BEWARE! This post contains significant spoilers for The Last of Us season 2, episode 2!
The Last of Us, HBO’s award-winning adaptation of the hit video game series of the same name, continues its second season this week. Over the next five weeks, until May 25th, we at The Beat will be delivering episode recaps for the new season, diving into what happens every week, how it reflects the game it’s based on, and how well the show is crafted. The second episode of season 2, titled “Through the Valley,” sees disaster come to Jackson, both in the form of a single person and a larger insurmountable evil. Directed by Mark Mylod (Succession) and written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), it’s one of the show’s best episodes yet.
Abby’s Haunting Dream and New Mission
The episode begins with a dream sequence, showing Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) revisiting the hospital where Joel (Pedro Pascal) murdered her father (shown in the first season’s finale). An older version of herself warns her not to go into the room, but she doesn’t listen and goes in anyway. Abby then wakes up in a lodge near Jackson. She sees the town, and all of her friends are put off by how much larger it seems during the day. They weigh their options and reckon that Jackson is too fortified to attack head-on, and likely has trained soldiers, given their strategic defenses. Abby suggests a plan to kidnap a patrol and use them as hostages to lure out Joel. Owen (Spencer Lord) writes her off and says he’s coming up with another plan. Abby goes outside to be on watch, and Owen tells others he plans to convince Abby to leave without killing Joel.
Patrol Prep and Tense Dynamics
We then see Ellie (Bella Ramsay) get woken up by Jesse (Young Mazino). After the events of last week’s episode, she’s hungover and defensive, particularly when Jesse brings up rumors that the night was eventful. She says Dina (Isabela Merced) initiated the kiss, to which Jesse acts surprised that they kissed. It’s quickly revealed he’s messing with her, and the two prepare to go out on patrol. The two share a fun dynamic and display great platonic chemistry as scene partners. As they walk through Jackson, we see that the town is preparing for potential hordes. Jesse explains that 30 infected were found hiding in the snow, and Ellie’s story about the Stalker has the council spooked. Ellie declares that she wants to go on patrol with Joel, to which Jesse is shocked, given their public falling out the night before. Ellie states, “we’re better now,” and expresses her frustration at everyone taking interest in their relationship; “I’m me, and Joel’s Joel, and nothing is going to change that.” She jokes about the two going on a “Daddy-Daughter day,” but is shot down when Jesse reveals Joel has already left for Patrol with Dina.
The two enter the town hall to see Tommy (Gabriel Luna) giving a speech, imploring Jackson’s people to prepare for the worst. The old and the young are to go into basements and cellars, while those able to fight will go to the rooftops. Maria (Rutina Wesley) makes a local townsperson apologize for his homophobia to Ellie and Dina the night before; Ellie expresses her dislike of him, but accepts sandwiches made for them by him for their patrol. Ellie and Jesse leave to go on patrol. The scene shifts to Abby, freezing in the approaching snowstorm, as she spots Joel and Dina on patrol. A snowstorm quickly picks up steam, and the residents of Jackson lose contact over radio with the patrols. Jesse and Ellie are told to hide out, so they do, in a former 7-Eleven now filled with cannabis plants. Jesse explains that it formerly belonged to Eugene, the deceased husband of Joel’s therapist, Gail (Catherine O’Hara). Eugene was a Vietnam veteran and a firefly, and Jesse remarks on how tragic it was that he survived so long only to have to be “put down” by Joel, after an implied bite from an infected.
Abby’s Mistake and the Infected Horde
Abby begins stalking the patrol she spotted, and she makes a series of quick mistakes that cost her dearly, falling into the snow and sliding down a cliff face into a horde of infected sleeping underneath the snow. They begin to awaken and move, so Abby runs for her life. It quickly becomes apparent that it’s an absolutely massive horde, with potentially hundreds of infected, if not more. She climbs up a wall and gets caught between a metal gated fence and a horde of infected, including a stalker. This sequence perfectly recreates one of the initial challenges of 2020’s The Last of Us Part II, and it’s remarkable seeing it adapted so vividly and faithfully for the screen. Abby is saved by Joel, who shoots the stalker trying to kill her. Dina and Joel panic and argue over whether to return to Jackson or not, and Abby implores them to go to the lodge so that her friends can help them fight off the horde.
Jackson Under Siege
Tommy checks in with the head of radio communications, who hasn’t received work from Joel or Dina. Tommy begins to panic. Meanwhile, Ellie finds a gas mask retrofitted to have a bong attached, and discusses keeping it. She and Jesse learn that Dina and Joel have gone missing, and the two split up to find them. Simultaneously, a man in Jackson opens up a pipe to discover that spores of the same fungi that cause the infection have been growing inside. Joel and Dina rush to the lodge, and Tommy is warned of the arrival of the horde. In an incredible siege sequence, the people of Jackson fight off the incoming horde, utilizing guns, flaming barrels, and reinforced walls. The direction throughout is excellent, creating an intense and riveting sequence. Joel sees the fires outside Jackson, but is convinced by Abby to remain on track for the lodge. A bloater arrives with the horde, who successfully breach Jackson’s outside walls. Tommy stands his ground while others flee, and the people of Jackson shoot at the infected from the rooftops. This sequence doesn’t appear in the game at all and feels like a direct response to the lack of action involving the infected that was a frequent criticism leveled towards the first season. There’s a huge body count as devastation and destruction arrive in Jackson. Tommy distracts the bloater, who tries to attack Maria, luring it into a corner. Utilizing a flamethrower, he attacks the bloater, who continues to persist. Right as the bloater is about to kill Tommy, it dies from its injuries. Maria lets out the local dogs, who have been trained to kill the infected, and the tide of the battle turns. He is left shaken up by the experience, visibly traumatized.
Joel’s Last Stand at the Lodge
Joel and Dina arrive at the lodge and are immediately betrayed by Abby and her group. Abby comes across completely different from her initial bumbling appearance earlier, a focused, violent, and vengeful soldier. The entire sequence is played excellently by Kaitlyn Dever, who really shows exactly why she was cast for the role despite bearing little resemblance to Abby’s game appearance. Joel asks if they are raiders, to which Abby teases him, and he quickly figures out they are former Fireflies. Abby states that it doesn’t matter anymore because “they’re all gone.” They put Dina to sleep, and Abby states that as long as Joel tells the truth, Dina will survive. She makes fun of him, and Joel tells the truth – the last time he saw the fireflies was in a hospital in Salt Lake City. Abby is impressed by his honesty, shooting him in the knee with a shotgun and crippling him. Dever dominates the scene with an effortlessly powerful performance. Some of Abby’s friends are hesitant, while others are completely on board with what is happening. Abby praises Joel for his toughness, stating, “I guess you must have had to be” and claiming he killed 18 soldiers and one doctor. Joel’s hospital kill count seems smaller than in the game, but I suppose it is a more realistic interpretation of what happened. Abby reveals her personal connection to the event, as the daughter of the doctor Joel killed in cold blood to save Ellie. She’s spent the past five years in the WLF militia in Seattle, Washington, where she’s been trained as a killer and soldier. She insists that the WLF has taught her not to kill those who cannot defend themselves, but Joel doesn’t have the same moral boundaries. “Some things everyone agrees are just fucking wrong,” she states. She goes to fetch a golf club, and Joel yells at her to “shut the fuck up and do it already!”. She responds that “you don’t get to rush this,” and begins beating him in his injured knee with the club, and we hear the tip of the golf club snap off by the repeated impact.
Ellie’s Desperate Rescue Attempt
Ellie quickly finds Joel and Dina’s horses, which lead her to the lodge, where she can hear Abby beat Joel near to the point of death. She rushes upstairs, attempting to fight back and successfully non-fatally shooting one of Abby’s friends, but is quickly beaten and bound up. She watches through tears as Joel, beaten and bloodied, starts to die. She pleads for him to get up, and you watch as Joel tries to move to no avail. She begs Abby to stop, but Abby refuses. She stabs Joel in the neck with the broken golf club, and he dies looking directly at Ellie as she cries. It’s an incredibly vivid, horrifying, and tragic sequence, and merely writing about it gets me to the point of goosebumps and close to tears, even five years after I first played the game this show is based on. “I’m going to kill you!” Ellie screams as Abby and her friends leave to return to Washington. Ellie crawls to Joel’s body, lying on top of him and holding his corpse as she cries. At this point, I was well and truly in tears. It’s an incredible and painful sequence, adapting the most controversial scene of the game perfectly. We see Tommy and Maria cleaning up in Jackson, getting rid of the remaining infected, before we watch as Ellie, Jesse, and Dina ride home in silence, carrying Joel’s body back to Jackson in a sack dragged by the back of the horses.
Final Thoughts on “Through the Valley”
“Through the Valley” continues off the second season of The Last of Us with a devastatingly tragic and epic episode that launches the season into its eventual trajectory. It adapts one of the most controversial and iconic sections of The Last of Us Part II with care, it painfully twists the knife in the viewer’s gut, and delivers one of the best overall episodes yet of the show. Viewers are sure to be shocked and horrified, but it delivers one of the show’s most powerful episodes. What’s upcoming is still yet to be seen as Ellie embarks on her quest for revenge, but we will be covering every step of the way as it goes on. Come back next week for our Episode 3 recap, and stream The Last of Us season 2 now on Max.
