The Last of Us S2 E2 "Through The Valley" Review

After the 2020 release of Naughty Dog's long-awaited The Last of Us Part II, I saw way too many posts and articles casting judgment on who the authors thought the villain of the game was: Ellie, Joel, or Abby. It quickly became apparent to me that these people had completely missed the point being made: vengeance is a brutal, vicious cycle that stops the instant someone decides it's no longer worth the pain, a sentiment episode 2 of HBO's adaptation wholeheartedly captures in ways that made me feel not angry, not even sad, but cold. Whatever you think of the game's decision to do that thing, Through The Valley is by my standards one of the strongest entries I've seen in the show thus far, primarily due to its ability to so quickly shift its tone from the terrifying cliffside that is a massive swarm of infected to the strangely icy pit of despair we find ourselves in by the episode's closing moments.

Regardless of initial reactions to HBO's casting of 5'2" Kaitlyn Dever as the otherwise-huge Abby, I love the vulnerability Dever brings to the character. Don't get me wrong; Abby is indeed a tough-as-nails survivor who's seen it all, but she's less "WWE superstar" here, more "traumatized child" than anything else, far more sincere and believable than I expected her to be. Dever's less-is-more acting method is likely the high point of this season so far, and I'm sincerely beginning to wonder if I like her more than I like Ellie. The parallels between the two characters are undeniable, and Dever's performance is more subdued and mature than Bella Ramsey's portrayal of Ellie.

The infected throughout this series and particularly in Through The Valley make the zombies from The Walking Dead look and feel like child's play. The general fright factor of this series is more akin to the adrenaline-fueled thrills of 28 Days Later, only with better crowd choreography and far superior makeup and prosthetics work. The infected feel more dangerous here than they have at almost any other point in the series, an impressive feat.

For gamers and newcomers alike, be aware that this episode takes The Last of Us to the darkest and most brutal places it's gone yet. I feel like the show is laying down a gauntlet - this is the way the world is now, and this is where we're going to go and what we're going to do with this story. If you don't like it, this is your chance to get out. It mostly sets this tone well, minus a brief instance of virtue signaling that doesn't do the episode a whole lot of favors tonally, regardless of how you feel about this issue.

Through The Valley has the unenviable task of adapting one of the most controversial chapters in the history of any video game. I must acknowledge that it makes some good decisions that I hope take it far, because this episode merely cements HBO's The Last of Us as one of the best, if not the single best, video game adaptations ever made. Nevertheless, you will feel the sting of this episode in the core of your being, and I imagine the show's overall viewership will drop in the coming weeks. The unexpectedly heavy emphasis on Abby throughout Through The Valley is a wise decision by the writers, making the episode feel less like an end and more like the beginning of something new, as it should. As my feelings over that thing are settling, I have to admit that this sophomore episode is easily one of my favorites in the series so far, but unlike last week, I think I'll be passing on that golf.

Proverbs 20:22