Seeing how a society deals with a zombie outbreak is always interesting. That’s what The Last of Us Episode 2 introduces us to. First, we see what happens before the outbreak properly starts. However, we quickly switch back to the present day to see the ruins of Boston city. The world establishment on The Last of Us is what is really selling the series for me. The set design and seeing how this world came to be is fantastic. While the premiere episode established the characters, the second episode moved the story forward while still carrying high stakes.
Heading Off The Last of Us Infection
Bombing cities? I mean, it’s a drastic approach, but I guess it’s one way to ensure something stops in its tracks. The cold open further expands the world of The Last of Us beyond that of the original game. However, this is not essential to the main plot of Joel (Pedro Padcal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). We’re shown 2003 Jakarta, which introduced us to the start of the global pandemic. This opening explains why we see a bombed Boston city. Professor Ratna (Christine Hakim) delivers a fantastic performance. She suggests bombing cities to kill the infection before it spreads.
Obviously, that did not work. Her solution foreshadows what we see in The Last of Us Episode 2. The ruined remains of Boston city showcase the budget for set design in this series. Whether it be the shop the crew are camped in or the ruined museum where most of the episode occurs. However, we also see nature reclaiming the world. While massive skyscrapers lie in ruin, plant life has reclaimed everything around it. Humanities cities no longer belong to them anymore.
Zombies Are Scary!
The Last of Us Episode 2 has tension at a high! We’re introduced to a new breed of zombie. These are known as “Clickers”. Basically, they are echo-location-infected, humans. The scenes somewhat reminded me of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park. This is when the clickers are stalking around the floor of the museum. We’ve got to commend the character and infection design. Seeing these infected up close and personal is really freaky. That and how they stalk around using sound made for a tense moment in the episode.
Good Character Development And An Emotional Goodbye
“Save who you can save”. Honestly, I was not expecting us to say goodbye to Tess (Anna Torv) so quickly. She quickly established herself as a standout character in the premiere episode of The Last of Us. While fans of the game knew her fate was coming at some point, I don’t think we expected it so quickly in the series. However, I’ve got to say that the “zombie kiss” was weird and unnatural. I mean, that is the whole point of it. But it’s an interesting way to spread the infection, I guess.
Bella Ramse excels as Ellie. While you would expect a young girl to be very intimidated in this setting, Bella shows us that Ellie owns any scene she is in. Her no-fear approach to jumping into things sets the tone for what is coming. However, I ask if we will see something that will shake her to her core. Therefore, I do expect that Joel will take on a father figure. However, that will also come with hesitation, and he likely still sees his lost daughter in Ellie. Lots of emotional damage in this series, it seems.
Where To Watch The Last of Us
The Last of Us Episode 2 is now streaming. The nine-episode first season of the HBO Original drama series The Last of Us Premiere debuts Sunday, January 15th at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream in 4K on HBO Max. However, the series will be available in the United Kingdom via Sky Atlantic and NowTV on January 16th 2023. The series also airs on Crave in Canada, Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand.
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