And then it happened. What would be the biggest surprise for the “uninitiated”? We had our “Red Wedding + Hardhome” from The Last of Us and the confrontation of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) with the man who killed her father, that is, Joel (Pedro Pascal). Yes, at the end of the first season, Joel desperately went out killing everyone to save Ellie (Bella Ramsay), and the consequence arrived. Years later, but it came. And only in the second episode of the season! Yes, there are more spoilers to keep, but this was so significant that it was difficult to avoid.

All the references to Game of Thrones will be impossible, especially since the director is Mark Mylod (even though the episodes mentioned were not his in the franchise). That’s because we have the infected attack on Jackson and, of course, the protagonist brutally murdered. But that’s not bad: The Last of Us delivered one of the best episodes in its history. Great performances, impressive images, and constant tension.

And before we do a recap, it’s worth remembering that once in MAX, Pedro Pascal is traditionally killed violently. How could we forget his participation as Oberyn in Game of Thrones? I see a total parallel here in The Last of Us.

Well, let’s get back to the episode. Since it would be difficult to hide Abby’s identity for some time, as happened in the game, the writers brought her to the beginning of the story from the first episode, revealing her identity and plan. Even 5 years later, all she thinks about is killing Joel. And in a dream/flashback kind of like Fight Club, conscious Abby talks to unconscious Abby (who is the one from the past), the one who saw her father brutally murdered and who swore revenge. We see that she has problems with the trauma, but her determination prevails because she can’t forget what happened to her father.

Abby wakes up in a cabin overlooking Jackson where she is joined by Owen (Spencer Lord) and the other young survivors of the Salt Lake City massacre: Nora (Tati Gabrielle), Mel (Ariela Barer) and Manny (Danny Ramirez), and if she sticks to the plan, her friends are already questioning the mission.

Meanwhile, in Jackson, Ellie is still dealing with the next day of the party, but the city is preparing for an imminent attack. She seems to want to apologize to Joel for the fight at the dance, but he has already left with Dina, so Ellie goes out with Jesse to patrol.

The storm catches everyone not exactly by surprise, but violently. Abby, isolated, falls and falls on top of frozen corpses, that is, infected people who, from apparently dead, now gain greater energy. In her escape, who helps her? Of course, Joel. As soon as she identifies him (Dina calls him by name), Abby immediately leads them to the cabin. Joel hesitates, but ends up falling into the enemy’s plan. As soon as they get there, Dina is immobilized, and Abby, as promised, begins to kill him slowly.

As soon as they know that Joel and Dina haven’t returned, Jesse and Ellie go in search of their lost friends, and when Ellie arrives at the hideout, even Abby’s friends are begging her to stop and kill Joel right away. The scene, which had some minor changes from the game, is very faithful here. Ellie is immobilized and witnesses the coup de grace and sees Joel being killed. She promises revenge, but the Fireflies underestimate her and leave her on the ground, crying for “her father”. And we haven’t even talked about how Tommy will react!

Yes, in Jackson, the city had the planning and strength to defend itself, even if this time it almost went wrong. From now on, The Last of Us is only about revenge, and it won’t be easy to swallow. We must prepare ourselves.