The Last of Us - Season 2, Episode 2: Through the Valley (SPOILERS!)
The season's second episode was a tough watch...but had me glued to the screen anyway.
I knew it was coming. Having played The Last of Us Part II, I knew that moment was coming. And I still wasn’t ready for it. It still left me gutted and with tears in my eyes.
The moment I’m referring to, of course, is Joel’s death.
Though some had speculated it wouldn’t happen until the season’s third episode, I had a feeling. A feeling that, as gut-wrenching as it would be to watch, Joel had to die in this episode. After all, it’s the inciting incident that sets off the events of the rest of the game. Or in this case, the rest of the season and beyond.
And just like the season premiere, I was left awestruck as the credits rolled.
The episode opens with an almost shot-for-shot recreation of the game. We see Abby and her friends surveying Jackson, Tommy preparing the townspeople for a possible attack, some nice bonding between Ellie and Jesse, and a massive horde of infected. The scenes involving the horde make me think the showrunners took note of fans calling for more infected.
There were alarm bells, people hiding in basements, lots of infected getting their heads blown off, exploding barrels, stuff (and infected) burning, and best of all…flamethrowers.
Oh, yes. Flamethrowers.
And a particularly badass moment with Tommy taking on a bloater (an advanced stage of infection) with a rapidly depleting flamethrower.
Which brings us to that scene. The scene I wasn’t ready for. Even though I knew it was coming. From the moment Abby unwittingly runs into Joel and Dina while fleeing from the horde (and deftly convinces them to seek shelter with her and her friends) there’s an overwhelming sense of impending doom. And I know I sound like a broken record, but I was not ready for what happened. Maybe it was because “real” people were involved this time. Maybe it was because of the damn near perfect performances by everyone on screen.
Either way, despite knowing what was coming, I was still left with a pit in my stomach and tears in my eyes.
And as the episode wound down, I said to myself “they did it again.” Chalk up another home run for Druckmann and company.
I said in last week’s review of the season premiere that I expected this season to be even better than last. And, after watching “Through the Valley” in all its terrible splendor…I’m doubling down on that.
And going a step further.
That’s right…I’m saying it.
Now that the fuse has been lit and everything, every terrible thing, that follows will unfold starting next week, this season is definitely gonna be better than last.
And even though some of it’s gonna be really tough to watch, I’m here for it…and I can’t wait.
Wanna weigh in on this post? Drop me a line at popcornandparsecs@gmail.com!