A closer look at episode two of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation.
Following last week’s introduction to Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, this episode of The Last of Us continues on from the revelation Ellie is immune to the cordyceps infection that has ravished humanity.
We last saw Ellie and Joel, along with Anna Torv’s Tess, fleeing FEDRA soldiers patrolling the QZ. As they ran off into the darkness, the unmistakable noise of a clicker could be heard reverberating through the ruined city, giving us a haunting sense for what’s to come.
So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at episode two of The Last of Us (which, incidentally, marks Neil Druckmann’s TV directorial debut).
PLEASE NOTE: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND THE GAME SERIES IT IS BASED ON.
As with last week, the second episode of The Last of Us begins with a cold open that leans into the appliance of science. It takes us to Jakarta in 2003 (you may recall that Jakarta was mentioned on the radio when Joel was having breakfast with Sarah and Tommy in last week’s episode).
It introduces us to Ibu Ratna, a mycologist who is brought to her university to study a fungal specimen with no other context. Ibu soon realises that this specimen has come from a human – something seemingly impossible. Ibu goes to see the dead body (executed via a gunshot to the head), and it is here we get another look at just how this version of the series’ cordyceps fungus can overcome its victim.
Fully suited and booted for the occasion, Ibu creates an incision through the cadaver’s bite wound – a wound she is informed came from another human – and sees the fungus within. She then uses surgical scissors to further investigate inside the deceased’s mouth. Here she discovers the fungal tendrils we first saw coming from Nana’s mouth in episode one – and they are still writhing.
Understandably, Ibu flees from the room in horror but then comes to an even more distressing realisation. There is no cure. No vaccination. To stop this fungus from spreading, the government will need to bomb the city… and everyone in it.
As with last week’s cold open, these scenes add to the story of The Last of Us, and I mean that more than just in its most basic and obvious form. What I mean is, they do not fall into the trap many other video game adaptations have in the past when they go off-script, and do not detract from the established story many fans already know and love.
I described episode one’s cold open as ‘bonus content’ for those who have played the game, and I would do the same here. The time spent in Jakarta with Ibu brings a richer narrative to this world and, once again, introduces a sense of discomfort and foreboding that will sit with viewers for the rest of the episode.
Following the opening credits, we are reunited with Joel, Tess and Ellie in the present day. The show takes a small step away from the game’s narrative here with its change in time. Rather than discussing the revelation that Ellie is infected in the moments following their escape from the FEDRA soldiers (one of whom Joel savagely beat to death), it is now the morning after the night before.
Ellie awakens in the sunlight (just as Sarah did in episode one), as a butterfly flits overhead. However tranquil this moment may seem at first, it is soon interrupted by the realisation that both Joel and Tess have been watching Ellie sleep, Joel with a gun in his hands.
They are distrusting of Ellie, and interrogate her about what Marlene was doing with her. Ellie explains she was locked up with the Fireflies then « testing » her every day (we saw these tests in episode one, with Ellie counting to 10). However, Ellie points out that what really impressed them was the fact she « didn’t turn into a fucking monster » despite being bitten.
Joel is clearly still on edge, more so than Tess who seems to have some hope, and is prepared to shoot Ellie at the first sign of any infection taking over her body. When Ellie gets up to leave for the toilet, Joel takes to his feet immediately with the gun in his hand. He is very wary of Ellie, and when she voices her concern that something « bad » may be lurking in the next room, Joel states the only bad thing in there will be her.
The abrasive attitude Joel displays creates a parallel between his feelings for Ellie and those he felt for his daughter. While in the game there is certainly a ‘friction’ between Joel and Ellie in the early days of their relationship, the way Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey portray the characters in these moments seems to amplify the aura of scepticism between them.
As for Joel himself, he still appears a little shaken by the events of the night before. While in the game, Joel will dispose of patrolling members of FEDRA as he makes his rain-soaked way further into the city and away from the QZ without any quarrel, in the show his hands shake when he looks down at his bloody knuckles. It adds another layer of complexity to this version of Joel, with his character clearly struggling with PTSD.
With Ellie out of the room, Tess addresses his wounds, asking if his hand is broken. Joel brushes her off, commenting that there is perhaps a hairline fracture but his hand will heal fast. But while he acknowledges her question, he does not make any eye contact with Tess as he is saying this, ending their conversation about what happened with the soldier.
As someone who knows the games, as well as Ellie and Joel’s arc, I appreciate the extra character groundwork being laid out in these earlier episodes. As I said earlier, it adds more layers to Joel and the like, for both those familiar with the series already and those experiencing it for the first time. This should mean the finale will have a more profound impact on the viewer, regardless of their previous knowledge of the story.
Back to the show. Tess is amazed by the Ellie’s apparent immunity and advocates pressing on and getting Ellie to the Fireflies, as Marlene has asked. Joel, however, wants to smuggle Ellie back into the QZ, telling Tess she has to « stop talking about [Ellie] like she has some kind of life in front of her ».
Joel wants to find a different way to get the car battery he and Tess were first after in last week’s episode, in order to find Tommy, his younger brother, who has been missing for several weeks. I would like to point out here that Joel is very much a man driven by love, but I do not mean that as a good thing. Let’s be honest, Joel is a bit of a dick, and doesn’t care if people know it.
