On the surface, The Last of Us is a zombie apocalypse drama, a gory, action-packed guess at what life would be like if a deadly virus infected half the population and turned them into undead murderers. But those of us who watched 2023’s hugely popular first series know that it’s actually an unconventional love story about the power of family. Yes, there are deadly zombies to shoot (it is based on a video game, after all) – but The Last of Us is much more concerned with its humans.
The central relationship is between Joel (Pedro Pascal), a gruff, notably handsome smuggler and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teenager who happens to be immune to the bites of the infected. Thinking she might be the key to a cure, Joel is tasked by the Fireflies (a sort of vigilante revolutionary outfit) with taking Ellie across a decimated United States to a Firefly hospital, and along the way they build a bond something like a father and daughter. It’s a beautiful meditation on just how important we can be to each other, especially when everything else is gone.
Which is why it’s so devastating that, in the opening episode of season two, Ellie and Joel aren’t on speaking terms. We’re five years on from the moment Joel massacred the Fireflies at the hospital after realising the operation they were about to perform on Ellie would kill her. In the final moments of the first series, we watched as Joel lied to her and told her that she wasn’t the only immune person – and that there was no cure to be found. While it isn’t confirmed in this first hour, it would appear that the pair have fallen out because Ellie – who would be happy to give her life for a greater cause – has discovered the truth.
Isabela Merced as Dina and Bella Ramsey as Ellie (Photo: HBO)The crack in their relationship isn’t the only reason The Last of Us feels different this time around. Rather than trekking through the wilderness, Joel and Ellie are living in the safety of a snowy compound in Jackson, Wyoming, home to Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and hundreds of other survivors.
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While Joel has returned to his pre-apocalypse life of building, his team struggling to create enough new houses for the regular influx of refugees, Ellie has dedicated herself to joining the compound’s regular zombie-killing patrols. It’s here we meet our first new infected breed of the series – these ones seem intelligent and they’re fast. Luckily, Ellie is faster.
Plot-wise nothing major happens in the opening hour. Ellie, now 19, has come out as gay and shares a dancefloor smooch with her best friend Dina (Isabela Merced) on New Year’s Eve. We learn that Joel is secretly in therapy – and that his angry, drunk therapist (Catherine O’Hara) is the widow of a man he killed. And we find out just how deep Ellie and Joel’s rift runs when he pushes a homophobic neighbour to the floor after that kiss. “I don’t need your help,” she hisses to her former father figure. It’s a subtle set up for what’s to come later in the series – something The Last of Us excels at. Nothing is included by accident.
Catherine O’Hara as Gail (Photo: HBO)More importantly, we get our first glimpse of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a Firefly who is intent on revenge for Joel’s hospital slaughter. Some fans of the original game have been upset with Dever’s casting – the digital version of Abby is much stockier and, well, scary. But by the end of Abby’s first scene, in which she declares that she wants to kill Joel “slowly”, Dever has more than proven she has the menace required.
Players of the game will spend this series waiting for the heartbreaking, game-changing plot twist that I won’t spoil here. For now, it’s worth basking in the safety of the compound – Joel and Ellie might be going through a rough patch, but that’s nothing compared to what faces them in the forthcoming episodes. You have been warned.
‘The Last of Us’ continues next Monday at 2am and 9pm on Sky Atlantic. It is streaming on Now
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