Let’s see. In the first five minutes, we have Abby wanting revenge, but the white guy in her group wants to crawl away and run.
Then it shifts to 90 lb. Ellie fighting a 200 lb. white dude — and she somehow manages to beat him up.
We’re not done yet. It turns out Joel is in therapy. He also cries.
The Last of Us Season 2 premiered Sunday night on HBO and Max. It continues the popular first season that aired in 2023, which adapts the even more popular video game of the same name.
Like The Walking Dead, it’s set in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity struggles to survive — and the remaining people might be worse than the monsters. But these aren’t your typical reanimated dead; the zombies here are infected by a plant-based contagion.
The overall premise is cool, but this episode pushes girl power at the expense of making the men look like fools. Joel (Pedro Pascal) has been completely emasculated and comes off as a big bitch. There are anti-male comments throughout. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabella Merced) openly disrespect authority and refuse to listen — which is framed as a problem at first, but then it’s suddenly okay… because they’re female.
It’s revealed that Ellie is a lesbian. She had a relationship with the only other lesbian in town and is now infatuated with Dina — who knows it. Dina recently broke up with her boyfriend.
At the New Year’s Eve dance, Dina flirts and dances with all the boys, then finally dances with Ellie, who’s been awkwardly staring the whole time. Naturally, they kiss. An old white guy, of course, gets upset and doesn’t like them hooking up (it’s a family event), tells them to go to church or something, and calls them dykes. Joel steps in, gets angry, and pushes the guy. Ellie doesn’t appreciate it and makes it clear she doesn’t need Joel.
Oh, and meanwhile, Joel’s been going to therapy — with the wife of the guy he killed. She’s a drunk. It’s her birthday. She tells Joel she hates him. He cries.
Then there’s what could have been a really cool scene… but we only get the aftermath. Why? Because David Zaslav slashed the budgets for all the WB shows — same deal with House of the Dragon and White Lotus. The scene could’ve shown zombies fighting a bear, which would’ve been epic. Instead? Just the aftermath.
Ellie and Dina then track two zombies into a store but somehow forget they counted two? I don’t know. I didn’t write the episode. They kill one, but the second — surprise! — attacks Ellie.
At least we learn this new type of zombie — of course it’s a girl (lol) — is different: less mindless, more cunning than the rest.
The episode ends with Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) — still mad five years later — discovering the town where Joel is living. She smirks.
The Verdict
The Last of Us Season 2 premiere gets a 1/10. It’s more Hollywood garbage pushing an agenda at the expense of story. Crappy writing and even crappier characters.
Like The Acolyte, She-Hulk, Secret Invasion, and Ms. Marvel, The Last of Us has become completely unwatchable.
