The Last of Us season 2 has received a Rotten Tomatoes audience score. After the video game adaptation's first season was released to rave reviews and high viewership numbers in early 2023, it's now back for its sophomore installment, which will adapt Part II of the game. The Last Of Us season 2's returning cast includes Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal, Gabriel Luna, and Rutina Wesley while introducing stars like Isabela Merced, Kaitlyn Dever, Young Mazino, and Catherine O'Hara.
Now, the Popcornmeter for The Last of Us season 2 has been revealed on Rotten Tomatoes. At the time of writing, the season had a 61% audience score with over 500 reviews thus far. This score is subject to change, as season 2 still has six more episodes to air. Nevertheless, the current score is a dip from season 1, which had an 88%.
What This Means For The Last Of Us Season 2
Critics Like This Season More Than Audiences
Among critics, both seasons currently have 96% Tomatometers. In his review of The Last of Us season 2, ScreenRant's Graeme Guttman gave the season a 7 out of 10, praising how "The Last of Us season 2 grapples with the role violence plays in the post-apocalypse" but taking issue with its adaptation of the games. The mixed response from audiences shouldn't come as a surprise, as the video game also received similar divisiveness with its story and new characters. However, the factors contributing to this low audience score may be far different based on engagement leading up to the premiere.
While casting backlash could be a key reason for the negative ratings from audiences, it's too soon to say if this is any way of review bombing.
Before the show's season 2 premiere, there was intense backlash towards the cast. For instance, Dever faced a lot of scrutiny following her casting confirmation as Abby due to the lack of physical accuracy. However, recently, there has also been a lot of criticism towards Ramsey's casting as Ellie due to the lack of resemblance, especially given that the new episodes have a five-year time jump. While casting backlash could be a key reason for the negative ratings from audiences, it's too soon to say if this is any way of review bombing.
So far, the Popcornmeter for season 2 has not impacted its viewership numbers. The season 2 premiere managed to beat out the first season in terms of viewership numbers, which is impressive considering how highly anticipated the first look at the adaptation was. The first episode received 5.5 million viewers, falling short of HBO record holder The House of the Dragon season 1, whose debut episode amassed 9.99 million viewers. The audience's mixed response could still hurt the ratings for season 2 moving forward, but they will not necessarily.
Our Take On The Last Of Us Season 2's Popcornmeter
The Second Game's Story Was Controversial
The mixed audience response to The Last of Us season 2 is utterly unsurprising based on the game's reception. Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us: Part II was highly controversial, with players taking particular issue with the storyline surrounding the new character, Abby. Played by Dever, Abby does indeed feature in The Last of Us season 2 and was introduced in the premiere. As the season continues, viewers are likely to put Abby under intense scrutiny, even if the show takes creative liberties from her original arc.
