Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of The Last of Us' second season, called "Through the Valley" and available streaming now with a Max subscription.
The Last of Us has wasted no time in Season 2 in raising the stakes, and it's almost hard to believe that Jackson being nearly destroyed is the least emotionally traumatizing element out of the second episode in the 2025 TV schedule. Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), an enemy that Joel (Pedro Pascal) accidentally made during his Firefly rampage at the end of Season 1, got her revenge by brutally murdering him in front of Ellie (Bella Ramsey). It was a shocking development for viewers...
That is, a shocking development for viewers who hadn't played the video game source material, read up on the plot between seasons, or – if they're like me – accidentally spoiled themselves several years ago via a YouTube comment section about some woman named Abby killing Pedro Pascal's character. Other not-so-subtle social media posts hinted that it would happen early in Season 2, and I was so thoroughly spoiled that I figured I was ready and resigned to watching Abby kill Joel. It would be a bummer, but not like what House of the Dragon put me through last year.
Then Bella Ramsey entered the scene, and their performance as Ellie was enough for the waterworks to start. Specifically, it was around the 52:00 mark, if you were streaming the episode via Max like I was. Ellie had been screaming for Joel to get up for almost as long as she'd been in the room with Abby and her crew, and of course that was sad. But the moment that got me was when Ellie's expression changed as soon as Joel did manage to open his eyes and even move like he wanted to get up.
And even though she was still so scared and had to know what was coming no matter how much she begged, Ellie looked so hopeful for such a brief moment that I discovered that I wasn't as ready or resigned as I thought for Abby to strike that final blow. I have to credit Bella Ramsey – who presumably will be the top-billed star of The Last of Us, if Pedro Pascal is no longer credited and nobody else is bumped up to co-lead status – with making what could have been just another bloody moment in a bloody show hit very hard.
Their performance had me crying when I had been confident that I wouldn't so much as need a tissue, and I mean that as the highest compliment to the Game of Thrones alum. That moment of final eye contact between Ellie and Joel of course wasn't the end of Ramsey acting their socks off in the episode, and if I were Abby, I'd certainly be wary of Ellie after she shrieked that she would kill her. Ellie went from sounding so young and wounded to almost frenzied with fury, and it landed.
I don't want to 100% commit and say that Bella Ramsey is going to win any awards for this episode, since they actually weren't in all that much of it until the very end. There's a lot of Season 2 left to go, and if Ellie still has mourning and (possible) avenging ahead, we could see a lot more strong performances from the star. I've just also learned my lessons about assuming that Ellie won't make me cry no matter spoiled I am on the story.
Max: Plans start from $9.99 a month
Max is the place to stream Season 2 of The Last of Us. Pay $9.99 a month for its With Ads plan, and with three tiers available following a Max subscription. You can also prepay for a year and save up to 20%.View Deal
New episodes of The Last of Us will continue airing on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and begin streaming at the same time as Max. I'd be surprised if Episode 2 was the last time that we see Pedro Pascal as Joel in Season 2, and flashbacks are nothing new for this show, so hopefully we'll get some juicy Joel and Ellie scenes in the coming weeks, even if they won't involve the duo riding off into the sunset.