HBO CURRENTLY HAS everyone who broadly "likes TV" in a grip. Seriously! How else do you define going right from the culturally dominant force that was The White Lotus season 3 into the much-awaited second season of The Last of Us, which was, oh, that's right—just its own culturally dominant force when its first season debuted back in 2023?
Season 2 of The Last of Us, which comes from co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann and finds stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey returning, picks up right where season 1 left off—briefly. We see the aftermath of (spoiler!) Joel's massacre of the fireflies after he refused to go along with their plan to create a cure by sacrificing Ellie, which allows us to meet Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), the daughter of the doctor who was going to perform the procedure on Ellie, and who Joel murdered. Abby is seeking revenge—and that's all we get before the show jumps five years into the future.
And to the future we go. Joel and Ellie, both now half a decade older, are hardly what we would refer to as thriving, but are at least a part of a functional community in Jackson, Wyoming (the same one we met Tommy in during episode 6 of season 1). There are new characters, including a therapist for Joel (played by Catherine O'Hara) and a couple friends for Ellie (played by Isabela Merced and Young Mazino). And, of course, there are Cordyceps-infected mushroom zombies; They're just kept at arms length, held away by a good system the people of Jackson have developed.
The start of The Last of Us season 2 is focused more on these kids of interpersonal problems; Ellie is dealing mostly with the people her age, while Joel is wondering why his surrogate daughter keeps pushing him away. But as the season goes along, the tension is sure to rise. Not only is the constant threat of mushroom zombies lurking, but we know that Abby and her contingent are out there looking for revenge—and sooner or later, they're going to catch up.
It's that constant tension, combined with the way that The Last of Us develops its characters, that makes season 2 continue to be a terrific watch. You won't want to miss an episode, and, if you keep reading and know when everything comes out, you won't have to.
When is the next episode of The Last of Us season 2 coming out?
Episodes of The Last of Us air on HBO on Sunday nights at 9:00 EST, and are available to stream on Max at the same time. The next episode will release on Sunday, May 18.
How many episodes of The Last of Us season 2 are left?
Season 2 of The Last of Us will run for seven episodes, shorter than the first season's total of nine. That means there are only two episodes—and two more weeks of post-apocalyptic zombie drama—remaining in season 2 of The Last of Us.
Here's the complete release schedule for HBO's The Last of Us season 2
Episode 1, "Future Days" - Now streaming as of April 13
Episode 2, "Through the Valley" - Now streaming as of April 20
Episode 3, "The Path" - Now streaming as of April 27
Episode 4, "Day One" - Now streaming as of May 4
Episode 5, "Feel Her Love" - Now streaming as of May 11
Episode 6, "TBA" - Streaming on May 18
Episode 7, "TBA" - Streaming on May 25
