The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 5

We’re back again for another review of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us, and unfortunately, it seems like the series has finally succumbed to the downward spiral that viewers spotted brewing on the horizon during the season’s early episodes. There’s a lot to be said for the consistent production quality of The Last of Us – after all, this is a big-budget HBO series. However, there’s simply too many flaws with this series stacking up for fans to continue to ignore the story’s gradual descent.

Today, we’re talking all things Episode 5 of The Last of Us Season 2. For this review, we’ll be avoiding any serious spoilers for the events of the episode. However, it should be made clear that I have played both of The Last of Us games, and so, it would be a lie to say I’m going into this show blind. Also, importantly, there will be spoilers for the events of the episodes leading up to Episode 5 of The Last of Us Season 2, so proceed with caution! With that being said, we’ll be steering clear of any game spoilers, so feel free to read ahead if this is your first time experiencing the story of The Last of Us. Without further ado, let’s get into this review!

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The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 5 Review

Image by HBO

For the second season of The Last of Us, the clock is ticking. This is around the point in the series where viewers begin to notice that the end of the season is nigh, with only two episodes to go before The Last of Us goes back on hiatus for the foreseeable future. This all means that there’s no time for the series to waste in leaving its mark and setting up a compelling third season for the show – and yet, The Last of Us chooses to waste what little time it has. Maybe ‘waste’ is a harsh word, but there’s few other words I can think of to describe how The Last of Us divides its screentime, with far too much time wasted on pointless background characters for a show with only two episodes left in its season. The opening of this episode was the personification of this concern, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth before Episode 5 really even got started.

With Joel gone, the character of Ellie has become more and more central to the story of The Last of Us, and for me, her characterisation has done nothing but damage to a story that’s already threatening to buckle under its own weight. As the weeks go by, Ellie grows more and more irritating, reckless, and at times, downright incompetent. Considering that in the game, players would be assuming control of Ellie, it’s almost insulting how easily and how often Ellie gets overwhelmed in this series. Yet, when it comes to situations where her loss in combat would be inevitable, she seems to be able to survive the unsurvivable – but more on that later. In my opinion, we’re watching a gradual character deterioration for Ellie, which is a real shame considering how likeable she was in the games.

Mind-bogglingly, this episode also suffered in the visual department. Don’t get me wrong, the VFX for the infected were as solid as ever, particularly in one, terrifying scene pretty late into the episode. The gore also remains spine-chillingly realistic. However, there are multiple scenes that look like the characters from the show were green-screened onto stock backgrounds from the game. Perhaps it’s some sort of filter they’ve put on this episode, or maybe it was a questionable camera angle – I’m not sure exactly what it is, but something about this episode, visually, is off. The scene where this issue really stood out was in broad daylight, so perhaps it’ll be best if our protagonists stick to the shadows for a while…

Image by HBO

This week’s episode was also so ridiculously overboard in one way that I can no longer continue to ignore it – The Last of Us is becoming a misery simulator, filled to the brim with complete and utter depravity, with little to no joy or positive interaction in any way. I am a huge fan of horror, and with horror often comes brutality and sadness – I’m well aware that the genre goes hand-in-hand with these themes. However, you need to balance all of this darkness out with some light-heartedness every now and again, and boy, does The Last of Us completely disregard this balance. There is not one moment in this episode that could be considered in any way ‘happy’, outside of Ellie and Dina smiling at each other once near the beginning. When show’s lean this heavily into sadness, it brings the viewers down, and watching a show like this becomes less about hoping that the characters can survive their plight, and more about trying to keep sane in the face of so much dejection.

I’ve gone on quite a bit about all the things I found wrong with Episode 5, so, was there any good to be found? Well, the episode was definitely exciting, and I think takes the crown for the most thrilling episode of the season so far, by a pretty long shot. The episode is noticeably shorter than the rest of the episodes this season, so perhaps that contributed to this feeling of excitement and action. Also, the episode was pretty frightening which, for a horror fan like myself, was really great to see. The conclusion of the episode was also fairly emotionally compelling, and all-in-all, well-executed by both actors involved. I do want to reiterate that I enjoy this show – I’m on The Last of Us train! However, with each passing week, I’m starting to question whether or not I should be.

Positives aside, the series is also starting to really suffer from a plot perspective. I mentioned earlier that Ellie’s survivability is very questionable in Episode 5, and while I want to avoid spoilers, I will elaborate a little bit here. There is a moment in this episode, near the end, where it makes absolutely no sense for Ellie to live. It’s ridiculous how the scene plays out, and what makes it so unbelievable is that for the majority of the episode up until this point, our characters are sneaking around because they know that being spotted, even once, could get them all killed. There’s a time for blood-pumping action and thrills, and there’s a time for logical approaches, and unfortunately, The Last of Us lost its way at the end of this episode. There’s also a massive retcon introduced in this episode that’s likely to leave fans of the game completely gobsmacked, but I’ll avoid discussion on this for now, so as to keep this spoiler-free. I’ll simply give you one word to draw your own conclusions with – ‘spores’.

Image by HBO

Ultimately, I think The Last of Us is crossing a line. In an effort to come across as edgy, unrestricted, and, for a lack of better word, badass, the series has taken a turn down a very dark path, and is ultimately turning out to be miserable, over-the-top, and at times, uncomfortable to watch. The game also treaded this path, but did so with much more time to breathe in-between major story sequences. Each week, I struggle to come up with a score for these episodes, mainly because I don’t hate the show, but am always left contemplating all of its overwhelming flaws when each episode ends.

The conclusion I’ve come to is that The Last of Us works far better as a game than a show, and in the absence of Joel to hold it all together, that point is shining through more than ever. It’s starting to feel like, without Joel, this show just doesn’t happen, whereas I think the game actually allowed Ellie to step up and feel like a worthy protagonist. Regardless, I plan to see the series through to the end – we’ll just have to see where the journey takes us next.

What did you think of The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 5? Are you excited for the rest of the show to unfold? If you’ve never played the games, what are your predictions for the show’s future episodes? Be sure to let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading!

See also: The Best Black Mirror Episodes

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Where to Watch The Last of Us?

Image by HBO

The Last of Us is a HBO original show, and is available to stream on HBO Max. For viewers outside of regions where Max is available, you can catch The Last of Us on Now TV, and on demand in the Sky TV library – or, UK viewers can enjoy the show on HBO Max by referring to our guide on how to watch Max in the UK.

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