A strong season of The Last of Us is rewarded with an outstanding Blu-ray set.The Last of Us is a prime example of an excellent adaptation of a successful game. In that regard, the series is not unique, as I also found Fallout to stand out with a strong first season. The second season of the series is based on the game The Last of Us Part II from 2020. In a world where a mutated fungal infection has turned most of the world's population into aggressive murderous creatures, Joel (Pedro Pascal) must ensure the safe passage of young Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to another part of the United States. There, with her help, a cure for combating the fungal infection might hopefully be developed.
All of this sounds like a mix of The Walking Dead and Z Nation, but this HBO series fundamentally differs from those other series.
This all sounds like a mix of The Walking Dead and Z Nation, but this HBO series fundamentally differs from those other series. Of course, there is also plenty of action, suspense, and horror, but the series is more than that. The focus on character development and the societal consequences of the pandemic is much more prominent.
There are several very emotional episodes, and a lot of attention is paid to the atmosphere. This second season does deviate slightly from the first season, and the storyline of the video game is not followed exactly. This is absolutely a strong season, and it is rewarded with a strong release on physical media. There is a DVD set, a 4K Ultra HD Steelbook edition, and a Blu-ray box.
The extras make this release an absolute must-have.
This Blu-ray is released with a cardboard slipcover containing a case with three discs. The seven episodes are beautifully distributed and feature very fine picture quality. The sound quality is also excellent with Dolby Atmos audio, impressive both in the quieter scenes and in the intense battles. The extras make this edition a must-have.
On the first disc, alongside the three episodes, there are short documentaries about the making of the episodes. For each episode, there is a Making Of The Last of Us: Season 2 available, totaling 72 minutes of content about the making of this second season. Additionally, there is a two-minute look at the sets in the form of Growing the World of The Last of Us and a three-minute look at the set of Jackson (Welcome to Jackson Set Tour). The best extra is Battle of Jackson, Deconstructed, over eleven minutes long, a retrospective on the making of the battle scenes at Jackson.
On the middle disc, we find episodes 4 and 5 and their short making-of documentaries. After that, there are several retrospectives from different characters on this season. These include Joel (four minutes), Ellie (three minutes), and a joint retrospective with Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and Dina (Isabela Merced) (four minutes). Finally, a humorous five-minute intermezzo: tasting mushrooms (the cause of the fungal infection) with some actors!
The last disc contains the finale of the season with episodes 6 and 7 and their production history. Then there are questions and answers from the two main actors in about seven minutes and from Isabela Merced and Young Mazino (Jesse) in five minutes. The action scenes in Seattle are the basis of Stalker Showdown, Deconstructed. Following that, three of the four main characters engage in Camera Roll: Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced, and Young Mazino. It concludes with three longer reports, starting with In Action about the stunts. Ellie’s Path is a beautiful description of the character Ellie in seventeen minutes. A nice finisher is Beneath the Surface, seventeen minutes on the visual effects used. This strong season is thus rewarded with an outstanding Blu-ray release.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
