I can barely begin to tell you how excited I've been for season 2 of The Last of Us to air. That happened yesterday (Sunday 13 April) in the States, with the UK evening premiere due tonight (Monday 14 April).
But there's a problem. The early critics' reviews, which sat at a lofty 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, aren't reflected by viewers' scores – which, at the time of writing, sit at 72% on the same site.
It's very early days, of course, and with episodes airing on a weekly basis – through until 26 May, when the seventh episode will air – that average number is very likely to fluctuate. Besides, I have trust in the series and am still excited to tune in.
The Last of Us season 2 is in that 'difficult second album' stage, of course, and with its The Last of Us Part II videogame source material also falling under fire upon its release – its user rated at 5.8/10 on Metacritic – I can't say I'm entirely surprised.
Without giving anything away for those who've not played the games, let's just say the second game gets dark – and very quickly. The TV show doesn't seem as though it'll trace the exact same storyline... which I'm somewhat thankful about!
However, with the game creator at the helm of the televised screenplay – Neil Druckmann, who has paired with writer Craig Mazin, as per the first season – I'm sure there's a steady hand to guide the direction of what we'll see unfold on screen.
HBO, which produces the show, is certainly confident of its success nonetheless. It has already commissioned season 3, ahead of the second season's premiere, which confirms this story is far from over yet – and gives more time to pace out the on-screen relationships.
It's not the show's pacing that's been the cause of criticism, though, as that's largely down to casting. "Such bad casting for season two," reads one comment, with others echoing the same sentiment. It's not universal, though, with one viewer saying: "If you’re writing a negative review because of casting, you are a moron."
It would appear, therefore, that among a lot of positivity, the negative ratings are largely from those who aren't content with the casting of Abby and that an older Ellie isn't represented on screen as it was in the games.
Regardless, I'm still really excited to tune in for season 2 of The Last of Us. In the UK it premieres on Sky Atlantic at 21:00 local time, Monday 14 April, or you can catch it on the NOW streaming service (you'll want to pay for the Boost or Boost Ultra package in my opinion, though, for Full HD or Ultra-HD viewing quality).
