‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 premiere review: “Future Days”

The first season of HBO’s The Last of Us was a massive hit that served as a perfect complement to the highly regarded video game. Writer Craig Mazin took the beautiful and well-structured story that Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross created for the game and expanded on it in small but impactful ways. The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 continues that tradition and showcases major tension between Joel and Ellie while also providing some new insight that expands on the game.

Following in the footsteps of the first season, The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 follows the story of the game closely while making small changes along the way. The tension and guilt that are the direct result of Joel’s actions permeate this premiere. It’s been five years since the end of The Last of Us Season 1 — a very different Ellie and Joel live in a new home. Ellie, who is no longer a child, is taking every chance she gets to prove her independence and strength. Joel, who has spent the last five years stewing in the guilt of his choice to not let Ellie die, is unable to regain the same connection with Ellie that he once had. The effect the strained relationship between them has on their friends and family is obvious, though no one else knows the truth.

Ellie’s way of coping with these feelings is by doing things to show Joel and the others that she’s capable, like going out on dangerous runs. Joel’s way of coping with his internal struggle is by placing safeguards and trying to limit how much Ellie can do. This back-and-forth non-verbal argument between these characters is visible throughout the episode and is upsetting to see compared to the sweet father/daughter relationship we’ve all grown to love.

The crowning moment of The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 came in a scene that fans of the series and game alike didn’t see coming: a therapy session for Joel. It makes complete sense for Joel to seek out the help of a therapist after years of dealing with the consequences of his actions and it makes even more sense that his therapist would be as brutally honest and headstrong as he is. Gail, played by the incredible Catherine O’Hara, sees right through Joel’s lies and is determined to get the truth out of him.

After a rough first few minutes of their session (and an unknown number of drinks) Gail drops the biggest “OH” moment of the series so far — her husband was Eugene (who fans of the video game should remember from a conversation between Ellie and Dina) and Joel is the one responsible for his death. Not only was the character of Gail and this scene not in the game, the connection of this new scene to this small conversation about an unseen character is quality storytelling.

The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 shows the drastic measures that Joel and Ellie go to protect their current emotional states. Joel is continuing to protect Ellie, but now in a more indirect way than he had to on their original journey. Ellie continues to assert her freedom, strength, and frustration with Joel and the world in general. The main problem, though, is that both of their actions are constantly butting heads and causing the gap between them to grow.

With a pretty faithful adaptation to the video games, a new character and scene that defined the episode, and stellar performances by the returning cast, this season premiere is a great start to what fans of the game already know is going to be a rough season of television.

The Last of Us Season 2 airs new episodes every Sunday

Images courtesy of Max

Tyler Carlsen

From a young age, Tyler has been amazed by filmmaking and writing. When he’s not watching movies in theaters, he also enjoys playing video games and binging one of the numerous shows he’s watching at any given moment. Working with The Young Folks was a highlight of his writing career and he is looking forward to this new adventure with In Between Drafts!