The Last of Us Season 2 just wrapped up, and honestly? It was a wild ride. The finale had some really powerful moments, but I feel like the pacing was all over the place. If you’ve played the game, you probably saw a lot of this coming. Still, seeing it play out on screen hit differently — even if some parts felt a bit forced or too fast.
The Big Theater Scene: A Shocking Cliffhanger
The finale ends in a pretty intense way. Abby shows up out of nowhere at the theater and shoots Jesse — yeah, just like that. No warning. Then she turns the gun on Ellie, and right as you’re trying to process everything, the screen cuts to black. Or at least, it should have. But nope — the show doesn’t let that moment breathe.
Instead, it jumps back to Abby’s side of the story, a few days before everything went down. It shows the WLF base and flashes the words “Seattle Day 1” on the screen. So yeah, it basically spoils the fact that next season is going to focus on Abby. If you’ve played the second game, you know that’s where the story goes. But if you haven’t? Well, the surprise is kind of gone now.
Ellie’s Journey Felt Rushed and Kinda Off
Ellie’s path this season was rough — she’s on this revenge mission and totally consumed by it. But for some reason, her character didn’t always feel consistent. One minute she’s light and cracking jokes, the next she’s this revenge-driven fighter. It didn’t always click.
Like, there’s this scene where she ends up at Scar Island, and she gets caught by the Scars. They’re about to hang her (super dark stuff), but suddenly an alarm goes off and they all run off. It felt too convenient. Same thing with Jesse earlier — he just pops up to save Ellie and Dina out of nowhere. It’s stuff like that which makes the tension feel fake.
Also, remember the part with Owen and Mel? That could’ve been way more intense. In the game, it’s brutal — Ellie kills their dog, and then things spiral. The show left some of that out, maybe to tone it down, but it made Ellie seem less like the broken, dangerous person she’s becoming. And when Mel begs her to save her baby? That was heavy — one of the few times it really hit hard emotionally.
What Worked, What Didn't
Some things about the finale really worked. The conversations between Ellie and Jesse before his death were strong. Abby’s reaction when she finds out what Ellie’s done — that was powerful. She’s shocked, like, “I let you live… and this is what you did?” You can feel her heartbreak and rage all at once.
But then there’s stuff that just didn’t land right. Like the boat scene. Ellie somehow sails through a crazy storm to Scar Island like it’s nothing. There’s no real explanation for how she knows how to do any of that. And don’t even get me started on the aquarium — it’s such a major set piece in the game, and here it felt like a side note.
One more thing — the show keeps telling us things instead of showing them. Like, Isaac talks about Abby being next in line to lead the WLF, but we don’t see any real proof of why she’s so important to them. It just feels like a shortcut.
Looking Ahead to Season 3
So now that we’ve seen how Season 2 ends, it’s clear what’s coming next. The story is going to rewind a bit and start showing things from Abby’s point of view. We’ll probably get a lot of backstory — who she is, why she did what she did, and how her life ties into Ellie’s.
It’s also confirmed that the show will now run for four seasons total. So Season 3 won’t wrap everything up. There’s still more pain, loss, and maybe even redemption ahead. I just hope the next season slows down and lets the big moments breathe more. This season had so much potential, but it didn’t always give us the time to feel it all.
