The Last of Us S1:E2 “Infected” Review

By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)

This review may contain mild spoilers.

After last week’s excellent, and extended, debut it was time to see if The Last of Us could follow on and deliver after setting such a high bar.

The episode once again begins in the past, and the way they executed this opening segment scared me more than anything else that we’ve seen so far. Like the game, the TV adaption really leans hard into very realistic and ‘real-world scenarios, and I think that has even more impact in live action.

As we jump into the present day, Joel and Ellie’s fledgling relationship is starting to take shape, although there is still plenty of unease and caution. But it’s the moments in between, be it Joel’s seriousness bending or Ellie’s comedic relief moments amongst the drama and tension, the Joel and Ellie we know if you played the games, is starting to appear through the cracks. They tease more about Ellie’s bite, and I very much feel like we will revisit and witness this act at some point – a story taken from the game’s DLC.

As for the episode in general, it very much felt like an elongated version of events at the beginning of the first game. But if you have no prior knowledge of this, then you won’t think anything of it. Even armed with knowing what was to come, it was still well planned out and came across as enjoyable viewing on screen. They once again pull scenes and lines straight from the game, and my biggest concern is if the show continues on this path. Yes, they swapped X with Y, but the answer was still Z. Swapping a few things around but ending up at the same place, for me, is a little less enjoyable. When the show presented us with new things, like the opening segments, I found myself enjoying these more than some of the elements I already know about. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, as the game is more of a TV show in its own right, in regard to the heavy focus on the storytelling elements, anyway. But I would very much welcome a few more original moments and surprises in this live-action adaptation.

For me, the episode was at its best during the Museum sequence! The tension was off the charts and the technical, visual and actor performance execution was sublime. This was a stunning scene and, for me, was the highlight of the series so far. On a similar note, as good as the central trio were here, the Clicker performers were exceptional – their movement was genuinely terrifying.

The episode ended with a ‘change of the guard’, of sorts, and the characters are left in a place where they are ready to start the next leg of their journey. There has been a lot of chatter online, from those who have already seen the series in full, about this next episode, so I am trying to put that notion out of my mind ahead of next week’s Episode 3 release.

Overall, this was a great hour of television. The characters and story all work in harmony and the show continues to walk on very firm foundations. I touched upon some of the adaptive issues, but for the most part, there is little to complain about in this second helping of The Last of Us. So far, the show is living up to the hype.

What did you think of the latest episode of The Last of Us? Let us know in the comments or find us on social media.