'Last of Us' Season Two Is Controversial for Some, But Show's Differing Perspectives Are Intriguing

by Julian Spivey
The second season of HBO’s apocalyptic drama video game adaptation “The Last of Us,” which wrapped its season on Sunday, May 25, proved to be quite controversial among the show’s fan base.

​Often TV/film viewers will find controversy when the show/film they are watching doesn’t stick closely enough to the source material, but in a rare instance, “The Last of Us” seems to be controversial because it hues rather closely to its source material, which in the case of the second season was 2020’s “The Last of Us Part II” video game.

There will be spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen the second season of “The Last of Us.” 
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Photo: HBO

I never played “The Last of Us” or “The Last of Us Part II.” I’m not much of a gamer, personally. But I found myself entranced by this darkly dramatic series in its first season, thanks to its storyline and terrific performances by Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey and a mesmerizing supporting cast of guest actors and actresses.
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So, when the second episode of season two came to an end, I was in for a shock that those who played “The Last of Us Part II” knew that the death of Joel, whose perspective the majority of the first season had followed, was coming at some point.

Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the latter of whom also co-created the games, had me hooked, as did this world they had built, so I wasn’t about to give up on the series due to the death of a popular and amazing character, as some immediately did. I had to see their vision through to the end. This was sticking to the source material, and I respected that.

Much of the remainder of season two sees Ramsey’s Ellie, the orphan Joel had taken under his wing who is immune to the fungal infection that transforms its hosts into zombie-like creature, and her best friend, and love interest, Dina (the wonderful Isabela Merced), go on a revenge quest to find the person who murdered Joel.

Many watching season two seemed to find these episodes disjointed at best, but I was intrigued enough by the Ellie character, her relationship with Dina, and other side storylines like those involving former FEDRA sergeant turned WLF leader Isaac (the incredible Jeffrey Wright) that I remained interested in and entertained the rest of the season.

Sunday’s finale, “Convergence,” seemed like another controversial moment for the series, as it wasn’t a wrap on the season, like the show had done in season one. Season one was the story of the first “The Last of Us” video game in its entirety. Seasons two and an upcoming season three are being produced in split perspectives, similar to how I believe “The Last of Us Part II” video game was created (though, again, I haven’t played it, so I could be wrong about that). The majority of season two has us watching Ellie’s version of revenge. Season three will shift us to the perspective of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and have us follow her as the main character until the moment that ended season two, a showdown between her and Ellie, which effectively ended season two with a giant cliffhanger of a gunshot being fired from Abby and the screen going dark.

Cliffhangers will always be a matter of controversy. People typically don’t want to wait a year, especially in the streaming universe, though with a show like “The Last of Us,” it might be even longer before they have a resolution. It feels like “The Last of Us” is going to make viewers wait even longer, with season three likely following Abby for a large swath of time before we get to what happened between her and Ellie.

I don’t mind cliffhangers, as long as there is a payoff in the end, and I’ve seen nothing from Mazin, Druckmann, and the fine cast and crew of the show to lead me to believe I have anything to worry about. I’m invested. I find the different perspective aspect of “The Last of Us” to be unique and interesting, and the writing and performances in the show haven’t led me astray yet.