The problem with The Last of Us season 2 is that it’s too faithful an adaptation

Summary

Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us wrapped up on Sunday night, and Ars' Kyle Orland (who's played the games) and Andrew Cunningham (who hasn't) are back to talk about the finale like they've talked about every other episode this season. While these recaps don't delve into every single plot point of the episode, there are obviously heavy spoilers contained within, so go watch the episode first if you want to go in fresh. Kyle: Coming back from last week's Joel flashback, it took me a second to remember what was actually going on in "The Present" of The Last of Us as we enter the season 2 finale. Ellie marvels at how easy it was to torture a hated enemy even though the result was just two words indicating Abby's supposed location: "whale" and "wheel." I don't think Ellie's turn to "the dark side" is unearned, exactly. But I do think that this single-minded, revenge-obsessed version of Ellie is a lot less interesting than the character we grew to love in season 1. We went into this season in a sort of adolescent family drama, and we are leaving it in post-apocalyptic Breaking Bad. Andrew: To compare it to Breaking Bad implies some kind of gradual, nuanced transformation has taken place, where my problem with the season so far has been mostly the opposite thing. Everyone's motivations here make sense and are consistent, to some extent, with who we know these characters to be. Ellie is rash and impulsive; Dina is lovestruck; Jesse is loyal and selfless. It's just that trading the first season's story (an unlikely pairing navigates the breadth of a post-apocalyptic America, driven by the promise of a cure) for the second season's story (Ellie's revenge fantasy) is a huge downgrade! And I say this as someone who has been slightly warmer on the season overall than you have. They killed the most interesting character and, with him, the story's most interesting dynamic. Whatever followed that was probably always going to be a letdown, and I'm sure you can attest to that as a ga...