Fans of The Last of Us on HBO walked into Season 2 with huge expectations. The first season set the bar high, with Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie becoming fixtures in watercooler chatter. But this time, showrunners swung for the fences – and not everyone’s thrilled with the result. When Joel is brutally killed early on, the emotional anchor disappears, leaving viewers and Ellie both untethered. Suddenly the series feels less about the gritty bond between mentor and survivor, and more about Ellie’s solo path fueled by rage and confusion.
It’s not just the plot that changes gears. The series takes its biggest risk by putting Ellie, freshly 19 and supposed to be shaped by her experiences, in a dimmer light. Her skills seem unpolished, her decision-making impulsive, and the smarts she showed in Season 1 are replaced with scenes where her immaturity is hard to miss. For fans who loved the no-nonsense dynamic duo confronting infected hordes and complex moral choices, this shift is jarring. Ellie's arc wobbles, sometimes feeling disconnected from the survivor she was poised to become. Where survival instincts should rule, teen angst takes center stage.
With Joel out of the spotlight (aside from his emotional return in Episode 6), new characters try to fill the void. Dina, played by Isabela Merced, brings real spark to Ellie’s world – her chemistry with Ellie is one of the few times the show recaptures its old heart. Jesse (Young Mazino) adds more energy, grounding the group with practical wisdom and quiet intensity. Sadly, these characters struggle to get real focus as the show diverts to sprawling storylines about warring human factions: the scarred zealots and the Washington Liberation Front.
Here’s the kicker: where once The Last of Us terrified us with the ever-present threat of the cordyceps infection, the monsters are now in the background. The real focus is now on people versus people – revenge, betrayal, and political infighting—and, frankly, some viewers just don’t care about these stakes. The brutality between factions feels familiar but lacks the unique juice that once set the series apart. Without the infected pushing our heroes to the edge, the world just seems less dangerous and more like another post-apocalyptic playground.
Still, the talent shines through. Bella Ramsey works hard to give Ellie nuance even when the script hems her in, while Pedro Pascal returns in a jaw-dropping Episode 6 that forces viewers to reckon with grief, trauma, and the cost of love. The vulnerability on display almost makes you wish the season stayed with the introspection that made that episode so effective. When the show leans into emotional pain and complicated bonds, it works. When it pivots to high school-level drama and endless grudge matches, it stumbles hard.
If you want to see risk-taking and top-tier performances, you’ll still find those moments. But The Last of Us Season 2 can’t quite settle on what it wants to be – a mournful story of loss and healing or a messy tale of vengeance and rivalry. That leaves fans divided, waiting to see if this ambitious gamble pays off next time around.
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