Season Analysis

The Last of Us

Season 2 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie's collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.

Season Review

Season 2 continues the story five years after the first season, focusing on the pursuit of vengeance. The core narrative is split between Ellie, who is seeking retribution for a brutal act, and Abby, the perpetrator of that act. The story centers on an endless cycle of violence, featuring intense brutality as the protagonists navigate a post-apocalyptic world controlled by two heavily militarized factions: a secular militia and a violent, oppressive religious cult. Thematically, the season elevates identity and sexual orientation to a central role in the conflict, contrasting the highly diverse protagonists and their allies against bigoted, traditionalist villains. The narrative structure requires the audience to deeply empathize with a character who killed the beloved main male lead from the first season. The story heavily features an exploration of alternative sexualities and gender identities and presents traditional social structures as inherently hostile or corrupt.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics8/10

The story centers on the brutal execution of Joel, a traditional masculine and white male protagonist, by a new, highly dominant female character, Abby. The narrative shifts perspective to force the audience to identify with Abby and her diverse group of allies, who are presented as the justified party in the conflict. This establishes an intersectional hierarchy that removes the traditional male figure to elevate new, diverse protagonists.

Oikophobia9/10

The two main organized factions in the story, the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) and the Seraphites, are both portrayed as fascist or cult-like entities. The WLF is an American militant organization, and the Seraphites are a primitivist religious cult. The narrative deconstructs the legacy of the original father-figure, Joel, framing his self-reliance and protective actions as problematic and the source of generational violence.

Feminism9/10

The main narrative is driven by two physically dominant female leads, Ellie and Abby, the latter of whom is intentionally depicted as physically superior to nearly all male characters. The core protagonist, Ellie, abandons her established, peaceful domestic life and a new family unit (her partner is pregnant) to pursue vengeance, prioritizing a violent personal mission over motherhood and a stable family. The portrayal presents traditional strong masculinity as obsolete or expendable.

LGBTQ+9/10

The primary protagonist, Ellie, is a lesbian, and her relationship with her bisexual partner, Dina, is a major, ongoing focus of the story. A significant character in the second half of the narrative is Lev, a young transgender male whose identity is a central conflict point, as he is actively persecuted, deadnamed, and forced to flee his home by the religious antagonist group. Sexual and gender identity are highly centered and serve as narrative motivations for the conflict.

Anti-Theism10/10

The most overtly villainous and oppressive group in the narrative is the Seraphite cult, a faction founded on an extreme, violent, and rigid religious belief system. The Seraphites are directly responsible for persecuting the transgender character, Lev. This portrays traditional, organized religion as the source of bigotry, violence, and fanaticism that the secular and diverse protagonists must fight to survive.