The first episode of The Last of Us series was so faithful to the game that it felt like we were watching a very long cutscene. Introduction of a world that seemed normal enough, the revelation of characters that were well acted. On top of these perfections, the music reminded fans of exactly where this series is coming from.
Everything just fell in place and broke the audience the way the first game broke its players. And continuing with that momentum, the second episode did nothing to leave the fans disappointed as it only kept staying more true to the game.
The Last of Us episode 2 starts where everything began!
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The second episode of The Last of Us starts somewhere very new altogether. For the first time ever, we are shown the beginning of this pandemic. How it started in Jakarta, Indonesia, and how the people with the most knowhow decided to prevent it from spreading, only to end up failing.
The episode then hands the story back to its main characters. We see Joel and Tess chewing on jerkies as Ellie eats a chicken sandwich while explaining to them her “special ability”. These guys are more suspicious than impressed, yet Tess decides to go ahead with this mission and convinces Joel to come along.
As they travel through some familiar locations, “the famous hotel, sans that environmental puzzle”, and “that museum,” more about these “infected” are revealed to us. It appears Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have come up with something new altogether, to give these infected a hivemind. This plays out well and works well in providing enough thrill to the viewers. And it also gives these characters a reason to watch their step now, as they just can’t go around prancing anywhere they feel like.
Apart from this, the episode once again ends with a familiar tune, albeit played with a few different notes. But it also gives us a glimpse of what we can expect next. Two names were spoken, and those names would not be unfamiliar to fans of the series, but newcomers can be really hyped!
The performances and music remain the highlight!
This episode would not have been as touching if it wasn’t for the believable performances of those brilliant actors. Actors in the smallest of roles just gave it their all. Christine Hakim just made us believe the seriousness of the kind of threat we were witnessing. Her very short role as Ibu Ratna, an Indonesian mycology professor, was luminously portrayed.
Moving onto the usuals, Bella Ramsey once again flawlessly plays Ellie. We see every bit of Ellie in her, that playfulness, that sense of wonder and fear, and most importantly, the awareness that people would find it hard to be comfortable around her because of “that problem.”
Pedro Pascal plays a very collected Joel. He knows where he is walking; he tries to be extra careful with everything and he does not trust people easily.
Although Anna Torv just blew everyone out of the water with her portrayal of Tess. A person so desperate that she wouldn’t mind trying anything to get through. A person who knows they are drowning but would “save anyone they can” to keep that ray of hope alive. She portrayed this character with such sincerity that it was uncanny!
All this was backed up by Gustavo Santaolalla’s very subtle yet touching background score. It’s a very good thing they did not decide to go overboard with music here. It’s definitely not that kind of show. Subtlety is prime here.
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What comes next is sure to blow everyone away!
Till now, the team of HBO’s latest drama has made it pretty evident that they have realized this world. They have also shown attempts to expand upon it and give viewers some more context. The production value is as high as it can get and every shot of this series looks like it came straight from the games. And that’s not a bad thing at all!
In conclusion, this series remains as faithful to its source material as it should be, also giving fans enough extra details about what and how’s of everything. And that is why it has become even harder for us to wait for the next episode!
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What are your thoughts on the second episode? Share your expectations from the series moving forward in the comments below.
