HBO’s The Final of Us took a riveting motion recreation bolstered by intimate human moments and made a richly human drama supported by terrifying motion. In returning for season two, and now utilizing the sequel recreation as supply materials, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann had fairly a bit extra work reduce out for them. The primary season significantly expanded the emotional depth and breadth of Joel and Ellie’s cross-country journey whereas additionally fleshing out the tales of many others they meet alongside the best way, and the solid (led by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey) was excellent. However some followers felt the steadiness of motion and drama was off, and I had a number of points with the pacing — although the ultimate product was nonetheless excellent in my eyes.
That was over two years in the past, and now it’s encore time. Season two premieres on HBO this Sunday, April 13 (you possibly can stream it on Max), and I’m as soon as once more blissful to report that the present does a devoted job of capturing the primary a part of a fancy story whereas additionally fixing a number of of the minor complaints I had concerning the first season.
[Editor's note: this story discusses season two broadly but avoids specific plot details and spoilers. There are spoilers for season one.]
The present picks up precisely the place season one (and the primary recreation) concluded. Joel and Ellie return to the settlement of Jackson, Wyoming, the place Joel’s brother Tommy is a part of a peaceable, well-fortified commune — a uncommon oasis of relative security in a destroyed world. This comes a couple of yr after the Fireflies — a militia group looking for a treatment for the zombie an infection — tasked Joel with smuggling Ellie throughout the nation. Over the following journey, Joel bonds with Ellie and involves deal with her as a surrogate daughter, changing the one he misplaced initially of the outbreak 20 years prior.
Ellie’s immunity to the an infection gave the Fireflies hopes she holds the important thing to discovering a treatment — however when Joel learns it will kill her, he wipes out an entire platoon of troopers and the physician who was making an attempt to hold out the process, earlier than fleeing with Ellie again to Jackson. So far as she is aware of, there was no technique to make a treatment and Joel rescued her when raiders descended on the Firefly advanced.
We instantly study that Joel’s rampage in opposition to the Fireflies goes to have main repercussions proper from the bounce, as we meet Abby (performed with livid depth by Kaitlyn Dever) and her small crew of younger Fireflies in Salt Lake Metropolis within the days following the bloodbath. Issues then bounce ahead 5 years; Ellie and Joel are well-integrated into the Jackson neighborhood and dwelling a comparatively regular life — although Joel’s remedy classes with Gail (the great Catherine O’Hara) present that he and Ellie have had some extent of falling out. Whether or not it’s simply her being a 19-year-old or one thing deeper stays to be seen.
With out spoiling something, the sequel recreation, The Final of Us Half II, is a far much less linear affair than its predecessor. Occasions are proven out of order by a number of flashbacks. Views shift. The playable character modifications at varied factors. I’ve spent a lot of the final yr questioning precisely how Mazin and Druckmann would translate that construction to TV — what occasions can be proven in what order, and what issues would possibly get reduce or expanded on?
However surprisingly, the present intently mirrors the sport’s chronology. The core of the season stays Joel and Ellie, the fallout from season one and the way it impacts everybody round them. A handful of occasions, together with an notorious city pageant in Jackson and the reveal of Abby’s motivations all through the season, are moved up sooner within the sequence to offer viewers extra context for why issues are occurring. It’s a change the creators mentioned was made to compensate for the change between the interactivity of taking part in characters like Abby and Ellie versus watching them.
The season’s construction labored — the multi-pronged plot didn’t ever really feel onerous to stay with, and I believe the present did a greater job this season at balancing out motion and drama. Because the solid and creators have alluded to, Ramsey and Pascal don’t get as a lot time collectively as they did in season one, which is a disgrace given their completely implausible chemistry. However each actors benefit from Joel and Ellie’s fracturing relationship, they usually additionally do great work with different scene companions. Each Joel and Ellie spend vital time with Dina (Isabela Merced), who finally ends up being one thing of one other daughter to Joel and a greatest good friend / love curiosity for Ellie. She brings a very completely different perspective to those scenes — like anybody on the planet of The Final of Us, you recognize she’s seen her fair proportion of horrible issues, however she combines a cool confidence with vulnerability in a method that retains Ellie delightfully off steadiness.
One of many key new occasions within the present that didn’t happen within the recreation is a large siege of Contaminated attacking the city of Jackson (one thing you see within the present’s varied trailers). At first, it felt like an on-the-nose response to complaints that the Contaminated didn’t really feel like a lot of a menace in season one, however the best way the large-scale battle is juxtaposed with a way more intimate menace in the identical episode performs out completely. That episode was adopted by one which was way more peaceable and character-driven, a cadence I appreciated after the siege’s depth. Naturally, issues ramp up because the season attracts to a detailed, however the steadiness feels measured and considerate.
General, the Contaminated are extra current on this season than the final, they usually’re as lethal and terrifying as ever. Within the recreation, the participant would possibly assume nothing of taking over 5 – 6 in a single go, however within the present even a one-on-one encounter feels fraught with hazard. In fact, as in season one, the people are the extra unpredictable and threatening a part of the world.
Different new characters and occasions, just like the destiny of Gail and her husband Eugene (performed by Joe Pantoliano), as soon as once more serve to counterpoint and improve the world of The Final of Us. And past particular person characters, the present additionally delves deeply into greater warring factions, much like the Kansas Metropolis “liberators” in season one. We get a number of views of how teams band collectively and attempt to survive in opposition to the Contaminated, and one another, and the present does a superb job of not portraying any a technique as proper or improper.
Ellie makes her personal judgments because the story progresses, and he or she begins to lose herself in a cycle that she will’t appear to get out of, at the same time as her associates distance herself from her actions. Ramsey performs this extraordinarily effectively — although they’ve a slight and small body, they play Ellie’s ferocity in a method that’s convincing and scary. That facet of her is flipped on its head in additional weak moments when the load of Elle’s selections begin piling up, and it’s fascinating and disturbing to look at. Mazin mentioned that the reasoning behind Ellie’s quiet fascination with violence and being protected would play out in season two, and a whole lot of small moments positively begin paying off right here.
Not like season one, which is a self-contained affair, season two leaves a lot up within the air. Once more, that’s one thing the creators have advised us already; Mazin mentioned that telling the story of the second recreation would take a minimum of two seasons. There’s a whole lot of story nonetheless to be advised right here, and thus issues finish on a really completely different vibe than season one. I’m hoping that Mazin, Druckmann and the solid can get again to doing season three a little bit faster than final time, as one other two-plus years will really feel like an exceedingly lengthy anticipate some decision.
With solely seven episodes, season two has a shorter run time than season one, which already felt a bit rushed to me. The finale particularly blew by a few of its script in rapid-fire style that felt virtually sloppy. It may have simply performed with an additional 10 minutes with out shedding any momentum. And provided that Mazin has already mentioned the subsequent season might be “considerably bigger,” my hopes for a fast turn-around are in all probability not sensible.
Ultimately, which may not be a foul factor for many viewers. The Final of Us could be a grueling and emotional watch, season two much more so than the primary. There are some moments of maximum violence which might be onerous to look at. The present does strike a considerate steadiness between implied and graphic violence,, however it might nonetheless be harrowing, and some moments made me really feel virtually in poor health (an acceptable emotion, however not probably the most nice one).
It’s a little bit onerous to judge season two in a vacuum, given it’s solely the primary half of some pretty messy, non-linear supply materials. That’s not a significant knock; loads of exhibits don’t wrap all the things up yearly in a tidy bundle. And given the standard infused in each episode of this present, from the appearing to the script to the set design and VFX, I’m assured in saying that anybody who loved season one ought to get on board for what’s to return right here, even when it takes a very long time to get any decision. Simply as with the sport that it’s based mostly on, the journey of The Final of Us season two is intense and asks rather a lot from viewers, but it surely’s nonetheless a journey value taking.
Replace, April 9 2025, 11:12AM ET: This assessment was up to date with a modified headline and extra particulars within the introduction.
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