There’s One Big Problem With The Last of Us Season 2 Finale

The Last of Us Season 2 takes on the tough challenge of adapting a game that takes about 25 hours to complete. Thankfully, it doesn’t try to fit it all in one outing, saving a good portion of the game for Season 3 and potentially a fourth season. However, the HBO show doesn’t do itself any favors by making Season 2 only seven episodes. Plenty of major moments are cut, and the remaining storylines feel condensed. Still, Season 2, Episode 7 does a solid job of advancing the story as Ellie continues her quest for vengeance in Seattle. There’s just one head-scratching moment keeping the episode from being an all-timer.

Season 2, Episode 7 focuses on the gang from Jackson regrouping after running into the Washington Liberation Front and Seraphites in Episode 5. Jesse wants to head home, and Ellie initially agrees because Dina isn’t doing well after taking an arrow to the leg. But when Ellie’s rage gets the better of her, she goes on a solo mission to take out Abby, which quickly goes awry.

The Last of Us Season 2 Throws a Wrench in Ellie’s Big Moment

Jesse isn’t happy with Ellie when she makes her way back to the theater in Seattle. She’s acting recklessly and won’t give him any answers about where she’s been. Jesse tries to have a heart-to-heart with his friend when they leave to go find Tommy, but it’s clear that Ellie isn’t thinking straight. Even when they have Tommy in their sights and are ready to rescue him from a WLF ambush, Ellie turns her attention to the Ferris wheel and aquarium she learned about from Nora. Jesse pleads with her to say, even revealing to her that he voted no to the mission in Seattle. However, Ellie’s mind is made up, so she heads toward her destination.

Getting to the aquarium requires a boat, and it doesn’t take Ellie long to find one. Once she gets to the dock, though, she notices two guys walking around. Her initial plan is to kill them, which seems smart. She hesitates for just a second, and a fleet of boats arrives with the rest of the WLF. They’re heading out to take the fight to the Seraphites, and while Ellie disagrees with the group’s methods and is starting to feel bad for their enemies, it’s not her fight. She grabs a boat and continues on despite the bad conditions. Unfortunately, the waves get the better of her, with a wave sending her flying into the water.

Ellie washes up on the Seraphite’s island, where a kid sees her and calls for help. Before she can act, Ellie is being strung up, and a Seraphite is ready to cut her guts out. She only escapes because the WLF’s attack distracts the people attacking her, forcing them to leave her behind. The whole sequence is a jarring pitstop in the episode, but it’s not completely out of left field.

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Ellie’s Compassion Doesn’t Go Very Far in Seattle in The Last of Us Season 2

Season 2, Episode 7 makes a big point to focus on Ellie’s feelings about the conflict in Seattle. While she’s out looking for Tommy with Jesse, they come across a group of Wolves trying to corner a Seraphite. They catch up to the young man and strip him of his clothes before dragging him away. Ellie wants to intervene, but Jesse stops him because they’re significantly outnumbered. She grows frustrated because she’s seen the WLF and Seraphites tear each other apart, likely leaving children like the one she just saw fighting for their lives. However, in the world of The Last of Us, it’s important to pick your battles, and Jesse knows the fight they’re in the middle of is no joke.

Ellie comes to that same realization on the island when a child doesn’t hesitate to turn her over. They even act enthusiastically instruct the other Seraphites to kill the stranger they believe to be a WLF soldier. Ellie can’t believe what she’s seeing, but the people in Seattle don’t seem to have much humanity left. She even becomes part of the problem shortly after when she heads to the aquarium and kills Owen and Mel, who is pregnant.

The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann wanted to drive that point home as early as The Last of Us Part II video game. He mentioned on the series’ companion podcast that Ellie ending up on the Seraphite island was going to be part of the game until time constraints caught up to the creative team. Despite good intentions, however, the scene doesn’t add enough to the Season 2 finale to fully justify its existence.

The Last of Us Season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.

Did you have a problem with Ellie ending up on the Seraphite island in The Last of Us Season 2? Do you see what the show is going for? Let us know in the comments below!