After what felt like an eternity of waiting, its finally here The Last of Us has returned with its Season 2 premiere and I dont know why I totally miss when Episode 1 came out, it was not until Sunday that I saw a few videos about it so it was a twofer for me. I didn't post about it yesterday since the office was almost on fire with a lot of work that drain me out. Titled "Future Days" episode 1 starts five years after the WTF events of the Season 1 ending, episode one was very passive but does deliver a solid start for what is to come. Season 1 was full of drama and a couple of true action scenes, on Season 2 I would expect the same drama but with more action from the Infected ones, who seem to be evolving and its my speculation that eventually Ellie becomes the Queen of Blades, basically the one who can control them or communicate with them at least.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3581920/
- Platform: Prime Video
Source
The episode does takes its time reintroducing us to Joel and Ellie's world, showing us how they've settled into Jackson, Wyoming and how their relationship has been on a downtrend ever since Joel rescue Ellie from the Fireflies, in my opinion a fateful decision at the hospital back then. The very first scenes shows how much their town have grown to a point that more and more people keep coming for refugee but there is not enough houses for them, Joel and his brother are trying to build as fast as they can to keep up, trying to build an environment that feels like life is coming back to normality although there is still the constant threat of the infected and human lurking.
Season 1 ending was not a quite one since a lot went down and been what the series is, all those actions going to hunt back Joel and Ellie at some point, it also shows the moment Ellie asks Joel if he was telling her all the truth about Fireflies and hhmm we know he is lying, but under that kind of circumstances who is going to judge Joel? he loves Ellie as his own daughter and this deception is most likely their relationship has almost gone down the drain, at least that's how Joel feel like. The episode then shows a new character, Abby, role played by Kaitlyn Dever, who is mourning the loss of her father and friends at the hands of Joel, all Fireflies and the Doctor who Joel head shot when taking Ellie with him. She then promise to find Joel and kill him "slowly" is for sure the biggest threat for them aside from the infected. The time jump to five years later shows us a thriving Jackson community, where Joel works as a construction foreman and Ellie has grown, she is both an exceptional fighter and shooter, she has also cover up her bite marks with a tattoo.
Source
It was just a matter of time before infected evolve, even Zombies evolve so why not infected ones who are kinda half dead or at least less than Zombies, this new version are called stalkers, they are smarter and more strategic when it comes to attack or stay "alive", runners and clickers were more reactive than showing some sort of intelligence. The first time we see one of this is just epic with Ellie falling from a second floor into what was a Supermarket, at first I though it was a monkey but then I though, a monkey in such a cold place?. The stalker behavior is a very lurky one, almost like hunting and playing mind games with Ellie before attacking, the truth is that it didn't look like it wanted to attack to be honest, until Ellie provoke it and start screaming at it, this adds a new hole kind of danger for humans. Infected already have a tone of features and one of them is infiltrating Joel's town but having the kind that can be strategic and show some intelligence is just madness.
The series keeps doing a great job at balancing most aspects of drama and action, showing how each episode despite how slow or boring might be, turns into a gem without a doubt. You just show Joel and Ellie ignoring themself an entire episode and its already interesting to be honest, there is just something to the characters that make them special, its like they are constantly trying to be hurting someone. Pedro Pascal has shown he can deliver great acting even with a helmet on the hole time and his role as Joel is no difference, a man who is constantly hunted by his past actions and is desperate to protect the person he loves the most, even if she cant stand to be around him. The scene where Joel sits on the porch with Ellie's repaired guitar, only for her to walk past him without a word is a perfect example.
Bella Ramsey brings a perfect mix of teenage rebellion, rage and hurting to Ellie, showing how she's grown harder and more capable in the five years since the series last show her character. The training sequence where she takes down a much bigger and her confident putting down infected during patrol demonstrate her evolution as a survivor and a fighter. Season two also brings in the complex relationship between Dina and Ellie, this is for sure going to bring some awesome drama out of it, evidence of this is how Ellie write on her journal about "fucking up" their relationship.
Source
Episode one is for sure the silence before the storm, the ending sets up multiple threats going after Joel, Ellie and Jackson. One of the first scenes show how they working on some pipelines that are all cover up with roots, at first they look all dry but if I were on their situations, roots should be a big red flag everywhere I see them. Cordyceps infection can extend roots for miles and it has found its way past the town defenses making it a somewhat easy target or at least got them on sight.
Besides the infected there is a new threat, its Abby who swore to kill Joel, he killed 18 Fireflies and specifically killed her father cold blooded, she is coming from a long way and out of luck is on Jackson door steps without knowing her target is inside. People often say "don't fear the death, fear the living ones", well that is 100% true for Joel, now been in danger from two sides, the infected ones and Abby. This hole situation creates such a doom scenario feeling at moments where there is a lot of growth within Jason, community is growing together and even celebrating special occasions in what seem to be a time of peace like New Year, part of this happiness is also felt through Ellie and Dina who had a moment and kissed at the party. During this sequence they were also criticize by a man who tells them its a family event, to what Joel didn't like how he speak to Ellie and push him just a bit too hard, creating a scene and putting Ellie on the spot light. There is also a small talk between Ellie and Dina where she says the town should be "terrified" of her, I'm sure her comment must be a reference of what would happen if everyone figures out she is immune.
The story telling of the series remains great as always, where empathy is a crucial storytelling device and it's harder to get viewers emotionally attached to characters whose motivations remain a mystery for the most part, just as an example of this is Abby between grief and desire for revenge showing that kind of moral complex conflict where I'm sure most people can understand her motives.
I can't say much about the game story adaptation since I'm not a gamer, I'm sure part of it has been adapted to TV, although on the acting department is just exception across the board with Pascal and Ramsey continue to bring depth to their characters how they just cant be happy or at least live without worries, same goes for the new characters who are immediately also falling into this world of danger, I'm so happy The Last of Us is back, with the same intensity and danger just around the corner.
#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #joel, #ellie, #abby, #dina, #jackson, #revenge, #infected, #fireflies, #stalker, #clickers, #relationships, #community, #therapy, #trauma, #survival, #immunity, #patrol, #apocalypse, #lies, #betrayal, #estrangement, #kiss, #guitar, #seattle, #cordyceps, #flixfinder