The Last of Us – Future Days

By: Kelly Kearney

Joel and Ellie are back—still battling the Cordyceps outbreak, and now, the tension in their own relationship. In the first season, the two journeyed across the country, facing unhinged cult leaders and relentless hordes of fungus-infected zombies, all in the hope of using Ellie’s rare immunity to develop a cure that could save humanity. Over time, Joel’s once-cold demeanor softened toward his teenage “cargo,” culminating in a world-altering decision he may come to regret. It was a choice made out of love—but one that shattered their once-strong father-daughter bond, and now the two are struggling to find their way back to each other.

Did Joel have the right to take that choice away from Ellie?

It’s a question that has long divided fans of both the game and the series, sparking debates over if Ellie has made the same call? Was Joel’s seemingly selfless act actually driven by selfishness—one that not only doomed humanity but irreparably damaged his bond with Ellie? These questions loom over the Season 2 premiere, which picks up five years later in the relative safety of Jackson, Wyoming.

Time Jumps and Therapy

We open with a shot of the iconic giraffes, made famous in the video game this series is based on. It’s here we’re introduced to a new character: Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), who stands alongside a group of friends mourning their fallen comrades–the Fireflies, at a makeshift gravesite. As the others debate their next move—whether to search for more Fireflies or find a safe haven among other survivors—Abby remains detached, consumed by a singular purpose: revenge.

She’s not interested in rebuilding or relocating. Her mind is fixed on one thing—Joel, the man responsible for filling the graves. What drove him to kill the people she cared about? That question gnaws at her, but it’s quickly overtaken by her thirst for justice—or retribution. It doesn’t take much convincing to get her friends on board. The path forward is clear: this season, it’s all about payback for the choice Joel made.

Daggers are pointed at him from every direction—some he doesn’t even see coming. And as Abby’s grief curdles into something darker, she makes her intent chillingly clear: “When we kill him, we kill him slowly.” This kid isn’t messing around.

After the credits, we head to Jackson, where Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and his wife Maria (Rutina Wesley) have built a safe haven for survivors. This walled-off town isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving. It offers a rare glimpse of normalcy, with holiday decorations lining the streets and community movie nights stirring a sense of nostalgia for a world long gone—one that kids like Ellie (Bella Ramsey) never had the chance to experience.

Five years into their lives in Jackson Joel and Ellie are no longer outsiders. They’ve become integral members of the community, carving out identities that go well beyond “human cargo” and “smuggler.” Joel, now Jackson’s construction foreman, is responsible for housing and development as a steady stream of refugees arrive at the town gates. But the influx weighs on him. It’s not just that he’s overworked—he’s worried the town is reaching a breaking point. He voices these concerns to Maria, comparing the growing population to an overcrowded lifeboat: too many people, and everyone sinks. Maria pushes back, reminding him that he, too, was once a desperate man at their doorstep—and he wasn’t turned away.

Though Joel hasn’t lost the protective instinct that defines him, five years of relative peace have softened his harder edges. He plays guitar, works an office job, and even sees a therapist—Gail (Catherine O’Hara)—to get help navigating the challenges of parenting a teenager. All things considered, Jackson is as close to a dream as one can hope for in a post-apocalyptic world.

But it’s not just the world or Joel who’s changed—Ellie, now 19, has grown into her own. The survival skills she learned from Joel on their travels now serve her well on Jackson’s recon patrol. She has joined the group to help protect the town from infected threats. Her immunity remains a closely guarded secret known only to Joel, but that knowledge fuels both her courage and recklessness on these missions. She’s also training in self-defense, holding her own in a brutal sparring match against a much larger opponent. Even when frustrated that her partner didn’t hit her harder, Ellie’s determination is clear; she doesn’t want special treatment—not because of Joel, Tommy, or Maria. She wants to be seen as just another survivor, not a fragile girl with powerful protectors. Though she is more mature, Ellie hasn’t outgrown her impulsive streak. Her dark sense of humor, fierce independence, and belief in her own invincibility still define her. That mix of confidence and recklessness only intensifies as the episode unfolds.

Despite all this growth—for both Joel and Ellie—their bond hasn’t deepened. In fact, they’re more distant than ever if you consider the teen moving out to live in Joel’s garage “distance.” While some of the tension is classic teenage angst, the real divide stems from the lie Joel told Ellie at the end of Season 1. A flashback reminds us of that moment: when she asked him to swear he was telling the truth about the Fireflies—that they couldn’t use her to develop a cure. She also needs reassurance that it was the raiders who killed the Fireflies and not him saving her from their plot to kill her for a no-guaranteed cure. So, he lied, and she knew it, and that was the moment their relationship shifted. Their rift has only widened with time.

Thankfully, Ellie has someone she can open up to now—her best friend, Dina (Isabela Merced). In a charming encounter with her bestie’s overworked father, we meet Dina, who gently tries to pry the truth from Joel about why Ellie is so upset with him. Dina is a spitfire and a flirt but Joel is not known to be a big sharer. Besides, he wouldn’t know what to say to Dina–who isn’t aware of Ellie’s immunity and seems to think the world of Joel. He has no idea how to connect with his increasingly distant daughter, and it bothers him so much he seeks help from the town’s psychotherapist, Gail, who has her own unresolved issues with the town’s foreman.

When we meet Gail we see Joel is paying her in pot for their session–which does not start until the therapist pours herself a pre-session drink to honor the anniversary of her late husband’s death. As it turns out, Joel was the one who killed him, and after 41 years of marriage, Gail isn’t exactly over it. She numbs the pain with alcohol and sardonic jabs, reminding Joel why she may not be the best person to offer parenting advice. When your therapist hates you, you might be better off skipping the drinking shrink, but Joel can’t seem to read the room. He is too focused on fixing things with Ellie to realize how his presence in Gail’s office affects her.

Between the sarcasm and the scotch, Gail offers up a few blunt truths. Like, how most 19-year-olds can’t stand their parents—and definitely don’t want them involved in every decision. Joel might consider the fact that Ellie is breaking from their co-dependent relationship. Instead of needing him to protect her, she wants to be a mini-him and protect the town and herself. The fact that Ellie feels safe enough for a bit of teenage rebellion is a good sign she is just growing up. Like Dina, Gail doesn’t know the full scope of this rift, so she finds Joel’s complaints ordinary and pedantic. In fact, if it wasn’t for the sticks and stems (Gail can’t help but judge Joel’s green product), she might have ended this therapeutic relationship a while ago.

Coming Out During the Apocalypse

Speaking of growing up, we get a glimpse of Ellie’s emotional maturity in how she interacts with her best friend and fellow patroller, Dina. The two share playful banter, and it’s immediately clear that Ellie is harboring a crush—though Dina doesn’t appear to return those feelings in quite the same way. She knows Ellie likes girls and even teases her about a past encounter with the only other lesbian in Jackson. Dina—on the opposite end of the Kinsey scale, or so Ellie assumes—is popular with the men in town, a fact made even more obvious during a New Year’s Eve dance.

Ellie watches from the sidelines as her very stoned friend flirts her way across the dance floor. She’s happy to see Dina letting loose, but there’s a pang of jealousy she tries to hide—the kind that only surfaces when someone you love doesn’t seem to love you back. That’s why it’s such a shock when Dina pulls Ellie onto the dance floor—and in a moment of vulnerability and warmth, the lines of friendship blur as the two kiss.

What should have been a memorable, joyful moment in any young person’s life is quickly ruined by the ugliness of old-world bigotry. A local man, Seth (Robert John Burke), hurls slurs at the girls, claiming their kiss has no place at a “family event.” Ellie stands up to him, but before she can fully speak her piece, Joel storms in and knocks Seth to the ground in defense of his daughter. Instead of feeling grateful, Ellie is furious—and in front of the entire town, she embarrassingly screams, “What is wrong with you? I don’t need your help!”

While Future Days focuses heavily on the fractured relationship between Joel and Ellie, we also get a glimpse into what makes Jackson such a thriving oasis amid the chaos of fungal monsters and raiders. The town maintains its security by patrolling the surrounding areas for the infected while also searching for survivors who might need help. Ellie, Dina, and a few others led by Dina’s ex, Jessie (Young Mazino), gear up for another recon mission, searching for survivors and eliminating threats along the way.

Their journey takes them to a nearby town showing clear signs of an outbreak. A gutted brown bear lies in the street, its entrails spilling out, and scattered bodies suggest the infected are nearby. Ellie and Dina split off to investigate a crumbling grocery store alone—and that’s when their banter fades, giving way to quiet terror. Inside, Ellie falls through rotten floorboards and finds herself face-to-face with a new breed of infected. Unlike the others, this creature doesn’t charge—it stalks. It hides. It hunts. It has purpose and intelligence, unlike anything she’s dealt with before.

Predator Vs. Reckless Teens

After a terrifying bit of hand-to-hand combat, Ellie is bitten on the abdomen just before Dina arrives to save her. Though Ellie can’t be infected, she hides the bite—because even though she’s immune, the others might not understand. What they do realize now is that the infected are evolving. When Ellie and Dina report back to the Jackson town council, they’re met with only mild concern. In fact, most of the meeting is spent scolding the girls for venturing off-route and disobeying their leader in a reckless escapade that could have killed them both.

Unfortunately, by the time the council takes the threat seriously, it may be too late. As the episode ends and the town celebrates the new year, the camera lingers on a cracked water pipe—one townsfolk were seen earlier trying to clear off overgrown roots. A few tree branches blocking the flow? Harmless. But the active strands of the Cordyceps mycelium wrapped around those roots? Not so much. As the fungus slithers into Jackson’s infrastructure, the town’s leaders remain blissfully unaware: the breach to their sanctuary has already begun.

And if that weren’t bad enough, Abby and her friends are on their way—ready to play the desperate, displaced victims just to gain entry to the town Joel and Ellie call home. There are threats coming at them from every side, and with the breakdown of Joel and Ellie’s bond, those invaders have a better chance at dividing and conquering Jackson.