El último estreno de la segunda temporada de nosotros: «Future Days» resalta la brecha entre Ellie y Joel
Follow the spoilers of The Last of Us Season two, episode one
The heart of all things The Last of Us, whether it’s the games or the first season of the HBO adaptation, is the relationship between Joel and Ellie. It was brought to life remarkably by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the first season; Their chemistry was the highlight of the show. So, it’s a shock that they only share a few minutes of screen time together in the second season «the days to come», and that their time together is tense to say the least.
However, everything comes to a head at the end of the episode. Holding back a bit, the show picks up right where it left off, with Ellie calling out Joel’s «okay» lies about what happened at the end of season 1. This episode saw the Fireflies decimated to save Immune Ellie. The Fireflies were hoping to make a cure for the Cordyceps infection ravaging the world, but it would have killed her in the process. «Okay» meant that she accepts his story, even if they didn’t believe it. Fast forward five years, and things are tense, so tense that our grizzled Joel is in therapy.
We get to eavesdrop on a session with Joel’s therapist Gail, played by Catherine O’Hara. I was eager to see how she would be used since Gail was teased in an early trailer, and both she and Joel have a day when they meet. Joel’s relationship with Ellie is apparently what led him to meet with Gail, and she picks up on their relationship: he’s only talking to her, evading, and acting distant, and Gail is not exactly impressed. She realizes that Ellie is acting like all other 19-year-olds act towards their father and also hints that a lot more is going on.
Gail then opens up to Joel in an effort to make him honest (and because there are some drinks involved) and drops a little bomb in the process: Joel shot her husband Eugene (a character from The Last of Us Part II whom we never met in the game). She says she understood he had to do it, implying but not confirming that Eugene was infected, but she can’t forgive him for how he found out and can’t help her for what he did. It’s not the kind of thing you typically hear from your therapist, but that’s The Last of Us for you. She then makes Joel acknowledge the tears he shed did something for Ellie, but when he asks if she hurt him, he answers, saying he saved her and then kicks the devil out of his house. The first season portrayed Joel as a more vulnerable person than his game counterpart, a change that benefited the extended drama and depth of the show, and I’m glad the second season emphasizes that in a rather unconventional way for the post-apocalyptic world.
We also get an indication of the discord between Joel and Ellie through Dina, a new character introduced as Ellie’s best friend through a conversation with Joel. The two get along well; Joel even calls her «Kiddo,» showing a similar dynamic to what he usually does with Ellie. After a small argument, she asks him why Ellie is upset with him, and he responds with more deceit about the two, realizing what it’s like to be father and daughter at their age, while hinting at Dina to keep the therapy sessions she has a secret therapy, when she’s talking about how he was in charge.
But the most pivotal scene in this Exposure-Grea episode is the New Year’s Eve party where Dina and Ellie share a dance, share a kiss, and are heckled by Beach Town Bigot. Just as Ellie is about to handle it like a champ, Joel steps in, knocks Seth to the ground, and asks if she’s okay, which elicits a look of disgust and a verbal smackdown from Ellie, then he walks away determinedly.
Things are set in motion for the pair, and while it’s an intriguing note to start the story on, it’s also hard not to be disappointed by the lack of screen time for Pascal and Ramsey. Their discord is a completely reasonable storyline if she were a typical 19-year-old, she would have had her fair share of challenges. But the loss of their connection and the lack of interactions between the two have made for a subdued setting all around, something that writer/director and showrunner Craig Mazin, no doubt, intentionally set up and will be explored throughout the season.
Mazin also paid homage to the game in some wonderful ways in this episode, especially with the city party scene. From the start of the first season, I was hoping to see more game scenes, almost taking note for note in the show, and my expectations have been largely challenged since the beginning of the first episode. It was clear that the goal of the show is not to replicate all the iconic game scenes but to expand upon it, while choosing the right moments to implement some tributes to the source material. The party scene is a perfect example, starting with a shot behind Ellie as she looks out over the party; What follows is almost identical to the pivotal game scene in dialogue, design, and framing. What is different, however, is the timing: we get this right off the bat, rather than much later in the story as you would in the game.
Likewise, the episode’s other most significant scene takes place right at the beginning. After that quick flashback, we are immediately introduced to Abby, one of the characters from the second game. We find out that she and her friends are survivors of Joel’s massacre of the Fireflies at the Utah Hospital, and that Abby in particular is eager for revenge. Mazin and co-showrunner Neil Druckmann have discussed how they wanted to introduce Abby and delve into her motivations faster than in the game, mainly because players build a relationship with her through the game. In this case, however, we already know that Abby is after Joel, and the episode ends with her crew arriving in Jackson. While the «days to come» focused more on setting the scene than on action (except for the quite tense scenes of Ellie against Infected), things are set to escalate next week, not only with Abby, as the show has teased and a big threat looms. Get those flamethrowers ready for next Sunday.
Infected Score: 6/10
One of the main complaints from video game fans in the first season was a relative lack of infected. The showrunners say they have changed things up in the second season; let’s see if they stick to their word.
Episode one was largely an exposition-heavy episode with not much action, but we certainly saw Ellie and Dina facing a couple of Clickers. But the most interesting bit was seeing a Stalker in action for the first time in the show. Ellie was completely caught off guard, even taking another bite that she had to hide from Dina. Here’s hoping we see more of these creepers as the season progresses. And, of course, the threat to the townies lurking in the pipelines in the middle of Jackson promises bigger trouble soon, but we’re not there yet. I give this episode a 6 out of 10: not much action, but the revelation of the Stalker was intense enough to support this episode’s rating.
This article originally appeared on Engadget in.
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