The Last Of Us
Credit: HBO
The Last Of Us Part II was a divisive video game, so it should come as no surprise that Season 2 of HBO’s adaptation is dividing viewers. Many are pointing to Rotten Tomatoes to make this point. The show is being “review-bombed” though I take issue with that analysis. When you create a divisive work of art, it’s bound to have detractors.
I have struggled for years with my feelings toward Part II, and two episodes into Season 2 of The Last Of Us, those feelings are as conflicted as ever. Last night’s episode was excellent, but as I pointed out on social media, I hated it with a passion.
Spoilers ahead.
I have problems with where the story went in Part II, primarily turning the story of Joel and Ellie into a revenge quest and killing off Joel, the main protagonist of both the first game and first season of the show. Sometimes killing off a main character works but more often than not it just leads to a totally different story. Many people loved Part II, and I do think it was a tremendous game in many respects. But the first game’s ending was perfect and it really didn’t need a sequel, especially not a sequel that so fundamentally altered everything about the story so far.
Setting all of that aside, I think the show is going to run up against problems that were mitigated in the video game. In the game, you play about half the game as Ellie. You follow her on her quest to track down Abby and exact revenge. You inhabit her as she is absorbed and twisted by this darkness. And then everything changes.
Abby
Credit: HBO
Suddenly, you’re playing as Abby, the person you’ve spent this entire game so far hating and wanting dead. You learn more about why she did what she did and her own struggles and pain. Through the very specific magic of video games, you begin to inhabit Abby and her life, playing as the very person you’ve spent all this time hating. It’s impossible not to begin to have some empathy for her, though I admit I never found myself actually liking her character, let alone forgiving her for what she did to Joel.
Perhaps if the game had made her shoot Joel in the face like Joel shot her father, or had made the circumstances of her revenge different, I could have found a way to forgive her. But the way she killed Joel was so cruel and monstrous, even a video game hellbent on forcing me to feel differently, ultimately failed. (Though I did come to believe that Ellie should let go of her revenge and have mercy).
How will the TV adaptation create this same degree of empathy in viewers, especially after last night’s brutal episode? Not only did Abby kill Joel in the most unspeakably horrific way, she spent a good chunk of time twirling her mustache while monologuing like a cartoon villain. Kaitlyn Dever did a great job here, but the scene was a little much, both in terms of the degree of exposition and in its shocking level of violence. It was heartbreaking to watch Ellie crawl over to his dead body and collapse there in that final embrace.
Ellie
Credit: HBO
The game used the magic of video games to at least get players to walk in Abby’s shoes, but in the show that won’t be possible. And thanks to that lengthy exposition dump, audiences know far too much about Abby’s motives far too early. This presents a bunch of problems for the show going forward, at least if they hope to create the degree of empathy for Abby that the game tried so hard to achieve. I could never fully get onboard with that for the reasons I’ve mentioned, and because I believed so strongly (and still do) that the first game ended on the perfect note, with Joel saving Ellie and then lying to her about it, leaving us feeling conflicted but ultimately glad that these characters we’d come to care about so much had survived.
Still, the sequel was bold and audacious. It explored themes of revenge and loss, love and redemption and forgiveness. It was unique and ballsy, even if other aspects of it being a video game, from the cartoonish post-apocalyptic factions to the sheer number of people Ellie and Abby kill over the course of the game, undermined its storytelling to some degree. Maybe in this regard, the show will have better luck. But it has an Abby problem that I’m not sure most viewers will be able to overcome. We shall see.
P.S. I’m glad Dever isn’t as bulked up as game Abby. A lot of people are upset by this, but I think you can still portray her as a ruthless and capable killer without the roided out muscles. It’s more about how Dever plays the role than about how strong she is, though this definitely leaves less of a gap between the two female protagonists, since neither is physically daunting.
Forbes‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2, Episode 2 Recap And Review: The Terrors Of The EarthBy Erik KainWhat do you think? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.
