REVIEW: ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Ends With A Whimper Instead Of A Bang

The Last of Us Season 2 has finally come to an end with its seventh episode. Last week, the show took us away from all the action and took us back to the days when Joel was alive, giving it his all to be a better father than he had. It was a heartbreaking episode and one that tore audiences apart as the inclusion of the porch scene felt out of place for most as it originally is left for the end of the story in the game. I thought that it was a great inclusion to the episode and that it allowed for you to look at Joel and Ellie’s relationship through a different lens, one that could affect how Ellie chooses her actions in the latter half of the video game’s story.

The Last of Us Part 2 is an extremely long game when it’s compared to its predecessor, and it is quite literally impossible for it to be adapted into one season of a show. Season 2 already falls into issues of it feeling rushed with the direction that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have taken with the story. When adapting a video game into a television show/film, a lot of that gameplay is cut out, which makes up a lot of the time playing a story video game. With that being said, it feels like The Last of Us Season 2 cut out every vital action moment wherever they could. That didn’t only make Jesse’s introduction into Seattle feel lackluster, but it also left Ellie in the show feeling rather weak and shallow in comparison to video game Ellie, who took down everyone in her path, whether they were WLF, Seraphites or infected.

Time rewinds a little as we see the aftermath of Dina getting shot in the leg from an arrow with Jesse attending to the nasty wound. Jesse’s still unaware at this point of Dina’s pregnancy, but it becomes instantly clear to him when she denies the alcohol. This scene doesn’t make up for his odd characterisation in the show and them ruining his badass entry, but it does bring depth to Dina and Jesse’s relationship, which didn’t exist before. Jesse finding out about Dina’s pregnancy only brings such urgency to the fact that they need to find Tommy quick and make it back to Jackson, as he wants to be there for his child. It only hurts ever so more when Ellie continues to be selfish about her decisions with revenge clouding her mind and when Jesse dies in those final moments, as it will only affect Ellie more, as she now knows how badly he wanted to get home to avoid this exact situation they find themselves in.

© HBO

What hurts this episode the most and the overall show is Ellie’s depiction. Bella Ramsey continues to deliver a great performance and showcased last episode that their switch between young Ellie and present-day Ellie is effortless, but as mentioned before, this character doesn’t feel ruthless, and it’s not believable that she’ll achieve her goal of killing Abby. The entire scene at the aquarium is once again a scene that remotely lacks any sense of action. There’s no Ellie fighting off against Mel to protect herself, and it feels like Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are just taking out all the parts of the game that feel engaging and, in a way, make Ellie who she is.

Without stepping into spoiler territory, when the show finally gets to the video game’s conclusion, it will always feel half-assed, as we’ve been given an Ellie that doesn’t get herself into fights. Ellie is supposed to be a character where even the audience should worry if she’s going too far, but that moment has not yet come, as her kill count in the show has not even reached a quarter of what it is at this point in the game. Ellie’s realisation that Mel is pregnant is harder to deal with in the show, as she makes an attempt to save the baby, but these changes just don’t feel worth the time.

Enter Abby; somehow she returned. With how great a job Kaitlyn Dever does at portraying Abby, her presence was missed, and the final moments of the episode remind you why Dever was such a great choice for Abby. This singular moment and what follows in the game is hands down one of the best moments in the entire game, but with Season 2 feeling rushed, the impact of this scene never hits as hard as it’s supposed to.

© HBO

The Last of Us Season 2 could’ve done with an extra episode or two before reaching this moment, but for whatever reason, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann opted for skipping out on a lot of character development with Ellie, spending that time on her relationship with the surrounding characters instead of the rage she should be building up, and beat around the bushes when it came to the action. The most action-packed moment of the entire season was the Jackson attack, and that’s saying a lot when that’s an original scene they’ve added themselves.

Depending on the direction Mazin and Druckmann go in, the show could wrap up with an extensive third season, but unfortunately they’ve showcased with Season 2 that they’re not capable of adapting a long game into a TV show, and it’s probably best if they split up what’s left into two more seasons. Whether they’ll be able to keep the audience’s attention for that long, we’ll see. The Last of Us Season 2 doesn’t reach the heights of Season 1, although there are singular episodes of Season 2 that are the best this show has seen. It rushes to get to its cliffhanger and wraps with a finale that doesn’t feel climactic and instead feels disjointed.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

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About The Last of Us

The Last of Us. © HBO

Premiere Date: April 13, 2025

Episode Count: 7

Executive Producer/Showrunner: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Evan Wells

Writer: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, and Halley Gross

Director: Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, Mark Mylod, Peter Hoar, Kate Herron, Stephen Williams, Nina Lopez-Corrado

Production: PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint, Sony Pictures Television and Naughty Dog

Distribution: HBO

Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez, Jeffrey Wright and Catherine O’Hara.

Synopsis: Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.