The Last of Us season two has A LOT to live up to. The exceptional first outing of the apocalyptic thriller started off so strong, with an adrenaline-pumping debut episode that had viewers latched on harder than the spore-spewing infected. The audience was hooked.
Naturally the bar has been set high, leaving the second instalment to contend with the pressure of fans’ expectation – even more-so, after more than a two year wait.
If you’re looking for a pulse-pumping start, temper your expectations, as the second season’s debut episode is comparatively (and noticeably) slower. But please, don’t mistake slow for a lack of captivating intensity.
While the first episode may not leave your nervous system a quivering wreck, there is a low hum of anxiety that peaks and troughs in little waves keeping you on that delicious edge of unease.
After the briefest flashback to get viewers back up to speed (we know, we know, Joel lied to Ellie about the whole Firefly situation) season two picks up after a five-year time jump.
HBO
Survivors Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) have become enmeshed in the thriving Jackson, Wyoming, community. However while they have built a comfortable, even somewhat blissful, life there, their relationship has seen a shift.
The two have formed allyships outside of their pseudo father-daughter relationship, which is where newcomers Jesse (Beef‘s Young Mazino) and Dina (Let it Snow‘s Isabela Merced) come into play.
Much like Ramsay, fans have been excited for the romance between Ellie and Dina to cross over from game to screen – and The Last of Us wastes no time in establishing their bond, and just how much they mean to each other.
HBO
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Merced and Ramsay have a sort of chemistry that benefits their characters’ different, yet complimenting, personalities. Dina and Ellie’s is a connection that instantly feels intimate, grounded by their knowing of one another.
Fans won’t get to see much from Mazino’s Jesse in the first episode, but there’s enough to get a sense of his playfulness and warmth. It will be interesting to see how those traits survive season two’s ordeal.
Joel, meanwhile, seeks solace and understanding in Catherine O’Hara’s psychotherapist Gail.
HBO
While Joel has become an integral part of the community, what’s happened with Ellie is weighing on him heavily.
What is perhaps a little bit more of a surprise is that the Joel we see now is not the same Joel we left in season one. One may have rightly anticipated a growth and change from Ellie, as she transitioned from child to adult, but the change in Joel feels somewhat unexpected.
He’s lost some of his grit and moves with a lot less urgency than he once had, a reflection of the calmer life he’s living now. Life and death threats aren’t a daily occurrence anymore, which has given him a chance to abandon survival mode and just live. Even if living means confronting his own feelings. It’s a refreshing angle to see him from, and one that brings to the surface his vulnerability, expanding on something the first season did so well.
HBO
On the flip side of that, we see a harder, less fragile version of Ellie, who is wrestling with new truths, new emotions and a new perspective because of that.
This is the core of what The Last of Us really is. Despite all the Cordyceps fungus threatening humanity, it is in fact the human element that matters most – and the show still doesn’t forget that.
There are plenty of evils to come. Yes the infected, but also human rivals that have the potential to be even more of a threat when driven by white-hot emotions. Their calculative and tenacious movements are already at play in episode one, and will probably continue to blossom throughout the season.
HBO
However, The Last of Us also doesn’t forget that this is still a dystopian sci-fi setting, and so that feeling of jeopardy needs to be continuously pressing down on them.
It is already an impressive start, and the change of tone feels right given the circumstance under which we find our central characters at the beginning. With that in mind, it’s hard to compare with The Last of Us’s incredible season one debut, as a lot has changed.
But season two is undeniably playing the long game, taking care to set up those all-important relationships, and to build to more inevitably dread-filled storylines for an overarching narrative that is just as satisfying as the last.
The Last of Us season 2 premieres on Sunday, 13 April on HBO in the US, and on Monday, 14 April on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW in the UK.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.