The world is bleak and life is messy


It's been eleven days since the airing of the "The Last of Us" season two finale. That's enough for spoiler quarantine. Those familiar with the video game released by Naughty Dog over 10 years ago already know, main character Joel Miller, played to zaddy perfection by Pedro Pascal, will be but a memory as of the second episode. 



Pedro Pascal and Kaitlyn Dever in ‘The Last of Us.’ PHOTO FROM MAX/LIANE HENTSCHER

This leaves much of the season in the hands of Bella Ramsey who plays Ellie. Season two picks up five years after season one. Joel and Ellie are ensconced in Jackson, Wyoming where Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Tommy's wife, Maria ("True Blood's" Rutina Wesley) are leaders and protectors of a fortified community. Joel contributes by offering his contractor skills, and we find he's in therapy. Everyone's been through terrible things but you can truly see the deep sadness behind Joel's eyes. It's from the distance that's grown between him and Ellie.

This season introduces us to the much-maligned game character, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), and gives us an idea as to why she so brutally kills Joel. It also introduces us to the Seattle faction she belongs to, the Washington Liberation Front aka Wolves and their enemies, the freaky and creepy cult of the Seraphites with their penchant for slicing up their faces and other people's bowels.

It's episode 6, "The Price," which gives us a closer look into how the Joel-Ellie relationship evolves in Jackson. It shows us how Joel would go out of his way to make sure Ellie feels special on her birthday, how he surprised her with a "father-daughter" walk to a museum. We see Ellie in gleeful awe of dinosaurs and dreams of outer space — don't all kids go through that phase?

But then we see Ellie get older, requiring her privacy, space and a degree of independence. And finally, we're taken to a moment where a heartbreaking breach of trust happens between the two and yet another moment where Joel opens up to Ellie and acknowledges that rift in their relationship.

"The Last of Us" season 2 has horrors and depressing deaths. There are a few moments of normalcy and even levity but these are always short-lived. The world is grim and depressing and even the most stable of forts seems constantly under threat.

"The Last of Us" works best when it reminds us life gets messy and complicated. And because it is messy and complicated, we're often put in a spot where we have to make difficult choices and break people's hearts in the process.

Unfortunately, the price viewers pay for seeing well-acted scenes is also having to embrace the grim and bleak world of the show. It's well done, but considering what people are going through these days, intentionally seeking the grim and bleak might not be everyone's cup of tea. There's enough grim and bleak to go around.

The season ends on a cliffhanger, however it also reveals the next season will tell the story from Abby's point of view. Kaitlyn Dever has shown her chops in "Dopesick" and "Apple Cider Vinegar"; Bella Ramsey is capable, but who knows how many people have tuned in just for Pedro Pascal?

HBO, the next time you get him for a series can we please not have him die a terrible death?



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All seven episodes of "The Last of Us" Season 2 are out HBO Max. If you want more Pedro Pascal, you can watch him on Season 4 of "Game of Thrones" also on HBO Max.