The Last of Us Season 2 Review: More Brutal, More Beautiful, and One Big Change

I’ll be honest: when HBO announced they were adapting The Last of Us Part II into a second season, I was nervous. The video game was controversial—some players loved its brutal, unflinching story, while others hated the narrative structure and the violence. Critics called it a masterpiece. Gamers on Reddit called it a betrayal. How do you adapt that for a TV audience that hasn’t played the game? I’ve watched the first three episodes of Season 2, which premiered on June 12, 2026, and I have thoughts. Lots of them.

The show picks up five years after the events of Season 1. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is now 19, living in Jackson, Wyoming, with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and the rest of the community. She’s hardened, scarred, and still haunted by the choices Joel made at the end of Season 1—the hospital massacre, the lie he told her. The first episode is a slow burn: we see Ellie and Joel on patrol, bickering like a real father and daughter. There’s a beautiful scene where Ellie plays guitar on a rooftop, and Joel watches her with a look of pure love and guilt. It’s quiet. It’s sad. And then the violence comes.

The Big Change: The Timeline Is Shuffled

In the game, Part II opens with a flashback to the night of the hospital, then jumps to the present. The show does something different: it intercuts the present-day story with flashbacks that are spread across the entire season, not just the first episode. Showrunner Craig Mazin said in an interview that they wanted to “earn” the emotional beats more slowly. The result is a narrative that feels more like a mystery—you’re piecing together what happened in the intervening years. Some fans online are furious about this change. They say it dilutes the impact of the original story. I think it works. The game’s structure was designed for interactivity—you felt the weight of every kill because you were the one pressing the button. On TV, that doesn’t translate. Mazin’s approach gives us time to sit with the characters’ trauma without being rushed into the next setpiece.

The Cast: Bella Ramsey Is a Force

Bella Ramsey was criticized by some fans in Season 1 for not looking enough like game Ellie. Those complaints are dead now. She embodies Ellie’s rage and vulnerability perfectly. In one scene, she breaks down crying while holding a letter from a dead friend—it’s raw, messy, and real. Pedro Pascal is as great as ever as Joel, but his screen time is limited in these early episodes. The show is clearly Ellie’s story now. New additions include Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, the game’s other protagonist. I was skeptical of her casting, but she nails it—physically imposing, emotionally closed-off. You hate her at first. That’s the point. Young Mazino as Jesse is a warm presence, a counterbalance to all the gloom.

The Violence: It’s Brutal, But Not Gratuitous

The game was criticized for its extreme violence, especially against dogs. The show doesn’t shy away. There’s a fight scene in Episode 2 where Ellie kills a man with a brick—slowly, painfully—and you see every impact. But the show earns it by contrasting the violence with moments of tenderness: Ellie feeding a horse, Abby playing with a dog. It’s not gratuitous; it’s trying to show that violence has consequences. Mazin and director Neil Druckmann have said they want the show to be “uncomfortable” because the story demands it. I agree. If you want a feel-good zombie show, watch something else. This is about trauma, revenge, and the impossibility of breaking the cycle.

Should You Watch?

If you loved Season 1, you’ll love this—but be prepared for a slower, more emotionally draining experience. If you’re new to The Last of Us, start with Season 1. This is not a jumping-in point. The show is darker, more complex, and sometimes harder to love. But it’s also more ambitious. The third episode ends with a twist that made my jaw drop. I won’t spoil it, but it’s a change from the game that recontextualizes everything. I’m hooked. I’m also terrified for what comes next.