‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Premiere Unpacks Ellie’s First Kiss, Joel’s Therapy Breakdown & Deeper Ties to the Game

The Last of Us came back swinging with a Season 2 premiere that dives headfirst into heartbreak, tension, and quiet moments of emotional release. Five years have passed since the events of Season 1, and Joel and Ellie have settled in Jackson — but that doesn’t mean life has settled down. They’re fractured, distant, and carrying the weight of the past like scars they haven’t admitted to yet.

Ellie, now 19, is learning combat, patrolling the outskirts of town, and growing close with best friend Dina. Meanwhile, Joel is helping expand Jackson’s housing while secretly unraveling inside. Their once-tight bond has unraveled into awkward distance. So much so that Joel begins seeing a therapist — Gail, played by Catherine O’Hara — in a deeply raw scene that transforms from darkly funny into a brutal emotional shootout.

What begins as Joel venting about Ellie’s silence turns into a full-blown reckoning, as Gail confronts him with her own grief and rage over losing her husband — someone Joel killed. Her monologue strips both of them bare, and when Joel finally breaks down and says, “I saved her,” the weight of Season 1’s ending comes crashing back in. It’s one of the show’s most powerful scenes yet.

The episode also marks a huge moment for Ellie’s personal story — her first kiss with Dina. At a New Year’s Eve party, amid soft lights and swaying dancers, the two share a long-anticipated kiss pulled straight from the game. For Ellie, it’s confusing, thrilling, and terrifying all at once. She’s unsure whether Dina’s feelings are real, or if she’s misreading the moment — but the vulnerability between them is unmistakable. It’s one of the few moments of light in a world defined by loss.

In the field, the infected are changing too. During a tense patrol, Ellie stumbles upon an infected that doesn’t charge — it stalks. It watches. It thinks. This encounter hints at a darker evolution, both in the threat level and in the emotional complexity of the infected themselves. The showrunners wanted to reflect how the stakes are rising in every way — including for viewers who already know the game’s twists.

And Jackson? They built it. Literally. A full town, complete with furnished interiors and game-accurate design, grounded the actors in a world that feels lived in — and brutally real. As Ellie and Joel navigate that world, one growing up too fast and the other running from a past he can’t hide from, the show raises one question louder than any other: What happens when love turns into silence?