SPOILER WARNING FOR S2 E1 OF “THE LAST OF US” (including spoilers from the game The Last of Us Part II)
As someone who has played through the entirety of both “The Last of Us Part I” and “The Last of Us Part II,” I highly anticipated the premiere of Season 2 this past Sunday night. Let me just get it out of the way:
I was not disappointed.
Episode 1 predominantly takes place 5 years after the events of the first season of the show, when it is revealed that Ellie and Joel now live in Jackson, Wyoming, the town where Tommy, Joel’s brother, resides. Someone, please give the set crew a raise because the entire town looked phenomenal. Jackson felt so lively, with a myriad of animals and people constantly bustling about.
I’ll admit, I was a bit worried about whether Bella Ramsey would actually seem somewhat close to 5 years older, given that seasons 1 and 2 were filmed so close together. However, Ramsey’s acting in terms of physicality and vocalization this season has thus far proved effective in conveying a far more mature attitude. That being said, the makeup and hair teams could have done a better job of making Ramsey appear physically older.
Without a doubt, my biggest letdown of this season so far is the casting of Abby Anderson, in which actress Kaitlyn Dever earned the role. I’m not commenting on Dever’s acting ability (as that would be completely unfair because she’s only had about 5 minutes of screen time) but rather her physical appearance. For most roles, I believe that appearance doesn’t matter at all. However, a big part of Abby’s character is that she is extremely strong-willed, and her muscular physique in the game is a physical manifestation of that trait. Abby seeks brutal revenge against Joel because he killed her father, but respectfully, 5’2, scrawny Dever does not look like she could murder a 5’11 man.
On the other hand, my favorite part about this new season is Isabela Merced. Merced was recruited to season 2 to play Dina, Ellie’s love interest. So far, she exudes everything that I adored about Dina in the game; she’s effortlessly charismatic and is able to see Ellie in a way that nobody else can. Merced and Ramsey have natural chemistry, and I can’t wait to see their relationship grow throughout the rest of this season.
What intrigued me the most in this episode, however, was a hint that cordyceps, the fungus that transmits the infection, had found its way into Jackson. This is a significant deviation from the storyline of the game, but I’m excited to see where the writers went with this one. My main hope is that whatever alteration was made to the plot actually adds to the story.
Here’s my theory (beware as this will spoil one of the MOST important plot points of the second game): I don’t think Joel will die at the beginning of this season like he did at the start of the second game. Pedro Pascal brings in far too much viewership to the series, so they’re going to milk him as long as they can. However, there still needs to be a reason for Joel and Ellie to leave Jackson – the cordyceps. Thus, Ellie and Joel will flee Jackson, sending Abby and her posse on a manhunt. They’ll end the season with Joel’s capture and murder, setting up Ellie’s quest for revenge in the next season. While this is a dramatic change in the storyline, I don’t see any other reason that cordyceps would be entering Jackson. It’s not cohesive with the story from the game in which Ellie leaves Jackson on a revenge quest to track Abby down after she kills Joel; why would Ellie care if Jackson gets infected after she leaves?
Overall, I believe that this is a promising start to Season 2. I really, desperately hope that my theory is wrong and that the show doesn’t veer off too far from the game. Television is still an art form, and I have faith that the creators of the show will choose a meaningful product over profits.
