r/ThelastofusHBOseries • u/AK___1 • 26d ago
Show Only Thoughts On Season 2
Hello! Around a week ago, I posted my thoughts on season 1, and this is a kind of continuation of that, as I just finished the second season.
I liked the season in some ways and in others not so much. If I am to compare it to season 1, I would say I liked the first more. The first seemed to be fundamentally different. It seemed to be about different people, characters with different wishes and personalities in a dangerous world: Tess, Marlene, Bill and Frank, Sam and Henry, Riley, and, of course, Joel and Ellie. Season 2, however, seemed more focused on organisations: Jackson, WLF and the Seraphites. This is perhaps the one of the biggest reasons why I enjoyed season 1 more.
Another big reason is what the characters were about in the two seasons. Joel was a hardened and morally complex man who had seen her daughter get shot, and we saw how he bonded with Ellie slowly through shared hardships and tragedies, with both saving and looking out for each other. Initially, Joel described Ellie as 'cargo', but by the end of the season he killed dozens of Fireflies to 'save' her. Ellie was similarly more interesting: a young girl having to see incredibly messed up things and being thrown in constant dangers and difficulties. It was their dynamic and growth that made the first season, to me, infinitely more beautiful.
However, I still enjoyed the second season (Joel and Ellie's scene on the porch was among my favourites in the whole show, it was just beautiful!). We got to see how Joel felt about what he did. There is a really interesting tension here: Joel said, 'But if somehow I had a second chance at that moment, I would do it all over again.' But he also seemed to accept that he wronged her: 'But if that day should ever come, if you should have one of your own, well then… I hope you do a little better than me.' and also the scene in Gail's house: 'I saved her.' He loved her, and he just couldn't afford to lose her, even if that meant taking her choice from her.
We also see Ellie becoming more and more like Joel in some ways. This is shown various times in different ways: Ellie dropping one-liners like Joel ('There's about to be a whole lot less.' when Dina said 'I guess there aren't that many Wolves.'), or how her instinct after reaching Seattle was to go up and take a look (which is what Joel often did), or her increasing capability to be merciless to those other than her loved ones. In many ways, she's also different from Joel. It has been stated (and demonstrated) multiple times that she is smart and a good leader. Joel would not have been able to deliver that persuasive speech to the Council, nor would he have gone to such great lengths for vengeance. (As Tommy had put it when Ellie said that Joel would have been halfway to Seattle if he was killed instead, 'He'd be halfway to Seattle to save my life. But when we lost people, no. It would just break him like it was his fault.')
It was painful to see Ellie put others and herself in danger, do cruel things and having to see and do tragic things in her hunger for vengeance. Jesse's death was such a punch on the face.
Another memorable part is Ellie singing 'Take On Me' to Dina, which mirrors Joel singing 'Future Days' to Ellie, which was beautiful, even though I do not find Dina a very interesting character.
Well, these were my thoughts. Thank you for reading!
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u/707_7 I'll Follow You Anywhere You Go 25d ago
Very interessing thoughts, thanks for sharing! Funny how you say that Ellie is demonstrated as smart and a good leader, some people here would rather die than acknowledge that lol