The second season of "The Last of Us" will leave viewers emotional

Reel Perspectives

April 16, 2025

HBO

The highly anticipated second season of HBO's post-apocalyptic series "The Last of Us" premiered this past Sunday, attracting an impressive 5.3 million viewers. This marks a 13% increase compared to the first season's premiere. Ahead of its season 2 debut, the series, which will consist of seven episodes, has already been renewed for a third season. This renewal comes as no surprise as the Emmy Award-winning show has been a massive hit with both fans and critics, praised for its exceptional cast performances and high production values, making it the best adaptation of a video game to date.

Based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog and PlayStation Productions in collaboration with Sony Pictures Television, the series is written and executive-produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.

Set twenty years after civilization collapsed due to a pandemic caused by a universal cordyceps infection that transforms its hosts into zombie creatures, the series follows Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, both returning as survivors. Joel lost his daughter during the initial outbreak and Ellie (who is immune to the outbreak) five years later in Jackson, Wyoming, after he lied to her about his massacre at the hospital, causing Ellie to become emotionally distant towards him. The official synopsis reveals they are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.

HBO

The series cast includes:

• Pedro Pascal as Joel

• Bella Ramsey as Ellie

• Gabriel Luna as Tommy

• Rutina Wesley as Maria

• Kaitlyn Dever as Abby

• Isabela Merced as Dina

• Young Mazino as Jesse

• Ariela Barer as Mel

• Tati Gabrielle as Nora

• Spencer Lord as Owen

• Danny Ramirez as Manny

• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac

• Robert John Burke as Seth

• Noah Lamanna as Kat

• Joe Pantoliano as Eugene

• Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan

• Ben Ahlers as Burton

• Hettienne Park as Elise

• Catherine O'Hara as Gail

After more than a two-year wait, the highly emotional premiere episode "Future Days" was heartbreaking, anchored by the fraught relationship between Joel and Ellie, offering a glimpse of what's to come this season. Fans ignited social media with their reactions to Pedro Pascal's gut-wrenching performance, laden with guilt and tremendous pain, as many wondered if more heartbreak was headed his way seeing the ramifications of his lie having lasting, hopefully not permanent, consequences, especially with a vengeful Abby hot on his trail determined to kill him.

This season promises to be more ambitious than the first, striving to find the right balance between staying faithful to the source material and taking creative liberties to meet viewer expectations. With new characters added to the series, season 2 aims to live up to its reputation as the best adaptation of a video game. Viewers can look forward to an emotionally charged, heartbreakingly beautiful season featuring outstanding performances from its lead actors that will surely be worthy of award discussion.

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The first episode of The Last of Us is available to stream on MAX, with new episodes released every Monday on HBO through its season finale on May 25, 2025.

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