REVIEW: ‘The Last Of Us Season 2’ Is Dark, Bold, And At Odds With Its Source Material

The first season of The Last of Us often felt like a carbon copy of the video game of the same name. At worst, the show was just a less engaging version of the game, but at best it expanded the scope and world of the Naughty Dog game by showing how the Cordyceps infection started in Indonesia, or by changing point of view and giving us a poignant, touching story about side characters.

In The Last of Us Season 2, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann go further, with a dark and bold adaptation that remixes the source material to deliver a poignant story of revenge and grief. The problem is that the season feels at odds with itself, with the changes fighting against the source material.

The changes start right from the opening scene, which takes place right after Joel (Pedro Pascal) slaughters a hospital full of Fireflies members to save Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from being killed in order to find a cure for the infection that ended civilization.  We cut to a group of Firefly survivors led by Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), grieving their comrades and swearing vengeance. The rest of the season takes place five years later, with Joel and Ellie settling in the survivor community of Jackson, Wyoming. Joel’s actions from the end of last season loom large over The Last of Us Season 2, weighing heavily on himself and affecting his relationship with Ellie.

Indeed, this season is more focused on Ellie than Joel, as we find her physically and emotionally isolated. Ramsey continues to do a great job portraying the way Ellie uses sarcasm to hide her pain, pushing those around her and going deeper and deeper down a path of violence that takes her all the way to Seattle. Still, she is not alone.

The Last of Us Season 2 introduces a bigger ensemble.

Unlike the first season, which was more of a road trip, The Last of Us Season 2 features a larger ensemble and gives more time to side characters both in Jackson and in Seattle. People like Jesse (Young Mazino), Dina (Isabela Merced), Gail (the great Catherine O’Hara), and Isaac (Jeffrey Wright). The supporting characters are a great addition to the season as they make the scope of the story feel bigger and the show’s world more lived-in. There is a sense that Joel and Ellie are no longer just outsiders traveling a desolate wasteland, but part of a community, part of a larger struggle. 

With a bigger cast also comes a darker, more violent story, with more personal stakes and more to lose. Even if The Last of Us Season 2 still uses it’s infected rather sparingly. When they show up, it is quite a spectacle, with one episode delivering a big-scale zombie battle that makes you wish for a proper World War Z adaptation.

Even in more minor encounters with the infected, the season introduces some fascinating additions to its lore, particularly when it comes to the terrifying tendrils introduced last season or with the addition of spores and a new type of infected this season. This makes the show stand out among recent zombie titles and teases some considerable developments in the show’s world.

Unfortunately, there is little time for all that because as soon as an episode introduces some cool new idea, it is forced to move to the next big plot point, the next set piece from the game. That is the biggest problem with The Last of Us. It seems to recognize that there is room for improvement from the source material, but not enough that it doesn’t still do mostly shot-for-shot remakes of the scenes from the game.

Balancing shot-for-shot adaptations and making big swings remains The Last Of Us Season 2’s largest problem.

The problem is that this season, in particular, has enough changes in characterization and worldbuilding that it often feels jarring and disconnected when characters are forced into specific moments from the game that no longer fit how they are portrayed in the show and come across as wonky. Dever’s Abby, in particular, suffers from this.

Likewise, the huge scope of the game means this season, even if it only covers half a game, often feels rushed, jumping around from big set piece to big set piece. Characters teleport across what is meant to be a war zone, seemingly without a care in the world, which lessens the sense of danger.

The Last of Us Season 2 is a poignant story of the cost of revenge and the cycle of violence. It has a more significant scope and more personal stakes than its predecessor, some spectacular set pieces, and terrifying zombie moments. The season makes some significant changes to the source material that make for a more nuanced story — even if glimpses of the game’s problematic portrayal of two factions at war remain. Still, when those changes clash with the show’s shot-for-shot approach to remaking the game, it results in some wonky scenes that don’t fit the character portrayals anymore and make for a season in conflict with itself.

The Last of Us Season 2 is streaming exclusively on MAX (formerly HBOMax) starting April 13, 2025.

Catch up on The Last of Us with our review of Season 1.