The first season of The Last of Us gave viewers some of the best television in ages, making it hard to top, and according to the first reviews of its sophomore season, the show doesn’t quite live up to those lofty expectations. While the majority of write-ups for The Last of Us: Season 2 are positive, assuring fans that the new episodes are worth watching, there is a consensus that it’s too short, too incomplete, and too lacking in screen time for Joel and Ellie together. Still, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey continue to amaze, as does the show’s drama and action.
Here’s what critics are saying about The Last of Us: Season 2:
Is it still one of the best shows on television?
The Last Of Us had a mighty task on its hands to live up to its first season. Fans of the drama will not be disappointed.
— Sabrina Barr, metro.co.uk
It’s both a relief and a genuine delight to say that the sophomore season of The Last of Us clears [the] incredibly high bar — and sets a new standard for every video game adaptation to follow in its wake.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
The series remains a feat of production.
— Alison Herman, Variety
It is the best game adaptation ever made, and then some.
— Joonatan Itkonen, toisto.net
What’s impressive about the show’s second season is how it maintains that same revenge-fueled storyline (or, at least, the first half of it) while also building on it.
— Andrew Webster, The Verge
Like any continuation of a fantasy/sci-fi franchise, the second season cannot match the world-building revelations of the first.
— Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
The Last of Us season 2 is a mixed bag… It ultimately feels a bit unsure of its own reason for being.
— Meghan O’Keefe, Decider
You might as well be watching someone play a video game.
— Judy Berman, TIME Magazine
How does season 2 compare to season 1?
This seven-hour batch is leaner and more focused but at the expense of the restless inquisitiveness that yielded some of the earlier chapter’s most rewarding surprises.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
It delivers a darker, more complex story that (mostly) improves on what came before.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
For reasons I am forbidden from spoiling but are well-known to fans of the games, The Last of Us: Part II demands a more bifurcated structure — which means season 2 is transparently a part rather than a whole, even before its cliffhanger ending.
— Alison Herman, Variety
I personally felt that The Last of Us’ second chapter was a difficult but effective way to explore the lasting impact of violence and anger, but it also turns its main characters into unlikable sociopaths, so your mileage will definitely vary.
— Andrew Webster, The Verge
Season 2 is just as moving as its predecessor, but it’s also infinitely more frustrating.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
It’s the lack of Ellie and Joel that keeps the season, while still strong overall, from hitting the heights of that first year.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
Is it faithful to the games?
As an adaptation, season 2 of The Last of Us improves upon its source material in every conceivable way.
— Joonatan Itkonen, toisto.net
Creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, who also co-created the original game, continue to hew tightly to their source material in season 2.
— Alison Herman, Variety
Co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin perform an incredible task of incorporating complex time jumps and shifting perspectives that match the narrative of the game.
— Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds
It does an excellent job of rendering some of the game’s most touching moments — yes, there is plenty of guitar playing — while also putting Joel and Ellie’s story into the larger context of this world.
— Andrew Webster, The Verge
It’s in the painstaking process of actually adapting, however, that season 2 truly soars. Following the broad strokes of the game is as straightforward as it gets, but making various changes to further enrich an already-compelling narrative? That’s what puts this on another level altogether.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
It’s often unfair to base an opinion on what isn’t onscreen in an adaptation — the game and the show are different beasts, after all — but throughout The Last of Us Season 2, certain omissions practically scream to be included.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
Will it make us cry (Is it emotional)?
Another emotional rollercoaster… Get ready for the tissues, because this season is going to be a tough one for fans of both the TV series and the video game.
— Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds
By the end of the season, forget aching — you’ll just be broken.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
[Fans] might be picking up the pieces of their hearts afterward.
— Sabrina Barr, metro.co.uk
How are the two leads this time around?
Ramsey is still riveting playing Ellie as an open wound, and Pascal still has some lovely moments as Joel struggles to reconnect with Ellie.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
Pedro Pascal still gives a charismatic and wrenching performance as Joel, letting us see both the hardened survivor and the tenderness that has persisted. And Bella Ramsey still sharply defines the strong-willed Ellie.
— Caryn James, BBC.com
Pascal and Ramsey’s dynamic remains the heart and soul of the entire story. Both co-leads get plenty of flashy, show-stopping scenes … but it’s the moments in the margins that will linger most.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilmv
Pascal is incredible here, falling effortlessly back into the performance that gives the series its beating, broken heart.
— Valerie Ettenhofer, Inverse
Next-level work… This outing is really Ramsey’s turn to shine, and they blow even their earlier work out of the water.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
Do any of the new cast members shine?
The true standout of The Last of Us season 2, outside of the already known quantities of Pascal and Ramsey, is undoubtedly Isabela Merced’s Dina.
— Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, Remezcla
If I had to recommend The Last of Us season 2 for any specific reason, it would be to watch Isabel Merced in a stunner of a breakthrough performance.
— Meghan O’Keefe, Decider
Isabela Merced is especially vibrant as the energetic Dina.
— Caryn James, BBC.com
Of the new cast, Merced makes the biggest impression as Dina, Ellie’s best buddy and eventual love interest… Also worth special notice is Catherine O’Hara.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
Catherine O’Hara [is] marvelous as ever.
— Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
While the casting of Kaitlyn Dever of Abby was mixed by fans (most notably those who were gamers) her depiction of Abby does not disappoint.
— Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds
Trust us – Kaitlyn Dever does Abby justice and then some.
— Sabrina Barr, metro.co.uk
The highlight is Kaitlyn Dever, who makes every TV show she’s in better.
— Dave Nemetz, TV Line
Dever, Wright, and O’Hara are predictably wonderful, though I wish we got to see more of them.
— Judy Berman, TIME Magazine
How is the action this season?
There’s incredible action sequences.
— Meghan O’Keefe, Decider
Jaw-dropping… One sequence, in particular, rivals any Game of Thrones battle in its epic scope, its graphic brutality, and its surely astronomical VFX budget.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
When the series wants to pump up the spectacle, it does it with a level of scale and execution that at times rivals Game of Thrones.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
The Last of Us’ action scenes are effectively terrifying, and Season 2 delivers… a full-on assault that rivals the scale of Game of Thrones’ most epic battles.
— Dave Nemetz, TV Line
So much of this season is spectacular, from Joel and Ellie’s wrenching relationship to a snowy Clicker battle that calls to mind Game of Thrones‘ “Hardhome.”
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
Is it satisfying?
Its lasting impression is one of anticlimax, as it becomes apparent that the answer to most of the questions it raises is: “You’ll see next season.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
The season ends on a frustrating note.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
Ultimately, it’s just one half of a great story — is that enough?
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
The finale is so abrupt and unsatisfying, it took me a while to realize it was the finale.
— Judy Berman, TIME Magazine
It definitely feels shorter, but it also ends at a place that nicely sets up season three.
— Andrew Webster, The Verge
Are there any problems?
There are also some odd issues with pacing and point of view…and whenever we get a glimpse of, or reference to, Ellie and Joel hanging out in better times, it’s hard not to wish that the show was still primarily about the two of them, rather than all these other people and problems.
— Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone
It is an oddly constructed season of television — some questions are answered almost immediately, while others are left to linger for an unusual number of beats.
— Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
I can’t say it’s especially interesting to watch our leads skulk around twinned forces that could only generically be described as “militants” and “ultra-religious weirdos.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
With the season’s unfortunate underuse of Dever, Mazino, and Luna, The Last of Us season 2 feels incomplete.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
The Last of Us: Season 2 premieres on HBO on April 13, 2025.
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