The Last of Us S2 E5 "Feel Her Love" Review

One thing that's beginning to frustrate me about HBO's The Last of Us is Bella Ramsey's lack of a main character presence in the form of Ellie. I understand that this conversation has been done to absolute death and its grave desecrated. Still, I am really starting to feel the lack of Pedro Pascal's maturity as an actor, and to be entirely honest, I would have recast Ramsey for the second season in favor of an older and more mature actress, not because she's horrible in the role, but rather because she never seems as haunted as her character's writing demands her to be.

Granted, Feel Her Love has some show-stopping moments that are easily among the best in the series. Its portrayal of the Seraphites is horrifically magical. They're wonderfully adapted, more or less pulled directly from the game, and free to bring the horrors of their way of life to a whole new unsuspecting audience. HBO somehow manages to make them seem both savage and sympathetic, a bizarre combination that works in a weird, whiplashing way.

In addition, this episode takes us to, of all places, a spore-ridden hospital basement in Seattle, which is an incredible setpiece that takes the scope of this show and its infection to a whole new level. The Last of Us might have sacrificed some of its dexterity with its ride-or-die fixation on Ellie and Dina, but its showmanship is still undeniable. Granted, I still very much miss Kaitlyn Dever's mature portrayal of Abby, and I think it's a shame that her performance - one of the best things about this second season of the show - has been so sidelined. It's not that The Last of Us is beginning to show cracks - it's always had imperfections. It's just that it has a weird insistence on prioritizing the things about it that simply don't work as well. I've heard it said that the last few episodes of the show have felt more like a tryst and less like two people running a murder plot, and this is a problem that's only getting more problematic.

Remember how gamers were outraged at having to play as Abby for half of The Last of Us Part II? To be candid, if HBO is doing something similar with their adaptation, I'm actually looking forward to it, for better or for worse.

Matthew 5:7