The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere Review: ‘Future Days’ sets up promsing new season

The divide between Ellie and Joel takes center stage in The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere. Future Days is an excellent start to the new season.

The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere Overview

Following up the best series of 2023 is no easy feat. However, The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere, written and directed by Craig Mazin, seems poised to capitalize on where season 1 ended.

The Last of Us season 2 begins where season 1 ends. Ellie asks Joel what happened with the Fireflies. Joel lies, and Ellie quietly stares, waiting for Joel to tell the truth, but he doesn’t. Then, just as peacefully, the story switches to a different group of characters. Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) is mourning the loss of her mother. Joel killed her mother and a slew of fireflies in the season 1 finale. Dever is incredible at portraying Abby’s seething rage.

The story jumps forward five years to a thriving Jackson, Wyoming. The relationship between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is fraught. Joel claims not to know what he did, but every expression and action by Ellie seems to illustrate she knows precisely what Joel did.

The spiraling relationship branches out to other characters, including new ones like Dina (Isabela Merced) and Gail (Catherine O’Hara). Both are excellent additions to the cast. Merced, a rising star who hasn’t quite broken through despite considerable talent, is fantastic at showing lovable Dina. If Joel is the person who helps Ellie survive, Dina is the person who reminds Ellie how to live. O’Hara is unsurprisingly great as well. She plays a no-nonsense therapist, trying to get Joel to open up and improve his relationship with Ellie.

Like the 1st season, Mazin does an excellent job of allowing these performances to breathe. Pascal and Ramsey slide right back into these characters with ease. I also loved the expansion of Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Ellie’s relationship, which is crucial to Tommy’s decision from The Last of Us Part II.

Add in some excellent cordyceps scenes featuring a more intelligent type of infected, and this is an incredible start to the series. My only issue so far is I didn’t love Young Mazino‘s performance as Jesse, but there’s plenty of time for him to grow on me as the series goes along.

Overall, this is an outstanding start to what seems to be another heartwrenching, post-apocalyptic season of TV.

The Last of Us is streaming on Max.

New Dynamics in The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere

One of the best aspects of the 1st season was how Mazin and the game’s director, Neil Druckmann, added context to characters and stories from the games. The duo continues to expand on the game without losing what made the in-game moments so pivotal.

The best examples in the season 2 premiere are the introductions of Dina and Gail. Dina’s interactions with Ellie are pretty close to the game. However, the expanded relationship between Dina and Joel stands out.

In an early, Dina visits Joel and asks him to teach her how circuit breakers work. She’s not particularly interested in learning electrical work, but it’s a way for her to ask a more pertinent question. What’s going on between Joel and Ellie? Joel’s not sure, but based on his clinical answer, Dina deduces that Joel is in therapy and sweetly teases Joel. She leaves but promises not to save anything. The scene’s content is excellent, but what stands out is the warmth between Dina and Joel.

Gail’s not a character from the game, but her inclusion works well. Joel working on his issues gives better credence to his warmer disposition to everyone in the town.

Ellie’s Recklessness

Ellie’s reckless behavior in the premier seems to come from two sources. Her immunity and immaturity are the most apparent, but she also has a death wish.

If you recall from last season, Ellie believed her purpose was to die to save humanity. Joel’s actions took that decision away. Ellie’s big issue is people trying to protect her.

Ellie begins the season with an intense training session. She gets the upper hand, but not before getting punched in the face. After finding out from Jesse that her partner pulled her punch, she doesn’t want that to happen again.

A similar situation takes place with Tommy. Ellie is working on shooting with Tommy. As they head back to town, Ellie hears about a patrol and wants to join. Tommy reveals she’s assigned to gate duty. Like Joel, Tommy wants Ellie to stay safe. She was reckless last time. She threatens to reveal her secret by yelling loudly. Tommy relents but not before saying she gets her stubbornness from Joel.

During the New Year’s Eve party, Dina and Ellie kiss. Seth, a homophobic man, takes issue and issues a slur. Before Ellie can get her hands on Seth, Joel knocks him down. Ellie takes her anger out on Joel by telling him she doesn’t need his help.

New Threats

Abby isn’t the only threat making a beeline for Jackson. A new breed of infected is also looking to call Jackson home.

During the patrol, Ellie and Dina deviate from the rest of the group. They find a pair of infected. Ellie doesn’t have much trouble taking hers out. During the celebration, the floor she’s standing on gives way.

Ellie encounters a stalker, which is a more intelligent type of infected. The creature lures Ellie in and is even able to bite her. Ellie kills the beast and reports to Tommy, Maria (Rutina Wesley) and the council.

The episode ends with tendrils beginning to grow.

The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere Final Thoughts and Rating

Great performances, incredible production design and tense action round out The Last of Us Season 2 Premiere. There are some differences from the game, but overall, these changes are for the better.