Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 premiere.
The first season of The Last of Us was largely about love, both the good and bad of this emotion, and what extremes it can lead to. As we return to The Last of Us with the first episode of Season 2, “Future Days,” hate, frustration, and revenge become central to this emotion as well. The premiere also shows the pain that comes with love, whether in the strained relationship between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) or the fury that can come from wanting revenge on those who have hurt the ones we love. Yet the beauty of what love can do still remains, as we see Ellie’s feelings towards her best friend, which she clearly wants to become something more, or the warmth that Jackson shows to those who want to join their community. Love can cause great joy, or it can cause extreme pain, and that’s certainly what we see as we catch up with these characters in “Future Days.”
“Future Days” Shows the Impact Joel’s Lies Have Had

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Season 2 begins with a stark reminder of what Joel’s lies have led to. First, we return to the final moments of Season 1, with Ellie making Joel swear that everything he said about the Fireflies was true. Joel once again lies to Ellie’s face, but she accepts his answer, and the pair continues to go to Jackson together. But right after, we cut back to meet Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and the four remaining survivors of Joel’s Salt Lake City massacre at the hospital. With the Fireflies basically destroyed, they agree that they should go to Seattle, where there’s an outfit run by a man named Isaac. But Abby doesn’t want to leave, not until they find Joel. They only know bits and pieces about Joel: he’s in his fifties, graying, six feet tall, scar on his right temple, and that he’s apparently handsome. There are also rumors about who Ellie was — and while the group knows what they’ve heard about her can’t be true, it doesn’t matter anymore anyway. Instead of chasing after Joel now, Abby agrees to go to Seattle and use their resources to find Joel, with the group agreeing to help her. But after Abby leaves a Fireflies pendant on a grave, she says that when she finds Joel, she wants to kill him slowly.
Five years later, Joel is now the foreman for all the new construction going on in Jackson, Wyoming. We’re introduced to Dina (Isabela Merced), Ellie’s best friend, who seems to have a good rapport with Joel. After Joel teaches her about how circuit breakers work, Dina asks Joel why she (meaning Ellie) is mad at him. Ellie hasn’t said so, but Dina can tell, despite Ellie not opening up about their conflict. But Joel chalks it up to their pseudo-father-daughter relationship, and how teenagers never like their parents anyway, and that they’ll get through it. Even when Dina changes the subject, Joel says he tries, he’s a hardass, and he’s protective, but what did he do to deserve Ellie’s silent treatment? Dina figures out that Joel is in therapy, and Joel asks her not to tell anyone.
Joel later updates Maria (Rutina Wesley) on the building updates in Jackson, and she responds that they need to build faster since they’re running out of space for new arrivals. Joel pushes back that maybe Maria and the town’s council shouldn’t be letting so many newcomers into Jackson, arguing that they’ve got to look after their own people first. As Joel leaves after playing with Tommy and Maria’s son, Benjamin (Ezra Agbonkhese), and Tommy enters, Maria reminds Joel that when he came to Jackson, he was also a refugee.
Joel Goes to Therapy, Finally!

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Joel then heads to the home of Gail (Catherine O’Hara), his therapist, and they both share some whiskey after Gail mentions it’s her birthday. Joel gives Gail a bag of weed for payment, and when Joel inquires about the whiskey, Gail responds that she’s feeling sad, as this is the first birthday she’s had in 41 years without her husband, Eugene. Joel tells Gail he took her advice and backed off from Ellie, but now, all she does is lock herself in his garage, which she’s now living in. He also mentions how Dina talks to him like a human being in a way that Ellie no longer does, saying Dina understands him like she’s his kid, but she’s not. Gail reminds Joel that neither is Ellie.
Gail mocks Joel about his boring problems, saying that after five sessions, he’s still grouching about his teen daughter (or whatever they are to each other at this point). Gail says she’s not going to validate Joel anymore because it’s exhausting, because Joel is lying to her, and because she knows Joel is leaving something out of the story. Gail reveals that this isn’t her first drink of the day, and after saying, “You can’t heal something unless you’re brave enough to say it out loud,” she states that she hates Joel for shooting and killing her husband, Eugene. She knows Joel had no choice and that she should forgive him, but she’s tried, and she can’t because of how he did it. Now that she’s been open and cleared the air, she hopes Joel will be open with her, promising that she’ll help. He admits he hurt her, but he didn’t do anything to her. Instead of admitting what he can’t say, Joel simply says with tears in his eyes, “I saved her,” before abruptly walking out of their session.
Ellie Has Become a Force of Nature in the Last Five Years

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We also catch up with Ellie, who has become quite the badass. Now with a tattoo covering the bite mark on her forearm, she’s practicing her fighting and holding her own against a guy twice her size, forcing him to tap out even after she’s been punched in the face. When Jesse (Young Mazino) ends the fight, he mentions that her opponent pulled his punch because Jesse asked him to, since he didn’t want to explain Ellie getting knocked out to Joel. This hits Ellie harder than the punch, and she tells Jesse not to do that again.
Ellie is becoming part of this community, and part of that is her training with Tommy (Gabriel Luna) on how to use a sniper rifle to take out clickers. The two recognize that there are a lot more than usual, and Tommy wants to send a patrol to find out where they’re coming from. Ellie jumps at the opportunity to make the run, but Tommy says he’s taking her off patrols and moving her to gate watch. Apparently, he’s making this choice because Joel is worried about her, especially since Ellie previously went off on her own during a patrol. Of course, Ellie isn’t going to take that, and after reminding Tommy that he shouldn’t be worried about her since she’s immune, Tommy gives in, putting Ellie back on patrol — but not before stating that Ellie and Joel are exactly alike.
In Ellie’s garage room, we get a glimpse of who she is now. The room is a mess, with signs of music everywhere, from a guitar with a moth engraved on it to a box full of cassettes and a White Stripes album on the wall, while she cleans and prepares her gun for the patrol. Dina knocks on her door to meet up for the patrol, and as Ellie gets ready, Dina moves in close, helping Ellie adjust her gear. It’s clear this close contact is something Ellie certainly isn’t upset about. Dina mentions she might go watch some movies with Joel tomorrow, if Ellie wants to come, but Ellie ignores her, and they head out.
Ellie and Dina Run Into a New Kind of Infected

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Ellie takes out her horse, Shimmer, for the patrol, as she and Dina meet Jesse at the Jackson gate. Even though Jesse is only four years older than Ellie and Dina, it’s clear he’s already a leader in the town, as he sends Ellie, Dina, and three others out on their recon patrol on the alpine run. As they make their way, Dina asks Ellie if she’s going to the party tonight, to which she says yes, and that she’s not bringing anyone. Dina mentions Ellie could take Kat (Noah Lamanna), who is also in their patrol group, since she’s the “other one” in town, and mentions that Ellie and Kat have a history, saying that Kat “left her mark” on Ellie. Dina thinks Ellie is into someone else, and Dina says that she and Ellie should go to the New Year’s Eve party together. Dina also mentions that she and Jesse have broken up yet again… for now.
The group finds a trail of blood, and while the other three warn that they should go back, Ellie and Dina go forward, much to the chagrin of the rest of the group. They find a bear that has clearly fought with a group of infected outside a market (which seems to be a reference to one of the game’s deleted scenes), leaving both groups dead. They figure out that whichever infected survived the fight, they probably went inside the market. Ellie and Dina decide to continue their recon into the market, and before they enter, Dina shows off her ability to count how many clickers are in an area just by listening to them.

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As Ellie and Dina make their attack on the clickers, we get to see the playful dynamic these two have, even in the face of danger. The two separate inside, and Ellie throws a glass bottle to distract a clicker, jumps on his back, and stabs him to death. But then, the floor breaks from underneath her, and Ellie falls into the grocery store. Dina tells Ellie to stay put as she tries to find a way to get her back up to the top floor. Naturally, Ellie goes searching around the market, as we’re introduced to a quiet, more stealthy type of infected, known as stalkers. The stalker is clever, sneaks up on Ellie, and attacks her, biting her in the stomach, but Ellie shoots the creature before Dina comes in, keeping this new bite from her.
Ellie and Dina go to the town’s council, and Ellie explains this new type of smarter infected. Even though Dina didn’t see this creature in action, she backs up Ellie’s story. Maria says she believes Ellie, but that Dina’s lying, and the council shows some worry about a potential new threat, before adjourning for the party. Back in the garage, Ellie cuts her new wound with her knife to make it not look like a bite anymore. Later, Ellie writes in her journal, laughing over a pun Dina made on patrol, followed by Ellie writing “don’t fuck it up” over and over again. There’s a knock at her door, and it’s Joel, and she barely turns around to look at him. She’s cold, passive, and not even letting him know if she’s going to the party when he asks. Joel notices the guitar among her mess, seeing that the strings are shot. He grabs the guitar, as if he’s found something that gives him purpose in her life, and leaves with a goal, something that might make her open up to him once more.
The Jackson New Year’s Eve Party Takes a Turn

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Later at the party, Ellie watches over the dancing crowd, particularly a clearly inebriated Dina, who is having a ball. Jesse comes over to Ellie, saying that Dina’s putting on quite a show, and Ellie matter-of-factly says that Jesse and Dina will be back together in two weeks, tops. But Jesse says it won’t happen. Dina runs over and drags Ellie to the dance floor for a slow dance. After the two joke and Dina admits she’s high, she holds Ellie close as they dance. It’s clear this is a moment Ellie has wanted for some time. Ellie says every guy is staring at Dina, but Dina counters that maybe they’re staring at Ellie, and Ellie says they’re not. Dina says maybe they’re jealous of Ellie, to which Ellie says there’s no reason to be, she’s not a threat. But Dina says, “I think they should be terrified of you,” before kissing her.
But this moment is ruined by Seth (Robert John Burke), an older man who mentions that this is a family event. He glares at them, and as they walk away, he calls them a slur. As Ellie turns around to get in his face, Joel comes out of nowhere and pushes Seth to the ground. Joel asks if Ellie is okay, but Ellie, furious, asks Joel what is wrong with him, and says she doesn’t need her help. Confused and clearly upset by this reaction, Joel apologetically leaves the party. While this party sequence is almost word-for-word the same as the game, the tremendous performances of Pascal, Ramsey, and Merced bring new life to this iconic moment.
Later that night, Ellie walks back to the house, where she sees Joel sitting on the porch with her guitar. Joel looks stunned and heartbroken, while Ellie is still clearly angry. But instead of walking on the porch to talk to Joel like she does in the game, Ellie walks right past him and back to her garage. As the party dies down, we see inside a nearby pipe, where the tendrils of the infected are moving around, seeping their way into Jackson. As the episode ends, we see Abby and her crew coming out of the woods, seeing Jackson on the horizon, as they make their way forward.
This first episode makes for a solid reintroduction into this world, catching up with these characters five years later, introducing us to a new lineup of characters like Jesse and Dina, who are immediately endearing, and giving us just enough of Abby to set up Season 2’s exploration of revenge, anger, and pain that won’t let go. It’s also an episode that isn’t rushing this story, but rather, taking its time in setting up this new season, as we can see in the way writer-director Craig Mazin handles the entire market sequence. In a story that is largely about the connections between these people, Season 2 begins with a nicely paced return that sets the stage for our cast and the various forms of love and hate that connect them.
The Last of Us Season 2 airs Sundays on HBO and Max.

Custom Image By Yailin Chacon

Custom Image By Yailin Chacon

The Last Of Us

“Future Days” is a great introduction for The Last of Us Season 2, setting the stage for the characters we already know while setting up a great new cast.

Release Date

January 15, 2023

Network

HBO

Showrunner

Craig Mazin

Directors

Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado

Pros & Cons

This first episode takes its time in establishing this story after a five-year timejump.
“Perfect Days” makes slight adjustments to the game’s story that will keep existing fans on their toes.
The new cast, including Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, and Kaitlyn Dever, are excellent.