User reviews

The first Season was awesome to watch, a never seen disease turns into a pandemic causing havoc around the world and now a smuggler and a immune girl (only hope for humanity) must survive the infected people, a dictatorial system and some rebel groups to find the cure for the survival of humankind.

The first season of this apocalyptic survival drama is one the best I came across with each character has their own character development story and how they have survived all the events unfolding around them.

The Second season is more on revenge, pretty high on emotional quotient and less on survival and finding cure, which will probably be extended into season 3. A perfect survival drama has turned into a series for personal vendetta and revenge.

Since the Last of Us part II game itself has uncertain ending, I hope Craig Mazin finds the magic pen to write a perfect ending be it in Season 3 or Season 4 or beyond, otherwise another series which has perfect start will end like Game of Thrones.

Did they really have to do this.. why would the makers of such a great season 1, will infect themselves to ruin everything for themselves and the viewers... I'm so disgusted...please don't watch season 2 or if you do then just stop after first 2 episodes. That's it.. S1 has left such impressive memories of careful writing, acting, direction and everything. Now it has turned into a teen comedy show .. so unnecessary.. they should've stopped at season 1 for it to be remembered as one of the best apocalypse drama.. even the main character of Ellie has lost all its charisma, valour and personality. Just don't watch if you like S1.

Season 2 of The Last of Us is a textbook example of how a strong foundation can be squandered. What began as a series marked by emotional gravity, narrative precision, and grounded character choices has devolved into a hollow, melodramatic shell of its former self.

The shift in tone is jarring. Where season 1 built tension through moral ambiguity and careful pacing, season 2 leans into teen drama tropes, complete with romantic angst, overacted grief, and emotional scenes that often defy internal logic. The world these characters inhabit is supposedly brutal and unforgiving - yet their decisions increasingly ignore this reality.

Take the central revenge arc. The idea that two young adults - essentially still kids - would set out on a cross-country revenge mission against a group they barely understand, with no intel on terrain, no backup plan, and no clear objective, is absurd. The only rationale offered is "Ellie is immune" - as if that cancels out every tactical and survival risk. You could chalk this up to youthful recklessness, but the way it's presented lacks nuance, weight, or even basic plausibility. It feels lazy, not tragic.

Some moments are outright implausible within the established logic of the world.

Structurally, the season fails completely. Abby, a central character in the second game, only appears in the final scene - setting up "Day One" in Seattle. The game gained emotional complexity by letting players experience the conflict from both sides. The series opts instead for a full season of one-sided buildup with no payoff. It feels like narrative stalling: all setup, no substance.

I never played the games, but I don't need to. What's on screen should stand on its own - and it doesn't. This season abandons the brutal realism that made the world believable, and instead becomes a stylized coming-of-age story in a world that was never meant to be romanticized.

A generous 4/10 - purely out of respect for season 1, and the world that once was.

So I gave the 5 stars because I really loved the first season of the show. I wanted to give this an 8 but the second season was just so painful to watch and ruined everything for me.

The first season has characters that we care for with a really great story. Every episode had me excited and I would be upset when it was done. I always thought, "an hour was not enough!" And couldn't wait for the next episode to come out. It truly was great tv.

Season 2 took a turn for the worst. I found myself losing my patience with the slow paced episodes and it made me feel like I was watching the walking dead instead. More focus on teen drama and how horrible humans are instead of the conflicts with zombies and surviving.

Somehow logic went out the window for most of these characters. Of all people, Ellie should know better. But they had to dumb her down in order to make their story progress in the direction they wanted it to.

Most of the characters are one dimensional and didn't make me care for them. The only one I was rooting for was Jesse as he had a sense of responsibility and care for others unlike Ellie who seems to forget about everyone else but herself and her quest for revenge.

We hardly saw any zombies except for the second episode. Introducing the more advanced zombies was absolutely pointless as we only get a total of 5 minutes of them being on screen. The weird cult seemed pointless as well, although I'm sure they'll circle back to it in season 3.

Bella Ramsey as Ellie was only good for portraying a kid in season 1, but she isn't a good fit for season 2 in a more mature role. Joel is the only character worth watching and it helps that we have a good actor like Pedro Pascal playing him. Ellie cannot carry the story alone and it's a shame that Joel was taken out so early on in season 2.

In conclusion, season 2 was so bad that I have no desire in watching season 3. It's all about dread and gives no point to anything any of the characters do. I recommend only watching season 1 and completely forget that they made a second season.

I think the tittle pretty much sums it up, but a summary of some of my reasons could be that it keeps piling up too many incongruences, or lazy plot delivery, or little originality (too much resident evil... too much), or miscasts... honestly, I'll keep watching (for now) just to see how deep can they dig a hole because honestly, now I can't see an episose without pausing at least 5 times to take a break because it gets painful an unnecessary amount of times.

As a side note for those who read reviews: do you also skip reviews of 10/10? How can you trust the judgement a person that gives a 10 to a Marvel movie for example?

***" Update after watching the full series ****

Well I think overall Id give this a 7 or 8, the opening episode was definitely a 9 the rest of the show would be getting either 7 or 8s depending on how appealing they were to me.

Everything was well made, well acted, well shot etc. The brutality of it all was maintained throughout. I watched some of the game footage on you tube and there is a lot here that is identical to the game so thats a plus for fans of the game plus it works for a TV show so kudos to the game makers.

The story and overlying themes are very simple and relate to parenting and how we protect our children or the young.

It could have had more Cordyceps and more action in places but this was more of a drama surrounding the struggles of a broken world.

Overall ill give it an 8 out of 10 a very good Tv Show that stays loyal to its source and was very well produced.

**** Update *******

Ill start by saying I've never played the games, I've no idea how true to the source it is.

The first episode was very impressive, they told hold back here and emotionally you are involved quite early on.

The prologue was informative but understated, The opening was brilliant and as good as anything you would see in a movie.

The middle section is good and paced well to provide enough information going forward as to the objective the players and whats happened to the world outside.

The episode ends at the start of an adventure.... I hope this quality remains throughout the show so the adventure is as good as the opening ( a hard act to follow ).

Ive enjoyed the characters so far, not all likeable but our lead Pedro Pascal is familiar and trustworthy and does a good job. Bella Ramsey of Game of Thrones fame plays the female lead, I really hated her in Game of Thrones, her acting is a bit less wooden here so I hope I don't end up hating her in this. So far she has been fine.

Its only 1 episode but its probably a 9 out of 10. I would be shocked if they can keep up this sort of standard and narrative throughout the series. Having said that there is plenty of scope for some interesting scenes. Im not a big fan of Zombie films or shows but can find them entertaining. ( I found Black Summer S2 brilliant )

I hope this doesn't turn out to be just another zombie show.

9/10 ( Ep1)

The first season was undeniably phenomenal. One of the best series I've seen in a long while. The characters were developed well, the storyline was amazing, and the drama spectacular. Based on season one alone, I rated the series as a 9 overall. Therefore imagine my surprise when, upon viewing/completing the second season, the overall quality of the series, took and unobstructed nose dive off a cliff. What happened? It couldn't be the death of Joel alone (as he was still used in flashbacks). My biggest gripe is the dumbing down of Ellie. She went from an intelligent and cunning character, to a ignorant annoying little girl in constant need of rescue. This series could have been great, but evidently the creators settles for decent. With season 1 at a rating of 9 and season two a rating of 5, combined the series gets a generous 7.

I dropped TLOU in season 2 because of their horrible writing direction, so I am only going to remember this show for season 1. Don't even bother watching season 2, just play the second game. But besides that, I have not played the TLOU before I watched season 1, and I can confidentially say IT'S AMAZING! It had so much potential, but the execs want to milk this show for 4 seasons when it should only be 2. Season 1 CLEARS The Walking Dead, it's just sad how hard that it fell off. Highly recommend season 1... just don't watch season 2.

Season 1 was excellent-emotional, intense, and well-acted. I'd give it a solid 8/10. It stayed true to the heart of the game and delivered a compelling story. Unfortunately, Season 2 fell flat. It dragged, lacked real plot progression, and didn't add anything meaningful. I'd give it a 4/10 at best. The shift in tone and pacing just didn't work. Overall, I'd rate the series a 6/10. Like others have said, stop after Season 1. It tells a complete, satisfying story, and going further honestly just weakens the impact. It's really I give it a low rating because season 2 after the first 3 episodes was just boring!