The Last Of Us Season 2 Episode 5 Review

Episode 5 of The Last of Us may be the weakest of season 2 so far, but it’s still an exciting outing with more excellent technical elements.

Though this episode has a shorter runtime, and is perhaps a little less thematically rich than previous weeks, it’s still an exciting outing with plenty to discuss.

The episode opens with two of the WLF leaders debriefing in the Seattle hospital after one of the troops discovered the airborne cordyceps in the basement. At first glance, the scene is mostly here to foreshadow the end of the episode, but there is something to explore here regarding knowing when to turn back – it seems that the WLF commander had to seal her own son away after he became infected. It does strain credulity ever so slightly that this is literally the first encounter anyone has had with spores throughout the entirety of Seattle (plus wherever people migrated from), but it’s not enough to throw the show’s writers under the bus.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how great The Last of Us looks visually, and episode 5 director Stephen Williams provides a distinctive flair throughout this mostly nocturnal installment. The action kicks off once Dina and Ellie venture into an abandoned building outside of the WLF patrols. If this were a different show, and Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced didn’t have such infectious chemistry together, I’d start to get annoyed at how often their strategic differences come up. But Ellie feels protective of Dina, and she’s had more combat experience, so it makes sense for violence to be her first solution. 

Merced continues to be the season 2 stealth MVP, though, with a monologue in episode 5 about surviving, and in some ways causing, the deaths of her family at the hands of a raider. It was a genuinely surprising moment for Ellie to offer Dina the chance to turn around after finding the Seraphite massacre, and Dina provides a moving speech about how one can find fulfillment in revenge, even if it came at a strange moment during their journey (this wasn’t the first time the group found a group of dead Scars).

The ambush in the warehouse provides the show’s requisite horror/action sequence, until Jesse (Young Mazino) swoops in to save the day, and our heroes get their first up-close experience with the Seraphites/Scars. It’s been interesting to see Ellie and Dina, and their reactions to the Seraphites as they venture deeper and deeper into Seattle. They’ve presumably seen all manner of factions in the post-apocalypse, but nothing like them, so it’s been fascinating to see how their views change once they learn more, and especially given what they know of the WLF and their capabilities. Who, if anyone, will they ultimately side with, and who do they sympathize with more?

Episode 5 concludes with Ellie perhaps at her most ruthless; after Dina and Jesse escape the Seraphites, Ellie goes on to the hospital, where she finds Nora (Tati Gabrielle). Just like in the game, Ellie chases Nora down to the hospital basement, which is full of spores. Again, this is another gorgeous set piece for The Last of Us, as the production design, cinematography, and visual effects. It remains to be seen whether Nora actually gave up Abby’s (Kaitlyn Dever) location, but Ellie could have just as easily left Nora to die on her own. Especially after Nora tells the truth about Abby’s revenge motivation and what happened in the season 1 finale.

Not only is Ellie unfazed by the news (because she already knew?), but she goes the extra step to beat Nora with a pipe. We’re seeing, in real time, the destruction of Ellie’s soul as she chooses vengeance repeatedly. By the time we reach the end of season 2, will there be any of it left, and will we still be able to root for her when all is said and done?

Episode 5 of The Last of Us Season 2 is now available to stream on Max.

The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 5 – Gamer Corner

With time running out in The Last of Us season 2, there’s only so many changes that can be made from the game to the show. This space will discuss any potential revisions, hints about what’s possibly to come, and what didn’t make the transition from one format to the other. Obviously, spoilers ahead:

So many moments from episode 5 gave me PTSD from the game: the introduction of the WFL dogs, the reintroduction of the Stalkers, and the hints of what’s to come in the basement of the hospital.

I’ve been wondering when the show would give us any of the flashbacks to Joel and Ellie – most notably the birthday trip to the science museum. My best guess, based on the closing image of episode 5, is that next week’s episode will open with that scene. It seems that the show is following the structure of the game, in that it will end season 2 at the end of day 3 from Ellie’s perspective, and next season will focus on Abby. If that’s the case, there’s still a good deal of ground to cover, and a lot more killing, with just two episodes remaining.