The Last Of Us - Season 2 - Episode 02 - Through The Valley Review
*It’s rare that we at Player 2 cover anything that isn’t in the video game realm, but with its roots firmly in gaming, and the prestigious talent involved in it, HBO’s adaptation of The Last Of Us is an incredibly fascinating project. So join us, each week as we dissect the newly released episode, from the series’ first to its last. Now it’s time for Season 2.*
While episode 1 of The Last Of Us’ second season may have been an intriguing but gentle build into the season, season 2 throws the viewer into fifth gear with a number of series iconic moments playing out that set the stakes of this second season through the roof. Where the previous episode began refreshing the viewer of how Joel and Ellie came to be in the emotional positions that they are, Through The Valley begins digging deeper into Abby and her motivations behind the desire to kill Joel. Even in her sleep, Abby is tortured by the discovery she made in the remains of the Fireflies’ Salt Lake City base of operations, but when she awakes her and her team instantly get into planning mode. They don’t quite know how to penetrate Jackson’s walls, but the conditions are clear , nobody needs to be hurt aside from Joel.
The action shifts back to Jackson itself where Jesse wakes Ellie to go out on Patrol. Joel and Dina have already headed out, but there’s plenty to be discussed, from the kiss seen the night prior, to Ellie’s intention to made amends with Joel. Before heading out the pair go to see Maria where further relationships are addressed, namely with the local responsible for the antagonistic, homophobic comments of the night prior. He explains himself, apologies and while Ellie is relatively hostile in response, an understanding is reached and Ellie departs for patrol.
The weather is becoming quite extreme, but multiple parties are trapped in the chaos. The first we see is Abby who spots a pair of riders in the distance, who we know to be Joel and Dina. She slowly and silently approaches the unknown patrol members. Meanwhile, the decision is made by Jackson leadership to bring in the patrols due to the inclement weather. Jesse and Ellie receive the message but must take shelter due to the conditions. They do so, with Ellie discovering Eugene’s old weed supply; in the process, she also finds Eugene’s Firefly tag. The action shifts back to Abby who is continuing to close in on the patrol, but as she attempts to slide down a hill to get close, she slips, fall,s and lands in a dormant, ice-covered horde of infected which are engaged by her presence. Abby flees, narrowly avoiding being caught on numerous occasions, scaling a wall and skirting under a fallen chain-link fence with a mountain of infected crawling over it, trying to catch her. One breaks through and nearly kills her before Joel appears, shooting it. Once Abby learns of Joel’s identity, she convinces Joel and Dina to come with her to her friends in the nearby lodge.
Jackson has been repeatedly trying, and failing to contact Joel and Dina and as the weather dies down a bit, Jesse and Ellie learn of this and rush out to find them. Meanwhile in Jackson, some maintenance on the pipes leads to the exposure of the infected tendrils, which then activates the tendrils, connecting with the horde of infected chasing Joel, Abby and Dina, who then turn and charge on Jackson. Its not long before the horde becomes visible in the distance and with five minutes to prepare before their arrival, Jackson prepares the defense. Joel, Abby and Dina spot the horde’s movements, but Abby convinces Joel to collect her friends before heading out as they can help.
Jackson is successfully fighting off the horde with a combination of gunfire and explosive, flaming fuel barrels, but then the infected change direction attacking a different wall with the aide of a bloater that has arrived. They penetrate the boundaries of Jackson as the bloater sets its sights on Maria who is shooting from a rooftop. The infected are pouring in as gunshots fly and residents of Jackson fall and are killed by the runners and clickers, Tommy draws the attention of the bloater but then finds himself cornered by it as he tries to draw it away. He only barely escapes with his life as he empties an entire flamethrower over it. The residents begin to gain the ascendancy as Maria uncages the dogs who overrun many of the attacking infected.
Meanwhile Joel, Abby, and Dina have arrived at the lodge but they don’t have long to settle before Abby identifies to the group who Joel is and he is instantly held at gunpoint while Dina is held hostage. Dina spots a bag with W.L.F stamped across it before she is given an injection that puts her to sleep and the interrogation of Joel begins. He confirms to Abby what he did in Salt Lake City, and she explains that the unarmed doctor that he killed was her father and she’s made it her sole mission to exact revenge upon him for the injustice. Joel’s leg is shot by Abby with a shotgun and goes to pick up a golf. As she continues to talk and bask in her impending revenge, Joel tells her to hurry up and get it done, Abby stresses that “You don’t get to rush this” and begins to beat him with the club.
As the attack on Joel continues, Ellie, who is still out searching for Joel, happens upon the lodge, and the strained sounds coming from within draws her attention. Abby’s group doesn’t notice her arrive but as she bursts into the room, knife in hand she spots Joel, bloodied and barely hanging onto life; she attacks but is quickly overwhelmed before being pinned to the ground and Abby strikes the definitive blow, stabbing Joel in the neck with a broken golf club. Ellie screams and promises that she will kill Abby. She crawls over to Joel’s body as Abby’s group packs up and leaves, their job complete.
The episode ends as we see Jackson cleaning up any remnants of infected, clearly suffering massive casualties but currently unaware of the loss of Joel. We then see Jesse, Dina and Ellie, horseback bringing Joel’s body back to Jackson, the gravity of what has happened soon to set in for the already distressed community.
Through The Valley explores one of The Last Of Us’ most controversial scenes, and mostly covers it quite respectfully. The episode’s biggest weakness however is that it comes to a head a little too quickly, with the conflict between Joel and Abby being over a little too quickly, with too much focus given to the infected attack on Jackson. The vibrations of what happens in this episode will be felt for the episodes and seasons to come.
The Last of Us is available to stream now on Max, with new episodes every Monday. This episode was reviewed with early access kindly provided by Max.
