"When we kill him... we kill him slowly."

An immediate reaction to The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1: "Future Days"

Let’s get this out of the way immediately. The Firefly pendants in the second season of The Last of Us are TOO big. Why are they so big??

Haha lol. No but seriously. Anyway…

The Last of Us Part Two is my favorite video game. I’ve played it more times than any other video game. Between the original release and the remastered release, I’ve logged 200+ hours in the game. I’ve beaten it on every difficulty at least once. I’ve beaten it with Permadeath turned on. I’m playing through it again right now on Grounded+ just for funsies. I love this game. I love the characters and each of their arcs and all their relationships with one another. I love the emotions it steeps itself in. I love the thematic ideas it explores. I. Love. This. Game.

I’ve been anticipating the second season of The Last of Us with bated breath. The first season’s efforts to translate the game into a new medium worked wonderfully thanks to its blend of copying scenes from the game beat for beat and exploring the world in new, sometimes more intimate ways. However, I will say, like the first game, my enthusiasm and interest in the show is much more about how these events lead into the sequel. The Last of Us 2 (TLOU2) is where the real meal is in my humble opinion.

I’m really excited to dive into each of the episodes here. This and other future write ups are going to be primarily a comparison of the game vs. its episodic counterpart. I need somewhere to go “well in the game…” over and over again without driving anyone too bonkers. What I anticipate to be one of the biggest differences between the two is related to the fact that the game relies heavily on a non-linear storyline whereas the show is seemingly sticking closer to something a little more direct. However, while I’ll be comparing the scenes depicted vs. their source material, I won’t be writing at length about future events that are coming. There is a fair deal of people who haven’t played the game and on the off chance they’re reading this, I don’t want to spoil things for them. (Hi show-watchers!) For any sort of predictions, I’ll save them for the end, keep them vague, and I’ll be marking them clearly so you can skip them if you so please!

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There’s an elephant in the room the moment this season begins. The show opens with an introduction of Abby and her crew (Manny, Nora, Mel, and Owen, which is a smaller group than in the game. Maybe the others will join in, in the next episode). Everything here is new, never before seen in the game. There are allusions to a scene like this in the form of a note and an audio recording of Mel’s that can be found in the game, but they remain much more vague due to their placement in the story. The game opens with a recap of the final moments of the first game with Joel revealing what he did to the Fireflies to Tommy in a moment of vulnerability and tension. Tommy’s reaction is a quietly horrified one that ends with a promise to take the truth to his grave. It’s followed by a scene that we might possibly see in a future episode. Joel gifts Ellie a guitar and performs the song “Future Days” (the name of this episode *nudge nudge*). Their interaction is marred by this unspoken tension, the byproduct of Ellie’s uncertainty about Joel’s lie, that breaks only in the final moments where the player can’t help but sigh in relief and delight at the prospect of the two growing closer while living in a safe community. THEN we jump five years into the future, specifically to the morning after the Winter Dance.

An introduction to Abby to start the show is striking for a multitude of reasons, the biggest being this seemingly abandons the sharper sense of mystery surrounding her game equivalent’s introduction. In the game, at least at first, there is a lot of uncertainty about who Abby is and why she’s near Jackson. The reveal of her intentions is gradual and slyly revealed through fight sequences and dialogue but it’s still completed in less than two hours of gameplay during the prologue/tutorial stage. The larger meaning behind her goals isn’t addressed until the back half of the game. The show rips the bandaid partially off which I don’t mind at all. Anyone who has played the game knows Abby is a threat and letting the entire audience in on that detail levels the playing field in a way that I think is worthwhile, especially with how rampant spoilers are.

Abby’s need for revenge permeates through this scene. It’s cold and bubbling with rage, her grief condensed down into something particularly sharp and dangerous. Her group seems wary of her words and her intentions. They can’t meet her gaze, except for Owen, whose presence works almost immediately as an assurance and an anchor for Abby to hold onto. If Manny, Mel, and Nora are a point of contention for Abby, working as a wall she can’t climb over, Owen is operating as a doorway for her intentions to navigate through. Their relationship is one of the most interesting of the game and I really like this early depiction of their dynamic in the show.

While I’m a fan of Kaitlyn Dever overall, I do still feel, at least at this point, that her casting was a mistake. Abby is one of my favorite characters in TLOU2 and while I think Dever can more than easily convey the emotional complexity of Abby, I still firmly believe that the physicality of Abby is absolutely essential to her character. I’ll hold off on some of the reasons why that is for now, as I think it might make more sense to discuss those later on as more about Abby is revealed in future episodes, but for now… Yeah, I’m bummed. I felt especially bummed when Owen and Abby are close together in frame, his towering over her feels so off to me.

The remnants of the Fireflies offer a lot of insight into the events after Joel’s hospital rampage here. Ellie’s immunity was not widely known even amongst their ranks. Details about Joel’s identity are fuzzy and somewhat uncertain. Seattle as a next option is mentioned and confirmed as where they should go. Important names are mentioned. Having these discussions in front of the giraffes Ellie and Joel once admired and the newly dug graves of their fallen comrades builds a really distinct image. The hope that can be found in the animals commingling with the devastation Joel’s choice has left. Life and death in a snapshot. The Fireflies have the ability to choose to follow the light (the giraffes) or the darkness (death) in this moment and Abby is adamantly pointing them towards the latter. “When we kill him… we kill him slowly.”

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In the show’s flash forward to five years later, we’re embedded deeply into the day to day life of Jackson. I really appreciate all these new moments. Jackson is so briefly featured in the game, the urgency to reach key moments rushing us out of the community in less than 30 minutes. The game also paints the town as a fully functioning utopia, whereas the show is willing to explore some of its possible vulnerabilities, which I find refreshing. There’s frequent mention of the tension that has sprung up between Ellie and Joel during the time-skip here. We see Ellie training and her frustration over how Joel’s influence is impacting the way others interact with her. There’s a reveal of pipes with lots of roots in them, which we circle back to at the very end of the episode and that I think everyone is being waaaaay too chill about despite the show’s emphasis on how the cordeceps operate through a mycorrhizal network. Dina and Joel have a sweet interaction where he teaches her how to repair electronics (something that game Dina learned from the deceased Eugene) and the two speak about Ellie’s anger towards Joel. (Joel asking “what did I do?” made me snort. What a deluded guy). Ellie and Tommy out on patrol together, taking down infected and it’s revealed here that Ellie carries a sort of bemused indignation about having to hide her immunity. Joel and Maria’s back and forth about the state of Jackson, the inability to keep up with the needs of the growing community, and whether prioritizing themselves or all vulnerable people is better works very well.

Amongst these new additions, the big kicker is that Joel is going to therapy.

I think this is the addition I find least interesting or beneficial. I’m a huge fan of Dina and Joel having an on-screen and deeper relationship (it will contribute a lot in the future). I really enjoy the moments between Ellie and Tommy, the game often keeps the depth of their relationship off-screen and it’s nice to see them interacting here in a way that is similar to a moment in the game that I suspect might be cut. Joel and Maria’s conversation is beneficial in laying out their dynamic, the vulnerabilities of Jackson, and showcasing yet again how Joel is a man who operates on an individualistic level instead of a collectivistic one. Therapy time with Gail though… Is a change that I’m struggling to wrap my head around, even though there is a specific moment here that I really appreciate.

It’s odd watching Joel attempt a display of emotional vulnerability in as clerical as a setting as therapy. Gail certainly breaks the mold of what we would expect from a therapist, drinking during their session, accepting weed as payment, and revealing she hates Joel for killing her husband, Eugene, even though it was necessary. There’s a lot said and unsaid in these moments. I find them somewhat interesting, although I am a bit confused on why Eugene’s backstory has seemingly changed considerably from his game counterpart. The moment in this session that I love is when Gail makes the clarification that Ellie is not Joel’s daughter. The two’s relationship is very pseudo-father/daughter and that aspect is part of why it’s such a compelling relationship to watch play out. However, I have always been a bit put off by how often fans of the game refer to them explicitly as father and daughter. I find that that language is often used to absolve Joel of some, if not all, of the responsibility of his choices surrounding Ellie’s autonomy.

The trailers for this season had led me to assume that Joel would be revealing everything he did to the Fireflies to Gail. His line, “I saved her”, which is used in the trailers, is a key part of his confession to Tommy during the start of TLOU2. I think it’s possible he reveals things to Gail fully in the future because it definitely doesn’t seem like we’ve seen the last of her, but I am relieved that he doesn’t immediately lay it all out on the table. Joel’s inability to open up to others has always felt like one of the most foundational aspects of his personality. Putting him in therapy, especially willingly, adds a softness to the character that feels more like a concession to how beloved Pedro Pascal is (and to a specific subset of fans who refuse to acknowledge Joel as a flawed character). These moments between Gail and Joel are interestingly combative, especially in how the framing of them implies Joel is unwilling to acknowledge the harm his actions have caused, but until I see more of where exactly this might be going, I think I can safely say this is the part of the first episode I like the least.

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Maybe the biggest surprise of the show is how much I love Ellie and Dina’s interactions, the new ones for the show and the old ones from the game that have been brought to life here. Bella Ramsey and Isabela Mercad have amazing chemistry and they bring such an intimate, special relationship from the game to life in a really wonderful way.

All of Ellie and Dina’s interactions in the game occur after the Winter Dance and their first kiss. We previously only knew these two as a couple, with the exception of journal entires that discussed their friendship, so having these moments on patrol before the dance are a real treat. We get to see that outside of a romantic relationship, the two compliment each other and when they work together it’s with an almost unspoken ease. And we get to see the possibility of something more crackling in the air between them. I really like the little bit of slowburn that comes from this. I think it really helps show their age in a natural way. Their conversation about their exes (Kat and Jesse) is changed a bit from the game but I think it carries more weight here, especially since Kat literally joins them on their patrol. In the game, Kat is only ever mentioned in conversation or journal entries, we never get to meet her (a sequence including her was ultimately cut). I’m a little bummed that Jesse and Ellie seem less close in the show compared to the game, but maybe we’ll see that they’re closer in future episodes.

I won’t say much else for now about this, but I want it on record that I am EXTREMELY curious about the change the show makes in having the mini horde of infected take down a grizzly bear instead of a moose. The imagery of a moose is used in the game A LOT and its significance is pretty substantial in my opinion so the change here was a bit eyebrow-raising.

Ellie’s encounter with a stalker during her and Dina’s patrol is also fantastic and a nice change from the game. The supermarket sequence involves the two working together the entire time and there are no stalkers, just runners and clickers. In the game, this moment is part of the tutorial section so having a large number of enemies is important to getting the player used to combat. Cutting things down so significantly and in a way that helps introduce the idea of the infected evolving over time works really well for the show and alludes to some fun possibilities in the future. The lack of combat in the show has always been a point of conversation, although I don’t mind the shift too much overall and I think this scene in particular shows how less is more sometimes. The actor playing the stalker adds a really distinct sort of uneasy tension to the moment that is really satisfying to sit in. I’m surprised Ellie gets another bite during this scene and I’m curious if they’ll use its existence as a point of focus for certain moments that will come about in the future.

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Let’s talk about THE DANCE.

The quick conversation between Joel and Ellie before the dance feels reminiscent of the opening scene of the game that I mentioned above, but it definitely feels heavier given the state of their relationship. It’s awkward and stilted and hard to take in, but that’s what makes it so great. Joel taking Ellie’s guitar, a gift from him and a call back to the first season where he vowed to teach her how to play, to replace her strings left my stomach in knots. I really do think we’ll get to see the opening scene of the game in the future because it will work as a direct parallel to this scene.

The dance itself is transplanted directly from the game. The dialogue is virtually word for word the same. The outfits are the same. The scenery is the same. The song is the same. The mannerisms of Ellie and Dina and Joel are spot on. Ellie and Dina’s kiss brought me to tears, it’s so tender. The only difference is the placement of the scene, which we don’t see until the final few hours of the game. The context of the scene is completely different because of that, making this moment feel lighter overall despite Ellie and Joel’s dispute.

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Random little odds and ends:

There was a lot of DiScOuRsE about Bella Ramsey’s portrayal of Ellie leading up to this season. A lot of insistence they couldn’t fulfill the role or meet the needs of the character. So far, I’m still really enjoying their performance. In this episode, especially because it is a little less momentum heavy, we really get to see Ellie defined by the passage of time without the influence of some of the future traumas her character endures and that define her arc in the game. Ramsey offers these moments to us very well and I’m so pleased with how they convey Ellie’s maturation without sacrificing her humor and other lighter qualities. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they convey Ellie’s gradual transformation throughout this story.

My biggest fear for the show was that it would take the scene I consider the key to the entire game and present it early on in the show. It’s teased in this episode and as it began to play out, I was overwhelmed with a sense of tense frustration that honestly would have probably led to this write up having a VERY different tone overall had it played out in full. Luckily, The Scene was only teased. My favorite scene, the most important scene, was not ultimately included in this episode and I thank the showrunners very much for not taking us there right now.

Overall, I’m fascinated by how much lighter the first episode of the show is compared to its game equivalent. The game has some moments of lighthearted fun, but it very quickly plunges us into a very dark place and that sensation rarely if ever lets up from there. I appreciate the changes made for the show, which allow audiences to soak up these glimmers of joy and curiosity before things get exceptionally heavy, and I’m very curious to see how the change in scene order impacts the emotional weight of other scenes down the line.

Abby and her crew are coming. The horde is coming. Jackson is smaller and more vulnerable than its game equivalent. There’s a lot to anticipate for the future.

*PREDICTIONS INCOMING*

I think the next episode will primarily focus on the incoming infected horde that is approaching. The “next time on” segment involves A LOT of scenes of Jackson defending itself against the infected. However, I think the end of the episode will involve Abby making contact with at least two people from Jackson, the two in question’s names rhyme with Tina and Coel. I think the episode will end on a cliffhanger that jumpstarts a very crucial moment in this story and then we get the full scope of that moment in episode 3. I think in episode 3 we will also see the council, seemingly led by Tommy and Maria, come back for some pivotal scenes and decisions. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think I might be right. We shall see, we shall see.

*PREDICTIONS DONE*

YAY! First episode! I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Full confession: I watched it twice in a row. I had high expectations and a little more wariness than excitement going in, but this first episode has instilled me with a great deal of hope and enthusiasm to see where things go from here.

Thanks for reading, feel free to share what you thought of the first episode too! :)