At the end of season one, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramse) made it to Seattle only for Joel to realize that to create a cure to the cordyceps virus, Ellie had to die, which didn’t work for him. Joel then proceeded to kill all of the Fireflies, including the doctor who was working on the cure. Season two picks up five years after the events of season one. Ellie and Joel’s relationship is strained, but we don’t know why. During a snowstorm we meet Abby (Kaitlyn Denver) when she is rescued by Joel, but unfortunately, she’s hellbent on revenge because Joel killed her father, which leads to a violent confrontation between the two. When Ellie witnesses the violence firsthand, it starts her on her own journey of revenge against Abby.

To me, the best part of season one was the relationship between Joel and Ellie. While I knew that Joel was going to die going into the second season, I didn’t expect it to be so soon. I really would have preferred the season to spend more time with the two of them together; however, I understand that they were trying overall to stay true to the original story of the games. I did appreciate though that they spent an episode with Ellie grieving, and the flashback episode with Joel was the best of the season, perhaps of both seasons. Their time at the museum really showed the connection between the Ellie and Joel. Also, I appreciated seeing the last moments between the two and getting an answer to how much Ellie was aware of Joel’s actions, which apparently doesn’t happen as early in the game, so they could have kept it until the next season, which I personally believe would have been a mistake.

The performances were excellent, as in season one, and I did enjoy Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie’s interactions, even if it felt a bit like a stand-in for what I loved in season one. Dever was stellar as well, but it’s hard to like the character of Abby at this point in the story. I have heard in the game that you spend a lot more time with Abby before she kills Joel which I feel would have made myself and viewers more sympathetic to her character. This is another reason why I personally think it would have worked better to move the death forward in the season to give us time to get to know Abby. That being said, I’m not sure how onboard I am with her being the lead of season three, although I do kind of like the idea of seeing the events from a different point of view.

Other than those issues, the story was fantastic. Ellie’s story of revenge and the circle of violence is very powerful, and it feels very real, and while the consequences are often dire, they feel earned.

The special effects in the series are equal to none. The infected are creepy and I love that they introduced a new kind of infected in season two that raised the stakes. Even the sets are bigger with the town of Jackson, and everything is filled with details from the game which always adds to the fun.

Season two’s storyline with Joel’s death has been very polarizing among fans, but overall, while I liked season one more than season two and a big part is missing without Joel and Ellie’s relationship, this season was still very enjoyable to me and worth the watch.

Special Features:

There are a lot of great features in this set, however there is also some repetition. Personally I would have preferred to have more in-depth features into creating the design and effects of the series, but there is quite a bit. I also think they should have combined both of the features for Joel and Ellie’s journey to season 2 into one full recap of season 1.

Disc One – Three:

Making of The Last of Us: Season 2
These featurettes are interviews with various members of the cast and crew, including creator/executive producer Craig Mazin, creator/executive producer Neil Druckmann, writers, directors, and directors of photography for the specified episodes, and other members of the production team including makeup, prosthetics, effects, stunts, and locations, interspersed with clips and behind the scenes pieces from the series discussing each particular episode. These previously aired on Max and some of the content is repeated in the other special features. The first disc has three of the episode features, and the other two each have two, in order to fit with what episodes are on the discs.



Disc One:

Growing the World of The Last of Us [2:03] – Mazin and Druckmann and most of the cast talk a bit about the bigger world and set of the series this season.

Welcome to Jackson (Set Tour) [3:24] – Druckmann, cast members Ramsey, Rutina Wesley, Mazino, and Gabriel Luna, director of episode 2, Mark Mylod, production designer Don Macaulay, and art director Callum Webster talk about how they built a full town, including the wall, and how there are so many details from the game in the series. Rutina Wesley also talks about filming the attack at Jackson.

Battle of Jackson, Deconstructed [11:13] – Interviews with Mazin, Druckmann, episode 2 director Mark Mylod, VFX supervisor Alex Wang, prosthetics designer Barry Gower, and cast members Gabriel Luna and Wesley on creating the battle, which can be broken down into three parts: the horde arrives, the street battle, and Tommy (Luna) vs the bloater. Both digital and practical effects are discussed, including adding digital humans to the 20-30 real extras each day, showing the different stages of cordyceps in the frozen environment, using flamethrowers, and more.

Disc Two:

Joel’s Journey to Season 2 [3:39] – Clips from season 1 that recap Joel’s journey.

Ellie’s Journey to Season 2 [2:58] – Clips from season 1 that recap Ellie’s journey.

Character Featurettes [3:36] – Can be played separately or all together and includes Joel [0:57], Ellie [0:51], Abby [0:54], and Dina [0:54]. Features interviews with each of the performers talking about their characters.

Mushroom Taste Test [4:33] – Ramsey, Dever, Mazino, and Merced taste different foods and drinks with mushrooms and talk about different types of mushrooms.

Disc Three:

Pedro and Bella Q&A [6:34] – Pascal and Ramsey ask each other questions

Open Book: Isabela Merced and Young Mazino [5:07] – Merced and Mazino ask each other questions

Stalker Showdown, Deconstructed [3:21] – A look at the creation of the infected stalkers and bringing the showdown to life with visual effects, practical effects, and stunts. Includes concept art and interviews from Mazin, Druckmann, Ramsey, prosthetics designer Barrie Gower, VFX supervisor Alex Wang, SPFX supervisor Joel Whist, Ellie’s stunt double, Cassandra Ebner, and the director of episode 5, Stephen Williams.

Camera Roll: Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced & Young Mazino [3:13] – The three cast members look back at photos and video clips and talk about the memories.

In Action [4:34] – This feature is all about the action sequences and stunts. It includes interviews with Pascal, Ramsey, Merced, and Dever, as well as the director of episode two, Mark Mylod, the director of episode 7, Nina Lopez-Corrado, stunt coordinator Marny Eng, horse wrangler Danny Virtue, SPFX supervisor Joel Whist, and Ellie’s stunt double, Cassandra Ebner. Some of the subjects discussed are Abby on the falling rig, riding horses, filming the train car scene, Nora (Tati Gabrielle) jumping on the elevator, and various water scenes.

Beneath the Surface: The Visual FX of The Last of Us [16:41] – This feature is a behind the scenes look at creating some of the visual effects heavy scenes and includes interviews with various people involved in the production, including writers, directors, directors of photography, those in the visual effects, make-up, prosthetics, and costumes departments, Mazin and Druckmann, and a few of the performers. The various scenes discussed include Abby being chased by infected, Ellie and Dina being stalked by infected, Ellie and Dina finding the disemboweled soldiers, Ellie and Dina escaping through the train cars, Ellie chasing Nora onto the elevator, Ellie’s discovery of the room filled with bodies covered in spores, and lastly the water sequences. Both digital and practical effects are highlighted, including the creation of various costume pieces and how they aged them and added infected elements, as well as creating make-up and prosthetics and removing portions of performers faces digitally.

Ellie’s Path [16:39] – This feature is a look at the path that Ellie takes and why she makes the choices she does. It includes interviews with a few cast members, as well as Mazin and Druckmann, co-executive producer/writer Halley Gross, and directors Peter Hoar and Nina Lopez-Corrado.

Packaging:

The set is in a steel clamshell case and includes three discs. None of them have listed on the disc what is on them, nor is there a list inside the case, which is extremely annoying, although this is something most disc sets anymore seem to do.

Final Thoughts:

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season is definitely worth watching if you haven’t seen it, but it also has enough special features that even if you have, it’s worth the purchase. While some of the clips are repeated through multiple features, overall, it’s a solid set of special features.