The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season Steelbook



Movie:
4K Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
For anybody who has ever played The Last of Us: Part 2, then you already know that this was NEVER going to be anything but a contentious season if it even remotely stuck to the plot of the game. It was just a known thing from the very beginning. However, I was genuinely curious just how the show runners were going to adapt the second game, and if they were going to take some big liberties in order to win over audience members. Well...they stuck to the game for the most part, which meant immediately that we were going to have polarizing reactions to this season, and by golly, I wasn’t wrong. The entire internet was up in arms on social media, declaring that this was the wokest, most garbagey thing in the world, or… You “weren’t a true fan” if you didn’t love it. Truth be told, I like a good portion of the season, but I totally understand why it was dumped on after the fantastic first season, as this second year notices a steep decline in viewership, as well as some struggles with the plot.

As I said, I really enjoyed the first season. It just so happens to be based upon one of the best video games of modern times, and it was created right around the peak of Pedro Pascal's fandom, coming off of The Mandalorian. It was fun, had some great side stories, and was generally a great setup of horror for what was to come. This season is much darker and much more morose as we go forward after the climactic ending of season one in Salt Lake City. I’m not going to spoil this, as this is a seminal point in the beginning of the season, but us video game nerds already knew it was coming. Pedro Pascal’s Joel gets bludgeoned to death in the 2nd episode, catapulting us straight into the middle of a year-long controversy. The entire relationship between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel takes a huge blow to the face, and we’re not left with Ellie herself becoming the Penultimate lead of the show, and that’s where things get, well, dicey.
I’m not going to dig into what happens too much, but needless to say the second season is much more of a horror show from then on out, watching Ellie as she deals with the grief and anger of losing her mentor, as well as watching her go from being a young child, to a full adult over the course of the 7 episodes. Like the first season, the plot about zombies and a post-apocalyptic world are the mainstay of the series narrative-wise, but the real fun comes from the side stories and character-driven arcs along the way.

However, the writing suffers a good bit compared to the first season. It was almost like the writers and powers that be were too afraid to lean into the FULL darkness of the video game, offering up Ellie as a sacrificial lamb in hopes of not going too dark and too deep into the horror and rage that effectively turns Ellie into a villain. Instead, they dance just around that line, giving us dark and twisted tales, but forgetting to actually fulfill the most important mission of the season. To make us dislike Ellie, but still be behind her, hoping she succeeds. Instead, Ellie is simply an unlikable character from beginning to end, with most of the audience simply hoping she fails at this point. Instead of leaning into her revenge arc and watching it evolve to its natural conclusion, the writers made us hate her for all the wrong reasons. Instead of seeing her grow into a cruel monster that this world needs her to be for them to succeed (and hunt down Abby and exact her righteous revenge), they instead chose to make her a brash, bold, and generally abrasive boss babe that has fallen out of style (if it ever was in style to begin with) among audiences. It was fine for her to be sort of obnoxious and bratty in the first seasons when she was just a young teen wandering along with Joel, but by now, she is supposed to have matured into a dichotomous character who holds some good within her, but needs to harden herself and become the monster necessary for the plot to be driven forward. Instead, she’s just annoying and makes you want to slap Ellie whenever she’s on screen (I’ve never seen one character so impressively memed ever the last year).

At the same time, there’s a lot going for the character. Season 2 shows us the transformation of Ellie from a cheerful teenager (who was a bit obnoxious) into a cold and calculating killing machine. She treats those around her as obstacles to her mission, and she hunts her quarry with unwavering abandon. Something the game did incredibly well, and the show does solidly. It’s needed and necessary to exact revenge on Abby, and showcases just how harsh this world they live in is, and what sacrifices must be made in order to complete a mission in this universe. She’s at that point where the audience is ready to shift from liking her character (at least reasonably) to turning on them and seeing them as the villain they will become, much like Walt in Breaking Bad, who the audience will root for, despite knowing they are evil.

Sadly, Ellie is hampered by Bella Ramsey. While I’ve been very annoyed at how cruel some people have been regarding Bella Ramsey’s looks and acting, going so far as to bully her online, I understand why many fans are frustrated with her. She was never a great choice for Ellie from the beginning, but she worked well enough for her role in season one. Sadly, Bella just can’t really reach into herself and pull out that dark and violent person that she needs to portray, and instead manages to make Ellie seem comical and pitiable for all the wrong reasons. Pedro Pascal is sorely missed, but that was always inevitable, knowing what happens in the games. And the biggest problem of all is that Ellie’s motivations and story have been so irretrievably warped from where they need to be that I’m not certain if they can even pull season 3 off when they can pull off Abby’s redemption arc at all.




Rating:

Rated TV-MA by the MPAA




4K Video:

The second season looks just as immaculate as the first, with a wonderful digital presentation in native 4K for the home video master. The show tends to spend a lot of time dwelling in darkness or shadows, which means black levels are paramount here. Luckily, the image is still clean and clear, with great fine detailing and amazing shadow details thanks to the Dolby Vision. Even the outside shots seem heavily dimmed to where it doesn’t look super bright, but the Dolby Vision and lack of any major artifacting allow the series to really pop while not being traditionally “brilliant”. I did notice that some of the CGI looks a bit TOO real in the daylight sequences, but overall this is a stunning image that should please everyone.









Audio:

The Atmos track is every bit as amazing as the video track, giving us a wildly energetic track that jumps from one end of the spectrum to the other. There are plenty of dialog-rich scenes with low surround output that focuses on quiet vocals, but the series can also leap into full gear at a moment’s notice (such as when the infected raid the base at the end of the second episode) with amazing LFE output and some awesome use of the surrounds. I found the Atmos capabilities to be of a moderate variety, with not a whole lot of activity in the overheads, except during the fight sequences, or with some of the score bleeding through. But overall, this is a fantastic track that really keeps you on your toes.







Extras:

• Growing the World of The Last of Us
• Welcome to Jackson (Set Tour)
• Joel's Journey to Season 2
• Ellie's Journey to Season 2
• Pedro and Bella Q&A
• Battle of Jackson, Deconstructed
• Open Book: Isabela Merced & Young Mazino
• Mushroom Taste Test
• Character Featurette – Joel
• Character Featurette – Ellie
• Character Featurette – Abby
• Character Featurette – Dina
• Making of: The Last of Us Episode #1
• Making of: The Last of Us Episode #2
• Making of: The Last of Us Episode #3
• Making of: The Last of Us Episode #4
• Making of: The Last of Us Episode #5
• Making of: The Last of Us Episode #6
• Making of: The Last of Us Episode #7

Final Score: ​

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season is a bit hit or miss, with some obvious stumbles along the way. But at the end of the day, I didn’t find it as bad as some were complaining about, but neither did I find it as fantastic as other reviewers have chimed in with their opinion. It simply was a moderately solid season that had some serious hiccups at the same time. The 4K UHD disc looks and sounds fantastic, though, and there’s a decent array of extras on the discs as well, which, along with the steel book packaging, make for a very enticing package for fans of the show. My final recommendation after hemming and hawing all season long is that it’s a decent watch, and necessary if we’re to get to the redemption that is season 3.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Rutina Wesley, Young Mazino, Gabriel Luna
Created by: Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, German, Italian, Spanish DD 5.1, Spanish, Czech DD 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Spanish, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Studio: Warner Bros
Rated: TV-MA
Runtime: 420 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 23rd, 2025

Recommendation: Decent

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[JStewart]

It simply was a moderately solid season that had some serious hiccups at the same time.

Nailed it.
tbh though, I’d be good with more moderately solid shows.