(Warning: Spoilers ahead.)
Lies are like an infection that mutates over time. While it isn’t the deadliest obstacle Ellie (Bella Ramsey) faces in The Last of Us in the Season 2 premiere, Joel’s previous omission is the most insidious and long-lasting.
Kicking off the second season by replaying part of the last scene from the finale offers a reminder that Joel (Pedro Pascal) bare-faced lied to his surrogate daughter, Ellie (Bella Ramsey). Considering it has been two years since The Last of Us concluded its debut season, this refresher is appreciated (full disclosure, I haven’t played the video game, so am approaching this show with newcomer eyes). We also see how the remaining Fireflies respond to Joel’s one-man hit squad. The short answer: not great, Bob!
Standing in front of more than a dozen makeshift graves underscores how much blood Joel spilled and why vengeance is priority number one for Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby. Regardless of how long it will take to find Joel, Abby is intent on killing him slowly for how much blood the smuggler has spilled. But at least Joel has Ellie, right?
Well, a lot can happen in five years, and this time jump reveals that all is not well between the pair. Now 19, Ellie remains headstrong and impulsive, eager to participate in the more dangerous tasks to keep the community in Jackson, Wyoming, safe. Ellie’s continued risk-taking is a problem, and Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) wants to put her on gate watch rather than patrol. “We have rules for reasons,” says Tommy. There is no way Ellie isn’t breaking them again before the episode is over.
The biggest “Oh, that is going to come back to bite you in the a–” (or in this case, stomach) is when Ellie brings up the unmentionable: her immunity. “I got bit! I’m immuuuuuuuuuune,” Ellie yells to an empty landscape. Joel’s overprotective nature impacts Ellie even when she isn’t talking to him.
Ellie’s frustration at everyone holding back means she constantly wants to prove herself, particularly in front of BFF and object of her affection, Dina (Isabela Merced). Dina works as part of Joel’s construction team and has become his sounding board when dealing with this (as yet) unexplained rift with Ellie. Dina figures out that Joel has been going to therapy because of his choice of language (“I can’t hold myself responsible for another person’s emotional state”). Joel still can’t help but whine when his actions five years earlier are the root cause. Even if Ellie doesn’t know what he did, his constant need to save her is well past its expiry date.
“Don’t tell anyone I’m in therapy,” Joel tells Dina. While this is on the harmless end of the withholding scale, it further proves that everyone has something to hide—Joel more than most. Before I get to Joel’s revelatory session opposite Catherine O’Hara’s unorthodox psycho-therapist Gail, I want to focus on Ellie’s cavalier approach on patrol (she convinces Tommy to give her this recon assignment). Her unique biology might be unknown to most, but it doesn’t stop her from feeling unstoppable, or wanting to flex in front of Dina.
Director Craig Mazin uses the vast expanse of the snowy Wyoming countryside to give a semblance of safety because the patrol on horseback can see for miles. But my dread levels immediately increase when Dina and Ellie decide to explore the store where they think a post-feast infected is sheltering. After all, a grizzly bear lost the fight against this pack. Inside the abandoned market, Dina and Ellie use hand signals to strategize. It is playful and flirty, but I will not be lulled into a false sense of security by Ramsey’s hilarious over-the-top stabby mime. But it does go according to plan, so maybe I was wrong.
Not quite! When Ellie goes to show Dina the amusing employee of the month board, the floor collapses beneath Ellie’s feet, sending her crashing below.
Ellie finds it amusing rather than terrifying. But I am not Ellie, and I know there will be something horrifying lurking in the shadows. Dina looks for a way down, while Ellie does some recon of her own, briefly getting distracted by this 2003 issue of People magazine (this might be the most relatable moment of the episode).
Alas, there is no time to read the 25-year-old gossip (like Bennifer’s first act). A figure crawls in the deep background, and this whole sequence had me watching through my fingers. Instead of behaving like other infecteds, this smarter version stalks Ellie, luring her into a trap. Ellie does come out as the victor, but not before she is bitten. Thankfully, Dina doesn’t see any of this (because she might have killed Ellie).
At home, Ellie uses a sterilized knife to cut the skin to get rid of the tell-tale teeth marks. Maybe if she were in a better place with Joel, she would confide in him, but now is not that time. Plus, it’s New Year’s Eve and Ellie is about to end the year on a high. Well, before some a–hole ruins it.
Rather than get back together with on-again-off-again boyfriend Jesse (played by Beef’s Young Mazino), Dina pulls Ellie onto the dance floor, where it gets a little hot and heavy. Their first kiss is rudely interrupted because, unfortunately, homophobia is alive and well as 2028 becomes 2029. The young women are handling themselves fine, but Joel can’t help but step in when a slur is hurled. Yes, he is being an ally, but once again, he makes himself Ellie’s protector. “I don’t need your f—ing help,” Ellie yells.
Joel has learned nothing from his session with Gail, who watches this whole mess unfold. Earlier, Gail calls BS on Joel’s parroted Ellie talking points and says he is withholding. “You can’t heal something unless you’re brave enough to say it out loud,” Gails says. The therapist demonstrates this method, telling Joel she hates him for killing her husband (plot twist!) the year before.
In a jam-packed, brilliant premiere, this scene stands out. O’Hara is a comedy genius, but this interaction demonstrates her dramatic chops. Gail knows Joel had no choice but can’t forgive. However, she promises he will feel better if he says the thing “you’re afraid to say.” When Gail asks if he did something to Ellie, he says yes before adding, “I saved her.” But what he did to rescue her remains the issue.
How much Joel reveals is down to him. However, his past is about to catch up with him as Abby and the surviving Fireflies have spent five years tracking him down and are near. There is another problem even closer to home. A discarded sparkler reveals that the pipe stuffed with roots isn’t as benign as it first looked: the parasitic fungus is here. Maybe lies aren’t the most dangerous thing, but they definitely don’t help.
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