This television adaptation of the popular video game has garnered numerous accolades for its "grim but humane" first season. Amidst the semblance of civilization, the second season is an uneven odyssey.
Despite all the infected gooey-brained creatures roaming around, The Last of Us she never really talked about zombies.
The first season of the series worked so well precisely because of the solidification of the bond between the main characters, Joel and Ellie, an orphaned teenager whom he was hired to take to the other side of the country, and who eventually becomes a surrogate for his daughter.
The zombies added danger, suspense, and action, but the series' strength lay in its compelling depiction of how love survives even a zombie apocalypse, with Joel and Ellie as a newly formed family.
In the second season, there is a drastic plot twist, truly the most shocking in any hit series I can think of, a twist so stunning that it's a shame to spoil it.
Shaking up a hit can work brilliantly, like in The Bear when the sandwich shop was replaced with a luxury restaurant in the second season.
But a big change in The Last of Us It's a shocking creative decision.
There are still great achievements and emotional moments.
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Pedro Pascal is still charismatic and poignant as Joel, giving us a glimpse into both the hardened warrior survivor and the tenderness that has remained within him.
And Bella Ramsey continues to sharply define the unwavering Ellie.
But the twist in the story ripped out the heart of the series, leaving a scaled-down version of the great series it once was.
The new season, however, starts off effectively, continuing the story five years after the moment we left it.
Joel and Ellie have now settled in Jackson, Wyoming, and the early episodes set there effortlessly evoke the feel of an old-fashioned Western.
The city is surrounded by fortified walls, and horse-drawn carriages travel along the main streets.
Citizens on horseback, including Joel and Eli, patrol the area outside the gate, looking for the infected.
Even though Ellie lives in the garage of Joel's house, she is angry with him and the series keeps bugging us for a long time without revealing why.
You may think you know why.
In last season's finale, he kidnapped her from the operating table, where surgeons could have used her immunity to cure the plague, but would have almost certainly caused her death. (It's a television series, not a scientific paper.)
He killed some people to escape, and then lied to her about it.
It turns out that's not the whole reason for her anger.
Around them, some fascinating actors bring Jackson to life.
Joel's loyal brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) is a more important character this season.
As Gail, the blasphemous town therapist, Catherine O'Hara strikes a delicate balance between biting lines and Gail's grief over the loss of her husband.
Isabella Merced is particularly vivid as the energetic Dina, who has just broken up with her boyfriend Jesse (Young Mazino).
You can't blame Merced, because the screenwriters hint at Dina's possible romance with Eli perhaps too blatantly from the very beginning.
The story quickly derails when Eli and Dina leave Jackson and embark on a dangerous journey.
The most exciting, action-packed parts come early on too, as hordes of infected storm Jackson's barricades while locals shoot at them from rooftops.
But danger comes from other places as well.
Caitlin Dever plays Abby, a ruthless new character who is searching for Joel, vowing revenge for his hospital attack.
Watch the trailer for season two
Like the first season, this one deals with a society in which murder takes on a different moral meaning when even your infected loved ones must be killed.
Abby is just another character who has to grapple with such questions: when is murder acceptable in this post-apocalyptic world?
How do people separate revenge and justice?
That is still the dominant theme.
But the story quickly derails when Eli and Dinu leave Jackson and embark on a dangerous journey.
Scene after scene, zombie attacks can be tiring.
The creatures look disgusting - their brains oozing out of their heads as they leap from the shadows of dark basements.
But attacks now happen too frequently and predictably.
And as much as you're rooting for Ellie and Dina to finally accept their feelings for each other, the two spend so much time avoiding the infected - as if killing zombies is really the point of this series - that their relationship can't compare to Joel and Ellie's.
The flashback episode that fills in Joel and Ella's five years between seasons is eloquent, one of the best in this new contingent.
But she also reveals how much the series relies on the dynamic between the two.
Series audience The Last of Us has always been divided between viewers who know the video game it's based on (a group that's unlikely to be shocked by any twists) and those who don't or don't care.
But a game must not be treated like a sacred text if it is to function as television, and the first season brilliantly transformed it into a series based on strong characters.
With its rare and occasional emotional drama, this season feels ordinary, another series based on a game that could leave a good portion of the audience cold.
★★★ ☆☆
Airing the second season of the series The Last of Us It began airing on HBO on April 13th.
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