The Last of Us Season 2 Finale: Share Your Thoughts

The long wait for season three has begun. On Sunday, HBO aired the season two finale of The Last of Us, and it was an emotional rollercoaster. With plenty to digest for both new and old fans of the show, we want to hear your thoughts. Before our in-depth recap on Monday, we’re giving you a chance to share your feelings about the finale. We’ve even got insights from showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann to add to the discussion. Be warned: spoilers ahead.

The season two finale of The Last of Us ended on a dramatic note, similar to the midpoint of The Last of Us Part II. After a intense confrontation, Ellie’s journey in Seattle seems to be coming to a close, especially after the unexpected death of Mel, who was pregnant. This event sets off a chain reaction, and Ellie, Tommy, Dina, and Jesse decide to head back to Jackson, despite the looming threat of Abby.

Just as they are about to leave, Abby arrives, killing Jesse and threatening the rest of the group. The scene ends abruptly, cutting to a flashback of Abby two days prior, waking up at a major WLF base. This cliffhanger sets the stage for the next season, leaving audiences wondering what’s to come.

How did the season finale make you feel? Did you agree with the direction the story took? At a recent press conference, showrunner Craig Mazin shared his hopes for the audience’s reaction to the season’s conclusion.

“What I want the audience to feel thematically at the end of the season is that [the characters] aren’t where they were, but they’re not yet where they are going to go,” Mazin explained. “That there has always been a story that we’ve been telling about the good and bad of love, but we switch which side is good and bad sometimes. Because sometimes we do need somebody to punish someone for us. Sometimes we do need somebody to protect us. Sometimes violence must be done to save the innocent. These are difficult moments. But of course, then there are times where sacrifice is called for. Where putting other people first is called for. Where creation does more than destruction.”

Mazin continued, “And we are, especially with the porch scene prior to the last episode, and the way we now understand that there is this idea that maybe you could do a little bit better than me, we understand that both Ellie and Abby are moving forward in trouble. They are in moral trouble because their certainty is beginning to fail them. And we can see it here with Ellie, for sure, because faced with the consequences of the thing she’s done and people that didn’t deserve to die dying, she’s starting to feel maybe a swing of the pendulum. And we don’t know where these two are going to end. But what I would hope the audience feels is that they are not done. They’re not done growing or they are not done falling. We’ll have to wait and see which it is.”

Neil Druckmann added, “The question that we’re asking and the thing we’re interrogating in this story is: when you’ve committed such horrible things, depending on your circumstance, can you ever come back from that? And we see in that porch scene, Joel is trying to come back from what he’s done even though he doesn’t regret it. And now we have these two characters that are on this downward spiral, trying to do justice for the people that they love and we’ll see how far that goes.”

Do you agree with Mazin and Druckmann’s insights? Share your thoughts on the finale and the themes explored in the story. Check back on Monday for our in-depth recap and more from the showrunners on the ending of the season.

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