Overall, I still enjoyed The Last of Us season 2 – it’s one of the most engrossing shows on TV, and its dark depiction of the loss of humanity in the face of desperation, survival, and the decay of civilization continues to provide a compelling watch. However, I found it less engaging overall than season 1, with this perspective having nothing to do with whether The Last of Us makes changes to the games. After The Last of Us season 2’s ending, I felt more disappointed than I hoped due to certain narrative choices regarding pacing and character perspective.
As Someone Who Never Played The Games, I Found The Last Of Us' Season 2 Finale Underwhelming
The Last Of Us' Season 2 Finale Was Ultimately Unsatisfying
I went into The Last of Us’ season 2 finale thinking there would be some incredibly dark twists in store for Ellie and Dina. While that’s true, as Jesse was shot dead by Abby after Ellie killed Owen and a pregnant Mel, the episode’s pacing made the impact of these events more underwhelming. Not to mention, The Last of Us’ season 2 finale leaves off on a sudden cliffhanger, leaving those who haven’t played the games to wonder who shot the gun and who, if anyone, was hit by the bullet.
Dina wanting to go home, Ellie wanting to stay, Ellie being captured by The Last of Us’ Seraphites, Ellie killing Owen and Mel, Jesse dying moments after explaining why he saved Ellie, and Ellie trying to save Tommy from Abby – these are all huge narrative moments in a rushed execution, which ultimately lacks the emotional weight required for a satisfying story ending. By the cut-to-black cliffhanger, we’ve reached the end of a major chapter in Ellie's revenge arc, but there are too many under-explored elements at play to feel like these endings have been fully earned.
The Last Of Us Season 2 Should Have Only Focused On The Jackson Characters' Perspective
The Story Felt Incomplete After Adding So Many Teases Outside Jackson's Perspective
Part of the reason why The Last of Us’ season 2 finale feels so unsatisfying is because of how incomplete Ellie’s side of the story feels. Rather than cutting away to show the backstories and perspectives for Isaac, his WLF soldiers, and the Seraphites, The Last of Us season 2 may have proven stronger by only revealing what Ellie and Dina know about these elements. Instead, those deeper explorations into the Seattle groups could have come alongside Abby’s The Last of Us season 3 story.
Audiences simultaneously knew far too much and too little about the WLF and Seraphites.
In the fallout of Joel’s death and Ellie’s revenge story, The Last of Us may have benefited by only showing the perspectives of characters from Jackson. Audiences simultaneously knew far too much and too little about the WLF and Seraphites, and it made remembering what Ellie, Dina, Jesse, and Tommy were aware of more convoluted during the season 2 finale’s biggest moments. We would still get glimpses of Seattle’s warring groups, but the truth of their conflicts may have been better paid off in the TV format if we learned about them at the same time as those from Jackson.
The Last Of Us Season 2 Didn't Spend Nearly Enough Time With Ellie & Dina In Seattle
Ellie & Dina's Story Needed More Focus Before Switching To Abby's POV
The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin revealed the series will need four seasons to complete the full story.
In the same episode that they become a couple, Ellie is saying she’s going to “be a dad” to Dina and Jesse’s unborn baby. Just after Dina is shot by a Seraphite, Ellie reveals the truth to her about Joel’s massacre of the Fireflies. To be fair, their story thus far in Seattle happens over the course of just three days, but, even still, the big moments of character exposition are rushed too quickly amid the chaos of the war around them and cuts to other The Last of Us characters’ perspectives.
Season # |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score |
---|---|
1 |
96% |
2 |
92% |
Ellie and Dina’s stories and character explorations feel far too incomplete by the finale, given we’ll be cutting directly to Abby’s perspective in The Last of Us season 3. It makes sense that there’s no clear resolution for their story yet ahead of season 3, but that’s also complicated by the idea that we’re now going to be seeing Abby’s story. We might not even get back to Ellie and Dina’s perspectives until the very end of season 3, which may ultimately undermine the emotional weight and effectiveness of their fates and decisions after the season 2 cliffhanger.
The Last Of Us Season 3 Showing Abby's Side Sounds Like It'll Be More Fulfilling Than Season 2
Abby's Story Will Fill In All The Gaps
When The Last of Us season 3 arrives, we get to see those three days in Seattle through Abby’s point of view. This time around, though, it’ll feel like a complete story. We get to know the grittier details of Isaac, the WLF, the conflicts in Seattle, and the nature of the Seraphites. Abby’s story will fill in all the necessary gaps from Ellie and Dina’s story, while adding to the narrative with a more intimate look into her backstory and perspective on the morals of The Last of Us’ post-apocalyptic world before that cliffhanger gunshot.
By the time The Last of Us season 3 reaches the moment after Abby kills Jesse, her side of the narrative is bound to be more complete than Ellie and Dina’s portion. We already know the basics of the WLF and Seraphites, so Abby's focus won’t be taken away from to establish those Seattle details, and the show will only need more vague references to Ellie and Dina being in Seattle. After the different sides of the story truly converge, it seems Abby’s narrative will ultimately be stronger and more fulfilling than Ellie and Dina's at that point.