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Sacred Symbols+, Episode 445 | The Last of Us (HBO) Review Discussion and Spoilercast (Season 2, Episode 1) (Patreon)

Published:
2025-04-14 20:13:59
Edited:
2025-04-17 19:27:04
Imported:
2026-06
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After a borderline-ridiculous 2+ year wait, a truncated, seven-episode second season of HBO's The Last of Us has finally begun. The first episode reintroduces us to our key characters -- Joel, Ellie, Tommy, and so on -- and helps set the stage for the carnage that's about to be unleashed. It deviates from the game's story sometimes (well, quite a bit, in some cases), but overall, we liked it a lot, and we're eager to see where things go, and how the subject matter continues to be adapted. Join us for the first of seven Patreon-exclusive conversations surrounding The Last of Us' long-awaited second season, and see where you agree and disagree with our assessments.

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Comments

A Hind D

Been waiting for this one (a few hours). Diving in

NUTSO JIMBO

Perfect timing as just finished watching the episode on Sky (UK)

Jacob

interested to hear everyone’s thoughts on this episode! starting this season pretty mild as i was not a fan of part II at all or season 1 as a whole. interested to see if they change any of the characterization or timeline of events as the season goes on

Mykal

I am really hoping the big event hits as hard with the context being set up prior to. I thought the shock of it all would have translated well to tv. They could show Abby and the Wolves without any context. Make the audience wonder who these people are.

Zachary

Agree 1000% about Bella Ramsey just being to small and childish looking. It might make this entire adaptation cringe af when she starts killing everyone in Seattle. That first scene of her submitting a giant dude was the creators signaling the audience “see she can totally take big dudes out” smh

Deemac

The tendrils in the pipe I'm guessing is just a means of attracting infected to Jackson, which will lead to a big action scene next week. (We already saw something similar in the courthouse episode in season 1, so it's not new). I doubt it will have an impact beyond episode 2 Also I'm shocked they think this means there will be some ongoing story back in Jackson while Ellie is in Seattle - that would be a giant waste of valuable time (only 7 episodes this season), and who do we honestly care about that will still be in Jackson? Sure, let's cut back to see how Seth is doing lmao

Girth Brooks

It absolutely is a spoiler to say how long a game is. Understanding how far into a game you are changes how you interpret events.

Girth Brooks

I’m kind of tired of Pedro Pascal. I see him more than my parents. I don’t get it.

Matthew Cooper

I liked the show, good action and it plays up the stalkers a lot more than the games, which I think underutilize them. It changes up some things, some are fine and some don't really work for me. Introducing Abby and her motivation straight away takes away some of the mystery and calms the emotions some, but I think they don't want to load the show with as many flashbacks as the game. It was too much in the game, I think they'll be more limited in the show. I'm fine with the casting for Abby too. I'm glad Micah talked about Abby's physique in the game...it's just stupid. You would have to get Brock Lesnar to put a wig on to have that in live action. A couple of minor issues I wanted to bring up. Joel and Tommy would obviously be more capable and more trusted to go into a building and clear out infected than Ellie and Dina. I'm not going to deny that obvious reality. It's not the same thing. And I don't really buy Joel going to a head shrinker. My read on Joel from the games is that he would brush off therapy and not want to open up to someone at all; not even the half assed way he does in the show. Just my read on him. I also kind of get the read from the show that maybe Joel and Ellie haven't had a confrontation over the lie yet. Like in the game, Ellie confronts Joel and they basically don't talk for 2 years until the night before he dies. It feels like maybe in the show things have just gradually gotten more tense between them, but they never had a confrontation. Maybe that's a misread on my part, but it could be an interesting difference. I also don't think infected tentacle tease in the pipe is setting up anything other than the incoming horde in the next episode. In the game, the horde doesn't really go for Jackson, at least not that we see. If it does, it's not problem. But looks like the show will be different.

DD

If I hear one more thing about TLOU before Part 3, I’m taking a golf club to my own head

Connor

Yeah its tough. Season 1 was okay as young Ellie but season 2 I have trouble seeing her as this rugged, mean version of Ellie that we are supposed to get

Girth Brooks

Word of the month is texture

Cory

Joel shooting Eugene is not in part 2 game and sets up part 3, with Troy baker returning. The fact that Colin hasn't mentioned this at 48 minutes in is eye opening. I'm done with LSM.

bandwagner

Maybe a sign to call your parents more

Angel

Yeah the tendrils are a call back to s1 and there being a fungal network that can stretch far away. And the fireworks alert the network to the presence of people to the infected, and thats why the horde is coming next week. Also, you dont know Abbys connection to any of those fireflies yet.

Bisexual Lighting Rigger

I'm not a fan of how goofy it got at times. Like how Ellie and Dina were goofing around on patrol.

Angel

Eugene was a former firefly, and died of a stroke while in jackson

Nolan Fitzpatrick

Yeah I agree I hated this part obviously Joel and Tommy have more experience at clearing out buildings. Dina and Ellie have to prove themselves and they do in the game but they have to earn it.

Nolan Fitzpatrick

I had a big issue with that part too. So silly. Yes in the game you are the player character so it would kinda suck if you couldn’t take out everyone but in a show it reads as just silly and the writers going see she’s strong and can take a punch. Sure but not from a guy 2-3 times her size.

Nolan Fitzpatrick

I like both games a lot. Not a huge fan of the show. It’s good but I feel like a person who says “the book is better than the movie”. In this case the game is way better and superior in every way to me at least so far. I like watching the show to see what others think and the conversation around it so thanks Colin, Dustin and Micah!

Monkey D Luffy

I generally agree with everyone. Solid 8/10. It was mainly a set up episode. Next week will be the big one

Misanthropic_Altruist

Props to Dustin for referencing the spirit medium scene from The Sopranos. A classic.

NUTSO JIMBO

I don't think they're gonna kill Joel next episode. Abby and crew will use the siege of Jackson as a distraction to extract Joel. The episode will end with Joel getting captured. Ellie will give chase after them in episode 3 and I think he'll die in episode 3 or 4. It's gonna be different.

NUTSO JIMBO

Yeah maybe something like that. I'll be really surprised if Joel is actually dead by the end of episode 2. It'll still happen relatively early but I'm sure they'll long it out for a bit.

Dustin's furry little wheener

I have a strong feeling that the cordyceps in the pipe are going to trigger a massive horde. That’s probably what leads into the scene where Abby gets into trouble. In Season 1, we learned that the cordyceps are all connected — like a giant underground network — and they can even alert infected from miles away. So, I think the kids’ flare might have activated that network, which is now sending the horde straight toward Jackson. And Abby? She’s going to get caught in the middle of it. Anyway, solid episode! I also agree with Miyka about Ellie — she’s not quite hitting the same vibe. But honestly, the show will probably never reach the emotional depth of the game. Still, I’m genuinely happy with the quality we’re getting so far.

Angel

In the show yes. In the game he didn't abandon his family to join the fireflies and die with them like Colin said

The Comedian

Overcooked is great. My wife and I have a platinum for both part 2 and all you can eat edition

AJWhite

I can't tell if this is sarcasm

Girth Brooks

Joel won’t die until the last episode of the season.

NUTSO JIMBO

Definitely possible. I hope they don't pull any punches with its execution though. It needs to be brutal.

Breno Bezerra Bluhm

Very interesting discussion. I had no problems with the first Abby scene but changing the party scene for the very beginning was the thing that I found weird. In the game that scene comes after the Salt Lake City revelation between Ellie and Joel so Ellie being mad at Joel makes sense. In the show we don’t really understand why she’s so mad at him rn cause we still don’t know she knows the truth.

Breno Bezerra Bluhm

Hell yeah the stalker scene was top tier. Hate those fuckers.

Brrrn39

I’m really glad that they are shaking things up. I want things to make more sense and not just be a bunch of crazy coincidences to pull the plot along. I don’t want them to do all the bad tricks to get you to like abbey.

Benthegamer

I thought it was pretty good

NecrumOddBoy

The best way they could’ve opened is the same way they did with The Walking Dead with death, but I also believe that we’re going to milk it through the rest of the shorter season and then we’ll have more context in the third. Overall, it was a fine episode, but nothing special . At least just like the game, I’m gonna hate Ellie by the end of this

Pacoflipper

The tendrils in the pipe are just a story setup as to why the horde is going to hit Jackson, and it’s gonna probably hit Jackson during the blizzard and Joel and Tommy will be on patrol, and they will help Abby. And Ellie being to distracted with the horde won’t have to time to make it to Joel in time to save him. Once Ellie leaves to Seattle I highly doubt we will be seeing anything in Jackson.

Dimitreus Newell

I liked the episode but feel similar about the way they are writing this new Ellie. I am still optimistic though!

AllTooEasy_

Something I want to write in about if you take write ins for this series is what changes need to be made for the medium for which the story is being told. To Dustin’s point of showing Abby early and loosely understands her motivations that’s because in the game you see Ellie. You are pushed by not knowing why this horrible thing happened. You need to find her. In a show we are the audience and passively watching the events unfold. If Abby just does her thing and we have no idea about who or why then people aren’t going to be compelled by both stories. You have to fuel the fire to keep the engine going. This is similar to the hospital scene in part 1. You are Joel. You shoot those people. Even if you don’t want to that’s why is impactful because you are them. In the show we need acting to carry the weight and drive the audience to understand why Joel does what he does. Thats why I find the transition of game to screen so interesting in this case.

Black Detective in Dexter

They really messed up the casting for this show. Katlyn Dever looks so much like adult Ellie from Part II that it's honestly distracting that she's playing Abbey. And Bella Ramsey was a terrible choice. She still looks like a child and she looks nothing like Ellie. She does have a similar voice to Ellie though.

Dimitreus Newell

Honestly that makes a lot of sense and I could view it differently if I view it from that lens. Ultimately, I know they are going to have to make some tweaks for TV so I’ll remain invested..and it’s only episode one, so we will see!

NoahTheNintendoNerd

I’m surprised Dina didn’t come up in this discussion at all, Isabela Merced’s performance was the standout from this episode for me! Perfectly embodying the character and it’s so great to see her relationship with Joel rather than just hearing about it in the game!

Daddy T

Fuckin’ queers!

Daddy T

This guy was complaining on the Knockback episode last week about not being able to destroy anything in the Synagogue in Part 2 so it wouldn’t surprise me if it weren’t

MarkGrouch

It’s mildly infuriating to listen to this and realize they don’t remember almost anything

Jacob Lesperance

I bailed on this season after this episode. The games are just a better story and I can't get over Bella Ramseys casting. She's a great actress, and they nailed Pedro for Joel. But I just can't get past her as Ellie. Ill just listen to these spoiler casts instead, lol

Xenomorph Moriarty

Glad I’m not alone in thinking this episode was kinda dog shit. I could care less what Bella Ramsey looks like but her acting is just not up to snuff. The show is injecting extra melodrama for the sake of melodrama. Really boring watch.

JT

🤣 what a weird thing to complain about.

K. Huntington

wife and i started season 2 last night. the only reason she was so interested in the show 2 years ago is pedro pascal. i'm about 85% sure that "when it happens" she's just going to disconnect and net even be interested in the show anymore. and i'll have to watch the rest alone ☹️

Eric from CT, arguably the worst state

I’m a Colin level TLOU fan. I really enjoyed the first episode. I love the additional lore we get around Jackson and the modifications to the story are fine with me. I think people need to zoom out a bit and be a lot more grateful for the project we’re getting here. This is a big budget, high quality production that’s sitting in one of the most historic American timeslots in Television at 9 PM on HBO. It’s run by the games’ creator in the great Neil Druckmann and is being done meticulously by people that adore the material. The abundance of negativity on the internet around TLOU is just baffling. This could have very easily been done horribly wrong had it been put in the wrong hands. Overall, it’s quite good.

Sucking Duck for Quack

Personally I think this show is a good post-apocalyptic show. It’s a terrible The Last of Us adaptation. They changed so damn much, and the result is a show that feels more disconnected. The game has cordycep spores because that’s how the real thing spreads. The show uses tendrils and has infected come out of the ground. It doesn’t feel realistic. It feels alien. I could go on and on about what this show gets wrong. I know they can’t do 1:1. Nor do I want them to. But so much has changed, the message of the game is lost.

C.J. Hines

Didn’t they confirm they are bringing the spores back for season 2?

Sucking Duck for Quack

Not that I know of. If so, that’s great. Cause if they don’t, how you think they’ll do the reveal to Dina?

Cousin Kenny

My other half knows nothing about the game, liked season 1… and she said she’s not sure if she cares to watch it anymore. She said Tommy’s wife & Ellie were super annoying, and that she episode was boring. Me, being pretty plugged into both TLOU & good tv… found the episode to be pretty underwhelming. Almost cringy a couple times. I’m worried about the direction of the season. I might watch it just to consume the spoiler casts

Kid-Organic

Spores are a thing in the game, but the film adaptation plays on root systems, so the infectious pipe in S2E1 is inline and less of a “MacGuffin”

Gabriel Baker

Really upsetting that I won’t be able to listen to these until the end of the second season. I wish you guys had only discussed the portion of the storyline that was covered like you did in the first season

Titan

The ending is alluding to the fact that a horde is going to tackle Jackson which is how Abby and company meet up with Joel and Tommy. I don’t think they are trying to cut back to Jackson while Ellie seeks her revenge at all. Also, while we know Abby and company are fireflies we don’t know why Abby is so dead seek on killing Joel just yet.

Authoritarrr

The plot of the second game plays with time a lot so it’s not viable to discuss the second season incrementally the way they discussed the first season. It would compromise the discussion a lot

Richard

Right after the opening shot of the episode my gf (who has no spoilers) says "omg they're going to kill Joel, if they kill Joel I'm never watching this show again"

Jose Diaz

Great content guys always a pleasure to hear you guys.

Bi-curious Pigbaby

Jesus christ guys... if you say you're a mega fan of drain addict... Why can't you quote him correctly? Colin and Micah both repeatedly said "clogged drain" but he says "blocked drain" and has for years. Sigh... I just... ugh. Whatever.

AverageGamer

Something I liked about the opening was Abby staring off into the distance and seeing the giraffes walking around. If you know the first game you know how beautiful that moment between Joel and Ellie was so for it to be contrasted with Abby burying her father is amazing attention to detail.

Adam Barnes

Made it 15 minutes into the episode before the cringe of Bella Ramsay took me out at the knees. Worst casting of all time. The absolute disrespect to the legacy of the games.