Day One

Unfortunately, Episode 4 continues the issues that have plagued the series so far most notably the portrayal of Ellie. The decision to bring this version of Ellie to life just doesn't work. The actress simply cannot carry the emotional weight of the character. Her performance feels hollow, forced, and at times almost like bad cosplay rather than a grounded, complex portrayal. There's a lack of depth, presence, and rawness qualities that Ellie demands, and here, they're sorely missing.

It's hard to stay immersed when every dramatic moment is undercut by a performance that lacks authenticity. It constantly pulls you out of the story, making it difficult to care about the emotional beats.

Beyond that, the pacing continues to be painfully slow. With so many key events to cover from the game, it's genuinely hard to believe they'll manage to wrap things up meaningfully in such a limited number of episodes. The slow pace might have worked in another context, but here it just makes the stakes feel diluted and stretched thin.

Disappointing overallespecially for fans who know how powerful this story could be.

The brilliance of the story lies in this:

At first, you have no idea who Abby is or why she's doing what she's doing. She's just a stranger killing someone you deeply care about after spending 20 hours playing as them. Naturally, you hate her. By the time the game gets to Seattle, Tommy is already on a warpath, and Ellie is hell-bent on revenge and is willing to kill anyone who gets in her way.

Then everything changes. You start playing as Abby.

At first, you still see her as the villain. But slowly... almost without realizing it, you begin to understand her. Her father. The Fireflies. What Joel took from her. You learn that Abby isn't evil. She's a survivor. A respected leader. Loved by many. A WLF not by choice, but by necessity. And then it hits you: Abby stops killing. She walks away. No vendetta against Jackson. No revenge against Joel's brother. Just... justice.

Ellie, on the other hand, says she's seeking justice, but it's revenge. And that realization forces you to question your own morality. What would you do? And the hardest question of all: is Ellie actually a terrible person?

I won't spoil the ending, but to me, it's one of the most powerful, emotionally complex moments in storytelling because of that flipped perspective.

The game masterfully plays to each character's strengths: Ellie is small but smart and deadly. Dina excels at understanding and managing the infected. Abby is a physical powerhouse, able to go fight virtually anyone.

That balance, that nuance, needs to carry over into the show. But so far, it feels like they've abandoned it.

I'm still all in, but my concern isn't just about Pascal. It's about the story itself. Some of the most important narrative elements are already missing.

As one of few people who liked TLOU2 video game, I start slowly disliking the show.

We waste time on cringy, I guess what are supposed to be "heartfelt moments", but we rush through the most interesting action sequences that the story had to offer.

So far there is nothing this TV Show in it's second season, would do better than the overhated game.

I see people who hated TLOU2 and they are starting to say the game was better.

The unnecessary changes are the most painful of all things.

Why did they decide to leave Tommy in Jackson? He was an integral part of the story in the games.

Why is the tone switched to "we are on a happy trip" from the grim and dark tone present in the game.

That was one of the reasons, why I loved The Last of Us Part II, the darkness, the violent scenes, constant fights between protagonists who were ON THE JOURNEY TO KILL 6 PEOPLE! Here it feels like we are watching Date Trip, some sort of extended Honeymoon.

And the "I'm gonna be a dad scene"... c'mon. The interaction between Ellie and Dina in the game during these reveals was way better and more human than what we have here.

Maybe Neil Druckmann deserves more credit than people give him, because he isn't writing these episodes, but he did write the game.

I am giving this a 4 star because of the action scenes, production, scenario, no one can deny how amazing they created the atmosphere of the game, and everyone who is working on it, deserves many awards. I also want to say I have never played the game, and I loved season 1, watched it more than twice waiting for season 2. Unfortunately I think my journey stops here, because there is a serious problem when the two main characters this season (Dina and Ellie) start to be portrayed awfully. Did they forget they are in an apocalyptic environment surrounded by not only monsters who can infect and kill you but also by crazy organizations formed by the most cruel human beings? I don't think is the actresses fault, it is really the script, the two characters and their lines, as well as their relationship, all completely superficial, out of place. When they are together it really seems like an awful teenage soap opera. In fact this two are 19, they can hardly be seen as teenagers, they are adults, but they behave like they are 12. One of my favorite episodes of season 1, is the one Ellie is playing around with her crush/friend at the mall. Nothing seems superficial in this episode, you can see the connection between the characters and you can see even though they are teenagers and want to be together they never forget what is going on around them, and their responsibilities. Ellie seems a lot more mature then than now. I got to the point I cannot take Ellie serious anymore, most of the times it seems like she forgot about Joe, and the trauma she had experienced, or that she is on a journey for revenge. Well if this is the main story and I am not buying it, it is time for me to move on and find a better serie to watch. I'll keep the good memory of an epic first season.

This series is slowly losing its grip. Once a exciting survival adventure with a duo that created a sparkling "father/daughter" chemistry have now turned into a teenage girls drama.

I don't think Bella Ramsey as Ellie, can carry this series by herself and it's getting more and more obvious each episode. Her acting is not diverse enough and it's not believable enough. It has become quite clear that we needed a Joel to balance things out.

I haven't played the games so my view on things are not colored by how the games was, but I think it really is time for this series to step up if they are going to keep the audience. They need to compensate from the loss of one of the main core characters, otherwise this will just be a waste of time.