in the first episode. Two scenes that really stand out to me are his whole scene with therapist Gail when they discuss what he has done. He does not say much in the scene, but his actions and his facial movements really sell the scene for me, especially when he says with a tear in his eye, "I saved her." The second scene that stood out to me in this episode had to be the dance when he tries standing up for Ellie to no avail. He only utters one word but it is more powerful than any word that is ever uttered in that episode. It is a very tragic one too. The whole scene is a testament to the fragmented relationship between Joel and Ellie and will be something I talk about further in the story section of this review. But Joel's death would probably have been his finest hour if not for his final scene in the season. First up, Joel's death is a mix of anger, tragedy, and heartbreak that he pulls off so well. But his final scene is probably the closest I came this season to choking on tears. The tear-filled and regretless Joel bears it all on the table and I personally believe that may be Pascal's finest hour as an actor. Pascal has proven to the world that he is a legitimate actor and the eventual Emmy nomination he gets will justify that. Hopefully he gets to win and not get outshined by some of those White Lotus (2021-) assholes (I'm sure it's a great show and everything and I am just joking about this by the way).

Before I begin talking about the performance of Bella Ramsey as Ellie, I need to address something that has been making the rounds on the internet as of late. What is okay is if the performance just does not vibe with you at all. It is absolutely okay if you do not like the performance on its own merits. What it is absolutely unacceptable to do is judge someone solely based on other defining characteristics. To all the people saying that "Bella does not look like Ellie," nobody is going to look like Ellie. It is an adaptation so Ellie can look however the creators want Ellie to look like. I find it very harmful to these actors when shit like that is being thrown around. I have even seen some people making fun of their appearance using phrases like "the down of us" and "the fetal alcohol syndrome of us," or my favorite, "the woke of us," as if the fact that Ellie is gay is a brand new concept. And these are the same people who look at Zelda potentially being played by Hunter Schafer as a bad thing, despite looking like what a live-action depiction of the character would look like, because she "isn't a natural woman." These people really need to pick their battles because they clearly have an issue with people who are different to them. Plus, Hunter Schafer is more attractive than you, and you know it.

Now I want to talk about Ramsey's performance as Ellie. Besides all of the internet trolls that have been present since the first season when they blasted Ramsey for not looking like Ellie, Ramsey really burst on to the scene for me with their performance in the first season. What Ramsey was able to do by embodying the spirit of the character brought to life by the incomparable Ashley Johnson completely left me stunned. They definitely earned that Emmy nomination last time around. And I am so proud to say that Ramsey is getting another one this time around. The character that they embodied for this season was a lot more emotionally complex than first season Ellie, and Ramsey absolutely was up to task in bringing this new version of the character to life. The very first scene that comes to mind when I think about what Ramsey did this season is in the second episode when Joel is killed. You do not hear a single decibel of the scream that Ramsey lets out in that moment, but you can feel every single ounce of weight and every iota of soul that is let out in that moment. It may have been their finest hour as a performer had it not been for the fifth episode in which Ellie tortures Nora. The rage could be felt through the screen and every visceral scream Ramsey gives off in that moment made me all the more uncomfortable. It adds dimensions to the character we did not know could be reached (unless of course you played the game) and adds a different dynamic to Ramsey as a performer that makes you want to see more of it. The sixth episode did a stellar job of blending the two Ellies we have seen, and getting to see Ramsey be able to play both Ellies: one overcome with love for her father figure, and one overcome with hate and anger over his decisions. That porch scene is a masterclass in emotions, and I already made it my Emmy submission for Pedro Pascal, but I could say the exact same thing for Ramsey in this moment. It has all come out and all of the emotion is there. Bella Ramsey to me has proved all of their dissenters wrong and shown that they can be a legitimate actor. Also stop making fun of them over the "I'm gonna be a dad" line because it is supposed to be a quip. I laughed and a lot of you did as well.

And to wrap up the performance side of the review, I want to talk about the performance of series newcomer Isabela Merced as Dina. When I first saw the casting news that Merced would be playing Dina, I initially thought, the girl who played Dora? To be fair, my introduction to her was Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) but she has also been in Instant Family, Sicario: Day of the Soldado (both 2018), the aforementioned Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019), and the horrendous on all levels Madame Web (2024). She will appear as Hawkgirl in the DCU, starting with Superman (2025) and continuing with the second season of Peacemaker (2025). But the film that really made me realize she was all that was Alien: Romulus (2024). She really shocked me in that role, and I have to say she absolutely surprised me as Dina. The character that was originally played by Shannon Woodward in the game was going to be the most important casting because who could really be able to match the energy of Bella Ramsey and do justice to the character? And having the benefit of hindsight really will allow me to say I can imagine nobody else in this role now. And I am serious. Not only does she bring those serious acting chops to the table whenever it warrants it, but she also brings that freewheeling Joan Baez-like energy to the character so effortlessly. One of the scenes that happens in this season that personifies this to me is the dance in the first episode. I know Dina was drunk and high in this moment, but Merced flawlessly personifies this character that is desperately trying to tell Ellie how she feels. And that chemistry she has with Ramsey is absolutely impeccable and one of the things I will miss about next season. The fourth episode was a Dina-filled one and that spirit I was talking about is absolutely there. Just look at Merced tear up when Ellie serenades Dina in that music shop. Then there was the love-making but we will leave that for another time. Isabela Merced was a big get for this show and the gamble absolutely paid off because she made Dina to be one of, if not the, most memorable character in the series. I am not sure when she will be back but I hope it is very much in the third season.

Now I want to get into the overall story of this season because it is a tried and true trope but it is definitely one that is going to transcend seasons. The idea around this season and the overall game on which it is based is what pain does to people, even the best of people. I think another big idea from the second game is that actions have consequences, and that there is a cycle of violence that happens and that we cannot seem to break. I want to start with the idea of pain and what it does to people. And this is an idea that has been around a lot because it is a fascinating study of the human mind. When someone is pushed to their absolute limit, what do they do under all that immense pressure? For someone like Ellie, a somewhat innocent young girl who had been shielded from a lot of the ugliness of the world, she is forced to watch her world crumble right in front of her and there is nothing she can do to stop it. She becomes addicted to the idea of making everybody involved pay, and there is nothing that is going to stop her from getting what she sees as justice in the death of Abby. For Abby, her whole world crumbled down when she was forced to see the remains of her father and risked the lives of her friends to go to Jackson and hunt down her father's killer. We will eventually see the physical and mental toll that this expedition will take on Abby in the third season, but this season really was the Ellie adventure. The full story will come out whenever the rest of this show comes out.

The next idea I want to talk about involves where I said actions have consequences. One of thee most fascinating ideas in all of fiction is someone facing consequences for their actions, especially if we saw the actions. One of my favorite examples is in John Wick (2014), when Viggo realizes his son was responsible for pissing off John Wick and all he can mutter is "Oh." Both of them wind up dead, but at least Viggo is able to get to a place where he accepts the consequences of his and his son's actions. The characters in this series are the exact same way. Joel's actions in the first season have double the effect because killing the doctor led directly to his death, and lying to Ellie permanently shattered their relationship. For Ellie, the actions she has taken in this season (brutally torturing Nora and killing Owen and Mel) are going to come back and bite her in the ass, but those consequences have not been explored yet, and will not be until future installments of this show. For Abby, her actions of brutally killing Joel and making Ellie watch have the consequences of her friends being killed and being totally and utterly helpless to stop it. You will see the full ramifications of what she goes through in next season because Catherine O'Hara has gone on record to call it the "Abby story."

And I finally want to end by talking about the idea of the cycle of violence. The idea behind the cycle of violence is that violence is most often met with violence, and it continues until there is nobody left to carry out that violence. And it usually follows the same pattern: abuse, guilt, excuses, "normal behavior," fantasy and planning, and setup. This series uses this concept so well in fact that it almost feels criminal when there is not violence happening on screen. Nothing personified that more for me than the war between the Washington Liberation Front (WLF or "Wolves") and the Seraphites, or "Scars." Violence met with violence met with violence met with even more violence is the name of the game in that warm and we will see the deeper intricacies of the war play out next season. But the cycle of violence that our characters face this season will come back and help nobody. Joel killed Abby's father, which led to Abby and her friends killing Joel, which led to Ellie torturing Nora and killing Owen and Mel, which led to Abby killing Jesse to end the second season. This will lead to further acts of violence down the line for the characters in their future, just as we will see for the Wolves and Scars.

Now before I move on to the next thing, I want to talk about the character of Abby for a minute. As I mentioned in my review of the fantastic second episode of this season, I would not stand for any death threats against Kaitlyn Dever because of the abuse that Laura Bailey (who played the character in the game) suffered. And because if you do that you are a piece of human garbage that does not deserve to be happy in any way. Her newborn son got threats as well, which is of the utmost ignorance. If you do not like the character, explain why you didn't like her. Did the performance not resonate with you? Did you have such an emotional response to the character of Joel that anyone that did harm to him would make them instantly hated for you? The one issue I did have with the game (which was not her performance because she wound up winning best performance at the Game Awards in 2020) is not even in this season. I am so happy that no threats of any kind were directed towards Dever in any way, and I think putting her on press with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey definitely fanned the flames of any real violence.

And finally, I want to talk about the use of music in this season. This is not something I usually talk about because even though I love music, I have not been as enamored as I have been. Remember the year-end lists I do on this blog? I used to do those for music (albums and songs) as well, but this blog has taken up too much of my time and I do not do it anymore. But I still love the intricacies of music and how using it in material can either enhance or rotten the idea of it. But I think the usage of music in this season was perfect to say the least. And I want to start by talking about the first episode. The iconic dance scene features two songs by the bank Crooked Still: "Little Sadie" and "Ecstasy." I want to talk specifically about "Ecstasy" for a minute. Used also in the game, the song seems to revolve around meeting God and forgetting all of one's troubles. While the Jesus part is not accurate for this episode, the forgetting of troubles is definitely there when Dina and Ellie are dancing together and kissing. In the next episode, the final song that plays is Ashley Johnson's cover of Shawn James' "Through the Valley." In the song, originally recorded by original Ellie actor Johnson for the second game, James sings about rejecting religion and the inherent idea that humanity is good. We know that to not be true based on the song's usage in the episode: Joel had just been killed and Jackson invaded by infected. It paints a picture that humanity is not inherently good but there are some of us who can be.

Now we move to the fourth episode, in which the scene of Ellie serenading Dina with a-ha's "Take On Me" was practically unchanged from the game. "Take On Me" is a song that invites someone to embrace the challenge and vulnerability that comes when beginning a relationship, with the phrase "take on me" meaning to challenge someone to some sort of contest. In the vein of the show, Ellie invites Dina in to her world and asks to take on the challenge of a relationship together, something that does happen by that episode's end. We move on to the next episode, in which Pearl Jam's "Present Tense" is used in the credits. In this song, the band urges its listeners to not dwell on the past and instead look to the future. In the show, it plays right after Ellie tortures Nora and we get a flashback to Joel and Ellie's time in Jackson. As an audience, we are doing exactly what Pearl Jam told us not to do and I absolutely love the juxtaposition Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann paint with this. You knew this was coming, didn't you? "Future Days" in this show is used as an anachronism because the sone was released in 2013 and Outbreak Day in the show was 2003. But the song about fatherly love dedicated to a friend of lead singer Eddie Vedder can also be used in the sense of any kind of relationship. The first line is, "If I ever were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself." Ellie provides Joel with a sense of hope and Joel is reciprocating these hopes that he gets to live out and get a second chance at his biggest failure: being a father. And finally, in the finale, the Soundgarden song "Burden in My Hand" plays over the credits. In this song, an unnamed narrator murders someone and is forced to live with the regret and the guilt. In the context of this show, that is absolutely how Ellie feels in the moment she kills a pregnant Mel and cannot save the unborn child out of these emotions. These emotions are going to heavily weigh on Ellie's psyche going forward and the girl we met in the first season is going to wind up being long gone by the end of this series.

And I finally want to end this review (I know, right?) by talking about the idea behind next season to temper some expectations. Based on what I said before about Catherine O'Hara calling the third season the "Abby story," you can almost assume we are going to be primarily following her and her journey throughout Seattle in the third season. In the very end of this season, we get a flashback of Abby's first day in Seattle where she and Manny are summoned by Isaac. This is absolutely what led to a lot of dissent within the community when the game came out, because people expected to play as Ellie for the entire game. Naughty Dog pulled the rug out from under us and had you get the other side of the story by playing as Abby and fans were not happy at all. This is probably what led to some of those death threats (that still were NEVER warranted in the first place). I am interested in seeing how, if at all, the Abby story will be changed to benefit the new direction of the series. Will some of the characters be changed or some of the ideas? I am absolutely curious to see what happens.

In conclusion, the second season of The Last of Us is yet another example of why this is the best show on television, from the brilliant character work and performances to fantastic action and story actions. Thank you all for reading this super-sized review (I told you I had to make it up to you guys for my lackluster coverage of the first season), and I will see you for the next post.