The Last of Us Season 2 Recap: Episode 1 - Future Days

Ash Walker • 14 Apr 2025 Features

“When we kill him, we kill him slow.”

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Grab your makeshift weapons and flannel shirts - it’s time to delve back into the grim, grimy world of Joel and Ellie!

When we last saw our unlikely heroes, it was on the hills overlooking the settlement of Jackson, Wyoming as Joel (Pedro Pascal) told his (sort of) adoptive daughter a whopper of a lie: while Ellie (Bella Ramsey) was indeed immune to the cordyceps fungus, there was no way for the Fireflies to develop a cure for the rest of humanity.

Ellie suspected that this was a load of crap, and she’s not wrong. In reality, Joel murdered a whole hospital of Fireflies to ‘rescue’ Ellie after learning that she would die in the process of developing the cure.

It’s something that haunts both characters - as we see throughout this opening episode - although it’s still unclear how much exactly Ellie actually knows. It’s also something that may well have serious ramifications for both of them - at least if new character Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) has anything to say about it.

We only meet her briefly, in bookending scenes, but she is full of rage and out for revenge, and she’s closing in on Jackson.

The majority of this episode, though, is focussed on Ellie, and her life in the settlement five years after the events of Season 1. She’s still a bit of an outsider, she’s reckless on patrols, and her relationship with Joel has become severely strained.

She’s also got a huge crush on fellow patroller Dina (Isabella Merced). In a crucial scene at the climax of the episode, the two of them share a kiss at a town gathering, in front of everyone, drawing the homophobic ire of a crotchety old man.

Joel pushes the geezer down, protecting his daughter, but Ellie tears into him. She doesn’t need his protection, and she’s obviously not just talking about the dance.

Meanwhile, outside in an exposed pipe, cordyceps vines begin to snake their way into the town, completely unseen. It’s good to be back.

Shout-outs

• Always good to see the great Catherine O’Hara show up in anything, and she’s a delight here as Joel’s therapist, who gets drunk and tells him that she hates his guts. Brilliant stuff, and I’m intrigued about why Joel killed her husband.
• The new type of infected in the supermarket presents an interesting wrinkle that isn’t present in the games. Are those pesky fungus-zombies really getting more intelligent?

Verdict: This is quiet, contemplative, character-driven stuff - the kind of thing The Last of Us excels at. A great opening to the sophomore season, and an exciting setup for all of the horrible things still to come.

Credit: The Last of Us Season 2 | Weeks Ahead Trailer (Max, YouTube)

The Last of Us airs at 9pm every Monday on Sky Atlantic. For those who can’t wait, it’s also shown at 2am the same day, and is available to stream any time with Sky Stream Entertainment.