Two stellar scenes highlight episode 1 of The Last of Us Season 2, which introduces new characters and plot lines and has a more ambitious scope.
Showrunners: Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann
Season 2 Episodes: 7
Episode 1 (Series Premiere) Release Date: April 13, 2025
Where to Watch: HBO and Max (U.S.) / Crave (Canada) / Sky & Now (U.K. & Ireland)
HBO’s highly anticipated season 2 of The Last of Us kicks off with a solid season premiere, thanks to two scenes which showcase its mission statement in uniquely different ways. But before we get to that, episode writer and director Craig Mazin has to do the necessary legwork of establishing who our primary players will be going forward. Though it utilized a number of memorable guest stars, season 1 was mostly the Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) show, as they ventured across a post-apocalyptic America.
“The Last of Us Part II”, which season 2 will mirror, is much wider in scope and ambition, and episode 1 has to introduce a whole host of new characters and plot lines.
Our first new face is Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), the de facto leader of a group of young Fireflies and, more importantly, the daughter of a doctor who was killed by Joel at the end of season 1. Neil Druckman, the creator of both “The Last of Us” games and co-showrunner, has said that season 2 will focus on the “consequences of violence”, and how far we’re willing to go to seek justice. With only one scene in episode 1, it’s clear that Abby’s main mission will be revenge for what Joel has done, but Mazin smartly introduces her as someone whose worldview has been warped by unexpected grief.
It’s easy to forget, since he was the hero of season 1, that Joel has spent most of his post-apocalyptic life doing bad things. Episode 1 of season 2 makes sure to remind us of this, and it’s the basis for the first stand-out scene between Joel and his therapist Gail (Catherine O’Hara). Surviving the end of the world is heavy enough, but it seems that Joel has mostly turned to therapy to try and mend his relationship with Ellie.
The season begins five years after the season 1 finale, which ended with Joel swearing to his surrogate daughter that his version of events at the hospital was the truth. We don’t know yet what’s caused the rift, but Gail – who can’t let go of the fact that Joel killed her husband – seems to believe there’s something eating away at Joel which he must get off his chest, or things will likely never be the same.
Pascal’s performance in the scene is yet another reminder of why he was an Emmy nominee for season 1, and it’s another reason why The Last of Us works so well overall. Yes, on its surface, this is a show about zombie-like monsters, but it’s primarily concerned with survivor’s guilt. Why do a select few deserve to live when so many have died, and how can we go on living in a normal way when there’s nothing left? This is Joel’s character in a nutshell, as he’s had to live through the death of his daughter and, somewhere along the way, he lost sight of what really matters.
On a lighter note, the second stand-out scene concerns Ellie and her new friend/love interest Dina (Isabela Merced). We can tell from their first scene together that there’s an unspoken connection between the two, as they joke and defy authority figures as they go out on patrol. They both crave adventure, going so far as to clear out a grocery store where a few Infected are holed up. Even if I hadn’t just recently finished playing it, there’s a fun video game-like feel to the scene, as the pair use their surroundings and the environment’s resources to distract and take down a Clicker. Ellie’s pursuit of the Stalker, another new introduction to the world in season 2, is top-notch suspense/horror filmmaking, with the terror just lurking off-screen.
It’s easy to lump The Last of Us and The Walking Dead in the same conversation. Both work within the same genre, and both shows often highlight the work in humanity once all the guardrails of society are gone. But the former has quickly out-shined the latter, as it is concerned primarily with human drama and world-building, and less on action set-pieces where any number of characters could be killed at any moment. Episode 1 of season 2 does this with only two scenes, and it sets up the building blocks of what could be another fascinating season of television.
The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 – Gamer Corner
I’ll be using this section to discuss plot details from the game The Last of Us Part II, and how the show could either follow or deviate from that path throughout the rest of the season. Obviously, spoilers ahead.
My biggest question for season 2 mostly concerned how much of the game would be squeezed into just seven episodes. Druckmann and Mazin obviously haven’t given away much, but they clearly plan to stretch out the game over multiple seasons. Will Ellie and Dina make it to Seattle by the end of this season? In order for that to happen, the “inciting incident” will have to happen relatively early, and I don’t know how eager they’ll be to get to that point. But trailers for the show have featured the Seraphites, so obviously some time will be spent on the west coast.
Episode 1 stays mostly faithful to the early parts of the game, with the obvious exception of Gail, a brand new character. One of the magic tricks of season 1 was in its deviation from the game’s storyline. The Nick Offerman-Murray Bartlett two-handler in episode 3 was a great example of the show taking a minor detail from the game and fleshing it out for a full episode. Will season 2 recreate the same kind of structure, and if so, where?
Episode 1 of The Last of Us Season 2 is now available to stream on Max.
