Momentum is the name of the game for last week’s episode of The Last of Us. After a slower-paced opening to the season, the past two episodes have begun a mad dash through the chaos and violence of Seattle, circa 2029 (in the show timeline).
The revelations from last week don’t seem to have much effect on Ellie, who urges Dina to continue to aid her on their quest for vengeance against the WLF. They find their way to the hospital where Nora, one of Abby’s crew, is working as a nurse, but not before encountering new threats and familiar faces. The episode’s cold open also details the next evolution of the Cordyceps infection: airborne spores that can infect simply by breathing them in.
Like last week, Episode 5 is lighter on story. The bulk of the episode boils down to Ellie Dina exploring different areas of Seattle and encountering WLF patrols, stalkers, and eventually a Seraphite hunting party. Yet what the lack of story provides is an abundance of atmosphere and tension, which this season has been in need of. It goes in a decidedly more action-oriented direction, which the showrunners have been avoiding up to this point in the series as a whole.
The episode adapts the “Day Two” segment of the video game, which is easily one of the most set piece-driven chapters of the game. Day Two is actually split into two segments, one documenting Ellie’s journey to find Tommy in Hillcrest, a part of Seattle’s suburbs, and then Ellie’s fight to the hospital at sunset. The episode completely dispenses with the excitement in Hillcrest, which will be mourned, but also provides a bit more narrative focus. All of the same beats from the game are seen, including the stalker-infested apartment complex (here replaced by a warehouse), the Seraphite patrol (complete with ritual sacrifice) and the hospital chase.
A large part of the criticism towards the first season was in relation to its lack of action. Players of Part ll could have assumed (or simply hoped) that the story of the second season would be more action-heavy due to the story exploring anger, violence, and the effects of that pursuit. Season 2, looking past its faults, has had a number of great action scenes, particularly in the past two episodes. However, while it seems unfair to criticize a show for having little action and also for having a lot of action, it is hard not to mention that the back half of this episode breezes through multiple hours of gameplay in fifteen minutes by placing three setpieces back-to-back-to-back, which makes for an exciting climax, but none of the scenes have the impact they should have if they had more room to breathe. It brings up the issue that Episode 3 was an extended episode, clocking in at an hour, but both of its follow-ups are more deserving of that extended time.
While the cold opens don’t do the episode any favors in regards to further shortening the time we have with Ellie and Dina, the introduction of spores is rightfully gut-wrenching and anxiety producing. The showrunners made a point to remove spores in the first season (probably because if Pedro Pascal is given the chance to wear a mask, he will have someone double him and just do voice-overs) but the reintroduction here actually works in terms of the narrative, suggesting that the fungus is still evolving after twenty-five years. Doubled with last week’s Isaac scenes, the spores backstory are very effective world-building moments that might stand as some of the season’s best moments.
Week by week, the negative response to the season has grown, festered, and continued. Whether it is genuine criticism or review bombing, it is hard to say, but as an individual episode, “Feel Her Love” is not unsuccessful in its goals. However, it does perfectly illustrate the flawed pacing this season is suffering from.
