One of the most controversial games ever, The Last of Us Part II, finally got adapted this season. Like the game, it challenges the viewer, ultimately providing a unique and spellbinding experience.
The Last of Us is one of the most popular game franchises ever, and there are only two games. These games have served as the blueprint for storytelling in video games and have begun to inspire other franchises. I have found the storytelling in these games to be very instrumental in my work as an indie filmmaker. Now, The Last of Us (2025) has reached a broader audience, making the story of The Last of Us grow even wider.
The first season of The Last of Us (2025) did incredibly well on HBO, as many regarded it as the best video game adaptation ever. The Last of Us (2025) was praised by critics and fans alike. It has won numerous awards, particularly for the episode featuring Bill.
Now, with season two, The Last of Us (2025) was set to adapt the second game. They had already talked about how it was going to be divided into multiple seasons, which was good because the second game is a lot longer than the first and covers multiple characters. Especially now, after the success of the first and second seasons, they can flex their writing muscles for season three and beyond with the second game.
The writers can flesh out ideas that the second game was unable to. With Neil Druckmann, one of the creators of The Last of Us, being on board as a producer, he is getting some ideas that he had left on the cutting room floor for the second game out on the show. Neil Druckmann even directed an episode this season.
The Last of Us (2025) is incredible from top to bottom, from the actors, directing, writing, cinematography, and music. The problem is that people generally dislike change, and many are complaining about it online. I hate to bring up other people’s opinions in reviews, but it has to be said, given how much hate this show is getting online.
The main heat The Last of Us (2025) is receiving is because Bella Ramsey is playing Ellie. Just because of the way she looks. People are aggravated that she isn’t an extremely hot female in the role. She is playing a character in her late teens; one shouldn’t be attracted to that, regardless.
If you’re watching the show because you want Ellie to be hot, I think you’re watching it for the wrong reasons. People also seem to want to complain about every adaptation or anything new when it comes to film, TV, or video games. When any new media comes out, you’re guaranteed to find a bunch of haters online who have not even dissected said media.
I’m becoming increasingly frustrated by this, and it’s making me consider not using the Internet for weeks. The show is incredible. From a technical perspective, the things they are achieving for a television show are a milestone. The production design is top-notch and something we have never seen in a TV show, not even in Game of Thrones.
If you’re a fan of The Last of Us Part II video game, you’re going to enjoy this new season of the show. I recall that years ago, when the game was released, everyone was complaining about the writing, and now they’re complaining about how the writing of the show differs from the game.
It’s the same people who complained about the writing of the game who are complaining about the writing of The Last of Us (2025). They just want to complain in general. It doesn’t matter how this season would’ve turned out.
They were going to complain about it anyway. Everyone who complained about the writing of the game in theory should have liked the writing of the show for this season, because they changed a couple of things. The general audience has seemed to adore this season, as the ratings are up from last season.
The Last of Us is one of my favorite stories ever created. So seeing another interpretation of it in another medium is like a dream come true. This season did a great job of trying new things that the game didn’t do.
They added a couple of new scenes with Joel in the town of Jackson that we didn’t see in the game. I loved the new additions and the changes they made to the story. It’s one of those things where did you want the show to be a carbon copy of the show? If it was, then there was no point in making it. Changes make it different and unique, better or worse.
In fact, in some instances, I believe what they did in the show might be better than what was in the game—case in point for Jessie’s story. In the game, we didn’t get to see as much of Jessie because we focused more on Ellie and Abby, since they are the playable characters. But in the show, we get to see a lot more of Jessie and understand more of who he is.
The final episode was gut-wrenching with that background. They showed us more about Jesse and his reaction to Dina being pregnant. I’m trying to keep this review pretty spoiler-free, but it’s hard to talk about a couple of things without spoiling things.
So I’ll just say some of the major events in the second game that take place within the first couple of hours were executed very well in the show. The Last of Us Part II video game has some of the most intense and graphic scenes you can have in a video game. It’s a very emotional show and game. Having to be so high on emotion for so long, it’s very hard to do well. It can sometimes come off as pretentious in a lot of art when it’s very emotional all the time.
The Last of Us Season 1 won so many awards, and I believe this season will as well. Especially Pedro Pascal. He put on a masterwork, and it will be remembered for ages to come in the world of TV shows. Others will win as well, such as Neil Druckmann for best director of an episode, I predict.
Not saying The Last of Us isn’t emotional all the time; it is very emotional, though in scope. But the actors and actresses do a great job of conveying all of these scenes well, and they all feel natural and not scripted or stale. I don’t believe The Last of Us (2025) comes off as pretentious at all and has a great way of showing true emotion in a true situation.
For me, though, my favorite episode of The Last of Us (2025) was the second-to-last, “The Price.” In this episode, we see a lot of Joel and Ellie. We saw time progress through Ellie’s birthdays, year by year. This episode is one of the best of the season and the best of the show. The acting is top-notch and some of the best I’ve probably ever seen. It is also one of the best representations of fatherhood I’ve ever seen in any medium.
The show transcends just being a story about a post-apocalyptic world to delve into the things that matter most: family and love. I think anyone could watch that episode and feel a range of emotions if they have a heart.
Unfortunately, many people nowadays seem to lack empathy, and they’re quick to complain about the show without fully grasping its meaning or even giving it a chance. People are still watching it even though they are hating it. I can’t understand why you would want to watch something you hate. But for everyone else, we’re over here, enjoying one of the best pieces of art in many years.
