Last of Us Episode Recap

This week’s episode of Last of Us was filled with intense moments that had viewers on edge. There’s a particular scene that really stuck with me: Ellie playing Pearl Jam songs on the guitar.

The song titled “Days of the Future” holds a significant place in the broader narrative. If you’ve played the game, you’ll understand the emotional weight it carries. It’s truly heartbreaking. The show seems to stay true to the source material, and the connection to the guitar feels like it could deeply affect the audience, leading to what might be one of the most somber conclusions in recent storytelling.

If you haven’t played the game, seeing Ellie pick up her guitar again might raise some eyebrows. Last week’s episode felt a bit slow as it featured Ellie singing A-ha. I was worried we might be in for another similar sequence. I didn’t come here for a musical, you know?

This idea that we could have consecutive episodes filled with acoustic songs highlights some concerns about Season 2. It feels a bit disjointed. Joel’s death in episode 2 was a climactic moment, while Season 3 seems to flip the narrative on its head. Following the game’s trajectory, it appears the focus will shift to Abby, the character responsible for Joel’s death. This could lead to daring storytelling that recontextualizes characters previously seen as antagonists.

However, right now, things feel a bit stagnant. We’ve had three episodes without Joel or Abby, and the storyline follows Ellie as she travels to Seattle for revenge. These episodes felt drawn out. There was even a lengthy subplot involving a monologue from a cult character played by Jeffrey Wright.

Dina, who is supposed to be Ellie’s love interest, should play a crucial role, offering her insights beyond mere survival. The show demonstrated it can tackle these themes well, like in the standout episode featuring Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett. But currently, it seems like Dina’s presence is just a way to add depth to Ellie’s journey without real substance.

There’s potential for all this to pay off eventually. Maybe Dina, Abby, the cult, and the music will find satisfying conclusions. Still, that feels far away. We just learned that Season 3 won’t start filming until next year. Since there’s usually a significant gap between filming and airing, it looks like we might be waiting until the latter half of 2027 to see these storylines develop.

With just two episodes left in this season, one of them is an independent story centered on a character who only appears as a photo in the game. While it might be a touching episode, it doesn’t seem to advance the main plot much. It feels like the narrative has been stalled since Joel’s passing.

Perhaps in the larger scope, this portion of the story was always intended as a pause. Yet, given the pacing issues throughout the season, this pause feels more like a state of suspended animation. Here’s hoping things improve by 2027.