Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us season 2, episode 2, and The Last of Us Part II.
Jackson has been devastated by an infected attack in The Last of Us season 2, episode 2, “Through the Valley,” followed on from the premiere episode’s cliffhanger by bringing a horde of infected to Jackson’s gates. As Tommy, Maria, and the rest of the town desperately fended off the horde, this set-piece grew into a Game of Thrones-sized battle sequence. It’s eye-popping action spectacle, but it’s also a heartbreaking dramatic twist that will test the strength of the community.
The episode also delivered the much-dreaded moment that Abby kills Joel, which will become the impetus for the main storyline of the season. Per the game, a grieving Ellie will now become singularly focused on exacting revenge. She’ll head to Seattle to hunt down Abby and her friends and make good on her promise to kill them all. But now that Jackson has suffered a horrific attack at the hands of the infected, Ellie’s quest for vengeance will be even more complicated and high-stakes than it was in the game.
The Last Of Us Season 2's Jackson Attack Is A Major Change From The Game
The Infected Never Make It To Jackson In The Last Of Us Part II
The Last of Us makes a few key changes to the game in its latest episode. It reveals what Abby’s motivation is, it swaps out Tommy for Dina as Joel’s patrol partner, and the details of Joel’s death are slightly different. But perhaps the biggest change is that a horde of infected attacks Jackson. In the game, there is a horde that Abby is running from when Joel finds her and saves her, but it never gets to the town. Tommy mentions that Jackson has fended off infected attacks before, but the games didn’t show it on-screen.
The Last of Us airs new episodes on HBO and Max every Sunday.
In the TV show, it was interesting to see how Jackson deals with attacks like this. They have bunkers where the children hide out and they have ramps hanging off the walls that they use to send flammable chemicals into the horde to blow up the infected. This plan almost works until a bloater shows up and breaks through the wall, letting the horde into the town. Tommy and Maria lead the defense against the infected and the town manages to pull together and make it through the carnage — but not without suffering devastating losses.
Jackson Is More Vulnerable Than Ever Following The Infected Attack In The Last Of Us Season 2
Tommy Will Be Even More Reluctant To Ellie's Pursuit Of Revenge
In the game, when Ellie is trying to convince Tommy to come with her to Seattle and pursue revenge against Abby, Tommy is reluctant to her, because they’d be “leaving Jackson vulnerable.” In the game, that vulnerability is just a hypothetical. Jackson might be susceptible to raiders and infected in their absence, but it’s not guaranteed. It’s very possible that the town will be okay while they’re going to and from Washington (and, as it turns out, it is).
But in the TV show, after the infected attack, Jackson really is vulnerable: the walls have been breached, the ammo has been depleted, some of the buildings have been destroyed, and a lot of the townspeople have been killed, so it’s a really bad time for some of the town’s best killers and top leaders to take off on a personal mission across the country. Tommy won’t have to convince Ellie that Jackson might be open to attack, because it already is. This will make their decision to go to Seattle even more selfish than in the game.
Ellie's Quest For Revenge Will Take Away Some Of Jackson's Top Leaders When The Town Needs Them The Most
Tommy & Jesse Both Go To Seattle To Help Ellie
Ellie’s quest for revenge is deeply personal, but three other people get swept up in it. In the game, Tommy leaves for Seattle before Ellie does in a desperate bid to get ahead of her and save her from getting herself killed. Dina goes to Seattle with Ellie to help her exact revenge. And a couple of days after their arrival, they find that Jesse followed them down there shortly after they left, because he didn’t want his friends to have to face the W.L.F. alone.
Tommy and Jesse are both crucial to the town’s operations. Tommy is one of Jackson’s leaders and a member of the council, and Jesse leads the patrols.
Tommy and Jesse are both crucial to the town’s operations. Tommy is one of Jackson’s leaders and a member of the council, and Jesse leads the patrols. The town needs their help at the best of times, but now, after it was nearly destroyed by a horde of infected, it needs them more than ever — and, thanks to Ellie’s irrepressible desire for revenge, they’ll be otherwise occupied. The Last of Us season 2 has managed to raise the stakes of an already high-stakes conflict from the game.
The Last Of Us
- Release Date
- January 15, 2023
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Craig Mazin
Cast
Joel Miller
Ellie Williams
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- Writers
- Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
- Franchise(s)
- The Last of Us
- Creator(s)
- Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
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