A Review: “The Last Of Us” Season 1 — And Early Thoughts on Season 2
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while now (thank you!), then you know that I love reading romance books and watching rom-coms. All year round. I love a good happily ever after — it ties the story together in a nice and neat bow.
To my surprise, I clicked play on “The Last of Us,” a post-apocalyptic drama and one of the most popular HBO shows in recent years. Season two just came out (April 2025), and my TikTok for you page had been littered with edits from the show. I was naturally curious, so I decided to start watching the first episode, and after about five minutes in, I was hooked.
Well, not really five minutes. It took an episode to get into it, but even still, I knew I had to keep watching.
What is this show about?
Before I dive into my thoughts, let me tell you about the show. The show is based on very popular video game (developed by Naughty Dog). Critics and reviewers are saying that it’s one of the best adaptations of a video game — although reviewers on social media sites and regular consumers will say otherwise, but that’s for your reading after you finish this blog post. The show is a post-apocalyptic drama set 20 years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, Cordyceps, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures. This pandemic causes the collapse of society — the start of the pandemic begins in 2003, and then the “present day” is 2023.
Main Characters:
Joel Miller (played by the handsome Pedro Pascal) — a middle-aged survivor who is tormented by the trauma of his past (he lost his daughter in the pandemic outbreak). Tasked with smuggling Ellie out of the Boston quarantine zone and across the apocalyptic United States.
Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) — a teenage girl who displays defiance and anger but has a private need for kinship and belonging. Strong-willed and playful, bonding easily with children, and has a fondness for puns. Immune to the Cordyceps infection and may be the key to creating a vaccine.
Joel and Ellie meet in Boston, in a “quarantine zone” (abbreviated to QZ, controlled by FEDRA, basically the federal government/military) when Ellie gets caught by the Fireflies (a revolutionary militia who opposes FEDRA). The leader of the Fireflies, Marlene, reluctantly enlists Joel’s help to “smuggle” Ellie out west because Ellie potentially carries the answer to a cure to the infection. Joel and Ellie travel across the United States, which takes up the entire first season.
My Review of Season 1:
So yeah. I surprised myself when I pressed play on this show, but surprised even further to find out that I love it. Is it the best show ever written and created? Probably not, but the actors make up for that.
Despite fan reception of Ellie’s character and Bella Ramsey’s portrayal of Ellie, I liked her character and her relationship with Joel — their found family relationship was a top highlight for me. Again, that’s coming from me, who doesn’t typically watch these gory, action movies and shows, but typically sticks to romance shows. This is NOT a romance, but rather a found family between Joel and Ellie. Along the way (the first season), Joel and Ellie develop this unbreakable bond. As they make their way out west, they encounter “the infected” (the zombie-like creatures as a result of the infection), raiders, and the Fireflies, who attack anyone who isn’t like them. Joel and Ellie continue to save each other and show up for one another, developing that bond, and overtime, we see a father/daughter-type relationship form. That’s a central theme (the main story, tbh) that I really, really liked.
At one point, Joel says “You search for something to fight for.” Or something like that, sorry, I’m paraphrasing. But it sums up the motives of the first season. As the season progressed, we know Joel’s outward motives are to get Ellie across the U.S. and into the hands of the Fireflies to help find a cure, but those motives start to change and morph into protecting her. Again! I haven’t played the video game, so I don’t know the game’s motives compared to the show’s motives, but that’s something that kept me engaged throughout season 1.
This being an action, post-apocalyptic show, it is bound to give gory scenes. If that’s really not your thing, then you may not enjoy this show. I thought it wasn’t my thing. I’m not going to sit here and write that those scenes are so few and far between, because that’s not true. There are gory scenes. Almost every other scene is action-packed and people’s faces getting ripped apart. The infected creatures are so gory that the makeup designers deserve an Emmy for their work. However, the action-packed scenes helped keep the show’s pace, running parallel with the more conversational scenes (mainly between Joel and Ellie, but also with the people they encountered) that I loved so much.
I can’t write a review that doesn’t mention Episode 3. I was very surprised to find out that Nick Offerman was in this (and even won an Emmy!), but his “filler” episode (it’s not filler, but that’s what fans are calling it) was one of the most beautifully crafted episodes in recent TV history. He plays Bill, a survivalist who doesn’t trust the government. At the pandemic’s outbreak, while the rest of the world (and the town he lives in) panics, he doesn’t. As a survivalist and loner, he has prepared for such actions. He built a fortress around his home and stockpiled supplies so that he could survive on his own. Years after, he remains alone in his house, surviving off the land and in his fortress, when he meets Frank, another survivalist, but only he’s friendlier and more trusting than Bill. Bill welcomes Frank in, unsure of whether to trust him, and they form a close connection and eventual romantic connection. Their story is a sweet episode with a heartbreaking ending that many call a filler episode, but it lends to the greater message of, “You search for something to fight for.” That, and discovering Bill and Frank’s eventual close bond with Joel and Tess, Joel’s love interest, helps us, the viewers, learn more about how survivors would communicate with each other to survive. Their story told over the passage of time was something that both fans and critics appreciated.
What else can I say about season 1?
It gripped me. It bewitched me, body and soul. (To quote one of my favorite romances of all time.) It captivated me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the found family between Joel and Ellie. Yes, the post-apocalyptic setting and the pandemic was the main point of the show, I guess. What happened after the pandemic? We maybe get answers to those questions as the season progresses, but overall, I was hooked via the relationships building throughout the season. The show is an adaptation of the video game, and you’re watching these characters fight to survive. But what for? That’s where this found family comes in, and the message that I believe is one of the core themes: “You search for something to fight for.” While everyone is trying to survive and also fight for freedom (the Fireflies), you start to question alongside the characters: What’s the point? What are you fighting for? Freedom? Love? Family? Support? At the end of the day, the people that Joel and Ellie would come into encounters with each had their own motive of staying alive.
The story was emotional — the post-apocalyptic setting lended to the characters’ desperation to survive.
Would I recommend this? Yes. The nine episodes are worth binging on a weekend; each episode is about an hour long, which can feel like a movie, but it’s worth the watch. Now! If you’ve played the video game, then maybe not! Maybe it’s too different and the casting was a bit off for you. For me, the casting was incredible. While I liked the supporting characters and definitely believe that they could lend to the storylines in season 2, I think the main characters Joel and Ellie are the reasons why I love this show so much. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey gave great performances and portrayed these characters well — a middle-aged survivor who lost his daughter at the pandemic’s outbreak, and a 15-year-old girl who grew up an orphan and has lost everyone she ever loved in her life but also seems to find the humor in every situation with bad puns and witty sarcasm. Some fans have criticized that Bella Ramsey didn’t quite portray the Ellie in the video game, and I understand that — especially as I tend to criticize book-to-screen adaptations quite frequently. Even still, as someone who didn’t play the video game (and didn’t even know it existed until I started watching the show), I loved this show. Is it the best show I’ve seen? No, but it’s worth watching.
Season 2 Early Thoughts:
Spoilers for season two below! Read at your own risk. <3
The Last of Us, Season 2. Episodes now on MAX airing every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m EST.
So I started watching season two … and as I’m writing this, I’m about to watch episode 3. Yes, I watched THAT episode. That episode is episode 2 with not only the Breach, but Joel’s death. My heart is still grieving; Ellie’s breakdown didn’t help the process. Her reaction to Joel’s death gave Bella Ramsey that much-needed emotional depth to her character that I wanted to see from her. Although, one can argue that she was giving that emotional depth in season 1.
I still hear her tearful shrieks and “Joel, get up” every time it comes to mind.
Will I continue to watch? Ultimately, yes. It’s still a good show that can potentially carry on with its storylines. I am interested in seeing how they continue those storylines, because I’m struggling to see where they can go. Mainly the town of Jackson Hole and the characters who live there. What is Ellie going to do in the wake of Joel’s death? Is she going to avenge him? Is she going to continue living in Jackson Hole? What about Tommy? Who is Dina? Also, are we going to ignore the time jump? Is Pedro Pascal going to come back as Joel and will we get flashbacks to during that five years, seeing the strain of Joel and Ellie’s relationship and how it came to be? Will Ellie find out of Joel’s lie from the end of season 1? Will she find out that she was the only cure?
So yeah. I am going to continue watching. It’s a good show — a great one. It’s just sad that Joel Miller won’t grace our screens anytime soon.
Watch on MAX.