TalkingaboutSeason2of”TheLastofUs”withouttraffickinginspoilersisn’tparticularlyeasy—though,obviously,anyonefamiliarwith”TheLastofUsPartII”hassomeideaaboutwherethingsareheaded—butattheveryleast,Icantellyouthatthesecondseasonaddssomeprettyincredibleperformerstoitsroster.ThroughoutSeason1,actorslikeAnnaTorv,NickOfferman,MelanieLynskey,andMurrayBartlettpoppedupforshortstints,butinSeason1,someofthesenewfacesstickaround…andmaketheworldof”TheLastofUs”feelthatmuchfuller.
Arguably,thebiggestadditionhereisKaitlynDever’sAbby – alegendaryfigureforgameplayers—who’sflankedbyacrewthatincludesDannyRamirez(“TopGun: Maverick”), TatiGabrielle(“You”),ArielaBarer(“Runaways”),andSpencerLord(“Riverdale”),whoplayManny,Nora,Mel,andOwen,respectively.Elliegetstwonewfriends—thecausticyetbig-heartedDina,playedby”MadameWeb”starIsabelaMerced;andthestrictbutloyalJesse,portrayedby”Beef”standoutYoungMazino—andinthecommunityofJackson,Wyoming,Joel’sbrotherTommy(GabrielLuna)andhiswifeMaria(RutinaWesley)arejoinedbytherapistGail(CatherineO’Hara,markingamuchmoreseriousroleforthecomedicpowerhouse).JeffreyWright,meanwhile,repriseshisroleasIsaacfromthegame—likeMerleDandridgedidoneseasonpreviouslywithMarlene,theleaderoftheFireflies.
That’sa lotofnewnamesforaseriesthattypicallyfocusesontwocharacters,butIcanassureyouthisisagoodthing.”TheLastofUs”isn’t reallyaboutthezombiescreatedbythecordycepsfungus;it’sabouttheconnectionsyoumakeintheaftermathofunimaginablehorrorandpain.Theemotionalworldof”TheLastofUs”somehowstayssmallevenasthecastofcharactersexpands,andevenwiththezombie-relatedstakeshigh(asalways),theintimatestrugglesbetweenthecharactersfeelequallyasimportant—andthrillingtowatch.
Beyondthat,it’simportanttosaythatBellaRamseyhasneverbeenbetter.WhilethefirstseasonbasicallybelongedtoJoel,Season2of”TheLastofUs”givesthereinstoRamsey’sEllie,andtheirdevelopmentasanactoroverthelastfewyearsisfranklyremarkable.Ramseyhasalwaysbeentalented,butinthisseason,they’reatthetopoftheirgame,andit’sagenuinepleasuretoseeRamseydeliveraperformancethatwill,withanyjustice,netthemnominationscomeawardsseason(andfrankly,IexpectthatDeverwillbeinthatconversationtoo).
