Independent UK production company Chief has completed The Masterplan, a new documentary exploring the architectural and cultural transformation of Battersea Power Station in London. After decades of disuse, areas of the station were repurposed by WilkinsonEyre for housing and retail through a £9 billion ($12.2 billion USD) overhaul completed in 2022, with Foster + Partners designing a new Apple Store for the station in 2023. Directed by Chief’s Nate Camponi and commissioned by Stripe Communications and the Battersea Power Station Development Group, the new film presents an in-depth account of the power station’s history, from its origins as an industrial landmark to its revival as a mixed-use cultural destination. The film uses a combination of historical narrative, visual storytelling, and personal reflections to document the complex process of redeveloping the site and its evolving relationship with the city. Jason Flemyng as The Raconteur in The Masterplan. Image courtesy: ChiefA...

If you're entrenched in tech news, you'd think Apple was on the brink of collapse. The company undoubtedly is having a rough go of all things AI—while companies like ChatGPT, Google, and Microsoft have hit the AI ground running, Apple's AI department is in disarray. Some features, like Clean Up and Writing Tools, have made their way to products like the iPhone, but, others (notably Siri's AI overhaul) are still nowhere to be seen. The situation is, objectively, not great. Apple advertised these features alongside the iPhone 16 line, even casting The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey in a commercial showing off said AI-powered Siri. (The commercial has since been deleted.) While the rest of the tech industry seems to be entirely focused on AI, Apple is, uncharacteristically, struggling to keep up. Things must be dire for the company, right?The iPhone continues to sell like hot cakesWhile I'm not here to read the company's entire pulse, it does seem like the iPhone department is still crushing it. On Wednesday, market research firm Counterpoint released its list of the top-selling smartphones in Q1 of 2025. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the iPhone topped the list: Apple's iPhone 16 was the best-selling smartphone in the world in the first fiscal quarter of this year, followed by the 16 Pro Max, 16 Pro, and iPhone 15. Apple also had the top four spots in the first quarter of 2024—back then, it was the 15 Pro Max in first place, followed by the 15, 15 Pro, and 14.Samsung took the next three spots, as it did in Q1 of 2024 as well. This year, it was the Galaxy A16 5G in fifth place, followed by the Galaxy A06 and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Redmi 14C 4G came in eighth—impressive for a smartphone that isn't even sold in the U.S.—followed by the Galaxy A55 5G, and, finally, the iPhone 16 Plus. There's a lot you can take away from the data here. The first impression is that the iPhone continues to be a global force to be reckoned with. The iPhone had five of the top 10 spots in both Q1 2024 and 2025—the only difference between them was the iPhone 15 Plus came in eighth place, while the 16 Plus came in 10th. Samsung, too, is clearly still a reigning champ in the global smartphone race, though it went from five phones in the top 10 to four between those two years—good for Redmi for stealing that eighth place spot.Ecosystems are powerful thingsIt's particularly interesting to see the iPhone continue perform like this in 2025. After all, it's been apparent for months now that Apple did not follow through on its advertised AI promises for the iPhone 16 line. To wit, Counterpoint says that the iPhone 16e, the company's "more affordable" device, ranked sixth in the top selling smartphones of March. People are continuing to buy iPhones in droves. Is it possible these customers are buying iPhones based on Apple's past advertisements? Sure. The company still advertises Apple Intelligence with each iPhone on its site, so AI could still be driving people's desires to buy iPhones. I'm not convinced, though. If AI were a priority, I think most customers would be buying from the companies that have been rolling out AI features at a steady clip. Samsung and Google immediately come to mind: Google's latest I/O event was all about AI, and you can experience a number of AI features on Android devices made by both companies. Again, maybe Samsung's four "top 10" smartphones are a result of its AI efforts. It's entirely possible, but I continue to be unconvinced.I see this list of best-selling iPhones and Galaxies, and I see one thing: established market trends. I think the truth is, a lot of people like Galaxies, and even more people like iPhones. People switch phones all the time, especially in the Android ecosystem, but based on the data, it seems like when it's time to buy a new phone, most iPhone users buy a new iPhone, and most Galaxy users buy a new Galaxy. Ecosystems are powerful things, and when you've poured your entire digital life into one platform—including all the messaging, purchases, and cloud storage—it's rare you want to mix it up. That's me to a T: As much as I respect Android, I'm stuck in the Apple ecosystem, and, as such, really only consider a new iPhone when it comes time to upgrade. Almost every single person in my immediate circle is the same way. The Samsung fans I know also stick to the pattern, just with the newest Galaxy. The decision for me is never whether to buy an iPhone or a Galaxy: it's whether to buy the Pro or the Pro Max. AI enthusiasm isn't strong enough to drive smartphone salesAI is without a doubt the trend in tech right now, and people are using it. But I don't think many are considering it when buying their devices—especially smartphones. I think people buy the phone they like, and then configure it after the fact to access their AI tools. Hell, Apple integrated ChatGPT into my iPhone, and I still have the ChatGPT app. AI features can be useful—it's great that Apple has its own version of Magic Eraser now—but AI features alone aren't enough to sway customers en masse. If OpenAI made a smartphone, would you buy it? I'm guessing probably not. If the AI train continues on, maybe people will start buying the phones and devices that best integrate AI tools out of the box. Android is way ahead of Apple on this front—just look at Google replacing its assistant with Gemini—so perhaps we'll see Galaxy phones take more of a lead in global sales in future quarters, or even an appearance from a Pixel or two. Or, maybe people are fine downloading the apps they need to get their AI fix, and leaving other factors in play when choosing a phone to buy.I can't predict the future; I can only note what I see in the present. And, right now, I'm seeing two things at once—I'm seeing a lot of people talking about ChatGPT, and I'm seeing a lot of people buying and using iPhones. Outside of my tech news circles, I've heard not a peep about Apple's struggles in the AI race.

Streaming Wars is a weekly opinion column by IGN’s Streaming Editor, Amelia Emberwing. Check out the last entry No, Netflix Isn't Saving Hollywood (But It Isn't Killing It, Either)This column contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Last of Us on HBO Max as well as The Last of Us Part II game. When Joel was brutally killed in the second episode of HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, it confirmed what many fans of the games expected was coming. But as the season progressed after that point, Joel’s death came and went without any significance. Replacing it was, for me, a certainty: what was a controversial decision for the The Last of Us game franchise would prove to be a killing blow for the television series.Now, I realize that an adaptation fundamentally deviating from its source material can be polarizing in and of itself, but the HBO series simply did not need to kill Joel to successfully tell its story.First and foremost, I think it’s important to note that there’s a reason that this column is being written at the end of the season rather than immediately after Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) death in Episode 2. I did want to be wrong, for whatever that sentiment might be worth. I dutifully watched the rest of the season, hoping that the show’s writers would find a way to reset their story and carry on their narrative in any kind of meaningful way. But, despite the best efforts of Bella Ramsey and newcomers Isabela Merced, Kaitlyn Dever and Young Mazino, there’s little to be done when your blockbuster show’s first season was fully reliant on a relationship that no longer exists. The show’s audience — which is made up of plenty of folks who have never played the games — signed up for a series that no longer exists. The Last Of Us Series Messes With Canon, But the Wrong PartsThe Last of Us has implemented a series of story elements that deviate from the game, and vary in impact, but have broadly served the medium shift. Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlet) Season 1 episode wasn’t just the best of the series, it was one of the best episodes of television that year, it hasn’t mattered at all that Dever’s Abby isn’t jacked the way she is in the game, Season 1 had tendrils instead of spores, Stalkers play more of a role in the series than they did during gameplay, etc.But the Big Joel Death Scene™ features both 1:1 scenes and major canon divergence, and the core problem with the majority of Season 2 is that the series stayed loyal where it shouldn’t have and diverted where it should have remained true to story. In killing Joel and revealing Abby’s motives from the start, The Last of Us series removed any reason for the audience to return in Season 3.In the game, players stuck around when it came time to play Abby because they needed to know why the hell she did what she did. By the time that information is revealed, Abby had become interesting enough for people to keep playing. In the series, since Abby’s motivations were revealed pretty much in the series premiere, all viewers have to look forward to now is wondering who’s going to shoot who or who is going to forgive who first. And, with respect to what I know is a long adored franchise, I’m forced to ask why should the television audience care?The series either needed to keep Joel alive, choosing to have Abby beat him within an inch of his life and have Ellie believe that he was dead before leaving Jackson on her revenge tour, or leave Abby’s motives a mystery. Joel may have been the inciting incident that made the forgiveness meaningful in the game, but let’s not pretend it’s the only way to get to the desired end result. This series has wildly talented writers attached. It can be done. Meanwhile, while the mystery of Abby’s motivations wouldn’t have been enough to keep me around personally, I can see why it would appeal to a broader television audience. Now though, we’re all stuck in an impending future of no catharsis.Not One, Not Two, But Three Shows in One [Derogatory]Ellie spent much of this season insisting she’s not like Abby despite her rising body count and similar obsession. This will remain a throughline for the upcoming season (or seasons, if co-creator Craig Mazin has his way) even though Ellie will continue to make rash decisions on her quest for revenge. All of this will come after Ellie’s current pickle, as we left her with Abby’s gun pointed squarely at her face. Season 2’s odd “cliffhanger” is another 1:1 pull from the game, as this is the moment where you shift from playing Ellie to playing Abby. This means that we can likely expect the central focus of the series to shift yet again, giving us not one show, not two shows, but a surprise third show. The thing about these focus and perspective shifts is that they totally could have worked if they had billed The Last of Us as an anthology series with the overall wrap-around (the narrative treatment surrounding the individual stories that ties everything together) being the apocalypse they’re all sharing. But because this was presented as a traditional prestige series, there are rules and expectations as to how the story is meant to play out. Storytelling rules are made to be broken, but Season 2 does not inspire any faith that the rest of The Last of Us series will succeed in doing so.Television has always played with the death of the mentor. It’s a trope that often offers more meaning than most, forcing the protagonist to finally take said mentor’s lessons to heart or otherwise reckon with the devastation of their loss. The difference here is that there is typically a broader ensemble to rely on to avoid shaking up the core of the series. We get a little bit of that from Season 2 in Merced’s Dina and Manzino’s Jesse, but they aren’t meaningfully established before the core relationship of the series is destroyed. By introducing them later — and then giving us little reason to care about them until after that still — the foundation of the series remains fractured in a way that seems beyond repair. But that fracture was always avoidable.All signs point to Season 3 being told from Abby’s perspective.Season 1 set the expectation for television viewers that this was a show about Joel and Ellie. Season 2 haphazardly shifted that focus to a story about Ellie, Dina and their quest for revenge against Abby. All signs point to Season 3 being told from Abby’s perspective as she rescues defecting Seraphites Lev and Yara three days before murdering Jesse and holding Ellie and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) at gunpoint. While I cannot stress enough that Kaitlyn Dever is doing great work with the material she has been given, what reason do folks have to stick around at this point? Television viewers with no knowledge of the games aren’t going to buy into the show suddenly being told from the perspective of someone that they’ve been given no reason to care about. I am from the outside looking in when it comes to the game, but it doesn’t seem likely that the WLF vs. Seraphites war was engaging enough to watch a second time in TV form, even with Isaac’s (Jeffrey Wright) expanded involvement in the series. Is there enough interest in seeing Ellie and Abby’s anticlimactic ending to keep viewers already in the know around?It’s All a CompetitionGames as a medium have plenty of hurdles, but they have the benefit of fewer releases than television by a remarkable margin and, whether the audience loves or hates a game, it’s already bought and paid for. The Last of Us Part II may be plenty controversial (all of the best art is!) but a key factor in any television show’s success is giving the audience a reason to return episode after episode. The story format's constantly shifting perspective is a tremendous hurdle in and of itself. Add in The Last of Us’ wildly short seasons, long hiatuses, and Season 2’s lackluster story, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a pickle when it comes to getting fans back for Season 3. The rest of The Last of Us Part II’s arc is one focused on forgiveness and how being hellbent on revenge tears everything apart. Sometimes the journey on the way to an already well-known ending is worth it for the ride (looking at you, Andor)! But given that The Last of Us Season 2 featured exactly one compelling episode focused on a flashback with its now long-dead protagonist, is that journey worth it? The cast sure is doing their damndest to ensure that’s the case, but will that be enough for the audience?Season 2’s penultimate episode may have been great, and Neil Druckmann has confirmed that we’ll have more Joel flashbacks to come, but it’s just not a bandaid to the show’s problem. No amount of strong performances or stellar production value can fix a failure to adapt your story to a new medium. Joel ain’t coming back to life and there’s no putting Abby’s reveal back in the proverbial bag. The Season 2 finale was lackluster at best, the rest of the season wasn’t much better, and knowing where the story heads next forces me to wonder if The Last of Us’ best days are behind it. It’s a dog eat dog world in the land of TV, and people’s time is a zero-sum game. With such high competition and waning interest from viewers, maybe it’s just time to take the show to look at a pretty lake while it rides out its last moments before losing itself to the infection…

The Last of Us showrunners discuss where season three will go Once spore unto the breach. Image credit: HBO News by Victoria Phillips Kennedy News Reporter Published on May 26, 2025 The Last of Us' cast and crew have shed some insight into where the show will go during its third season. Please note, there will be major spoilers for The Last of Us season two finale below. The Death of Console Exclusives Is Inevitable and I Don't Know How I Feel About It. Watch on YouTube Earlier today, The Last of Us' second season wrapped. It ended with a cliffhanger, showing Kaitlyn Dever's Abby shooting Jesse dead, before she points her gun at Ellie. She fires again, and the screen cuts to black. We are then transported back to "Seattle: Day One", but this time we are not seeing events through the eyes of Ellie. This time, we are with Abby, who walks out into the massive football stadium the WLF have made their base camp. Speaking about season two's finale during a press conference held earlier this month, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said they don't currently know how much viewers can expect to see Ellie, Dina, Tommy and Jesse during the show's third season. However, even if these characters aren't on screen as much as they were during season two, their presence will still be felt. Image credit: HBO "Even if I thought I knew now exactly how it was going to go, I'm experienced enough to know that two weeks from now we may have a different idea of how it should go," Mazin said (thanks, Variety). "All I can say is we haven't seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever and we haven't seen the last of Bella Ramsey, and we haven't seen the last of Isabela Merced, and we haven't seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story." Meanwhile, Mazin affirmed The Last of Us season three will provide more clarity to some of the events that were playing off in the background of season two, including the WLF's war with the Seraphites. "Those questions are correct and will be answered," Mazin noted. "How did that war start? Why? How did the Seraphites start? Who is [their] prophet? What happened to her? What does Isaac want? What's happening at the end of Episode 7? What is this explosion? All of it will become clear." Image credit: HBO Now, don't get your hopes up here, but during this same conference Druckman didn't rule out Pedro Pascal making a return as Joel via flashbacks. In season one, we saw Anna Torv's Tess pop up again, despite her character being killed off earlier in the show. Meanwhile, season two featured an episode made up almost entirely of flashbacks, which included the introduction of Joel's father, a character not seen in the games. "I wouldn't have guessed we would have a short story about Joel's dad before we wrote the season, so there you go," Druckmann said of that scene, adding: "You can't predict these things." Image credit: HBO In a separate interview with the publication, Ramsey added they "most likely" expect their presence in the show to be smaller than in previous seasons when series three rolls around. "I haven't seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect that," Ramsey said. "I think that I'm going to be there, but not a whole bunch. We've had conversations about that. I sort of have a rough idea of what it's going to be, but I can't tell you." For more on the show, you can check out my discussion feature: The Last of Us season two wraps with episode seven, but was it a satisfying finale?

This review contains spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 episode 7. It’s hard to follow the heartbreakingly beautiful and emotional performances we saw in last week’s flashback episode of The Last of Us. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey brought their A+ game as this episode revealed the ups and downs of Joel and Ellie’s relationship over the last few years, right up until the night before Joel died. And yet, despite this episode arguably being the best of the season, the season finale still manages to take us on a devastating wild ride. Back in Seattle, Dina (Isabela Merced) and Jesse (Young Mazino) deal with the aftermath of getting caught up in the war between the W.L.F. and the Seraphites. While they wait for Ellie to catch back up with them, they deal with Dina’s arrow to the leg and Jesse gets her all patched up. Even though emotions are high, they are still able to have a touching moment together, and it’s clear that the two still care about each other, even if their feelings are no longer romantic. We get to see another moment of care amidst the chaos once Ellie returns to the theater. She goes to check on Dina, who almost immediately starts taking care of Ellie and her battered and bruised body. Ellie is clearly still processing what she did to Nora (Tati Gabrielle) and what she learned about Abby’s (Kaitlyn Dever) location (which isn’t much). In this vulnerable moment, as Ellie verbally grapples with what she did to Nora, she tells Dina about Salt Lake City, including the fact that Joel killed Abby’s dad. Dina seems surprised by this, realizing that Abby may have been more justified in her revenge than she thought. At this point, it seems like everyone but Ellie is ready to put an end to this revenge mission and head back home to Jackson. Jesse is focused on finding Tommy (Gabriel Luna), especially after finding out that he’s going to be a father. But Ellie can’t let her vengeance go. While they’re looking for Tommy, she realizes that Nora’s clues “whale” and “wheel” probably mean that Abby’s at the aquarium – so she ditches Jesse and sets off in that direction. Ellie has so many close calls – if the W.L.F. weren’t planning an invasion of Seraphite territory at the same time, she would have been hung and fileted like the guy they saw in the park. She finds Owen (Spencer Lord) and Mel (Ariela Barer) seemingly arguing over Abby and whether or not to chase after her. When they spot Ellie, she tries to get them to tell her where Abby is, like we’ve seen Joel do before.  Owen moves for a gun, and Ellie reacts, shooting him in the neck and accidentally nicking an artery in Mel’s. Barer gives a devastating performance in Mel’s last moments as she begs Ellie to cut her open and try to save her baby. Ellie just kind of sits there holding her knife in shock over the fact that Mel was pregnant and she just killed her until Jesse and Tommy come rushing in. Tommy immediately goes to her, holding her and helping her up, while Jesse stares at the carnage for a moment after they leave. Even though he doesn’t say anything, it seems like he’s shaken up too – like he’s staring at himself and Dina if they don’t get out of Seattle soon. They get back to the theater and Ellie finally seems ready to leave. Whether it’s the shock of what she just did to Owen and Mel, her near death experience with the Seraphites, or the fact that her leads to find Abby have simply dried up isn’t fully clear, but at least she’s starting to recognize how dangerous it is for everyone else she cares about if they stay. Tommy tries to calm Ellie’s fears, he reassures her that Owen and Mel were still complicit in Joel’s death even if they didn’t hold the golf club themselves, and then leaves her and Jesse to try and reconcile. Ellie thanks Jesse for coming back for her and the two have a heart to heart. Despite their differences, Jesse knows that Ellie would set the world on fire to save him. Their moment is unfortunately short-lived when they hear a commotion in the lobby. They rush out and Jesse is immediately shot dead. We then see Abby for the first time since she killed Joel, now standing over Tommy pointing a gun at his head. Ellie pleads with her, telling her that she’s the one that she wants. There’s true fear in Ellie’s eyes as she worries that Abby will kill more people that she loves, more of her community. Abby then says to Ellie with an intense ferocity, “I let you live. I let you live, and you wasted it,” before turning her gun to Ellie. The screen goes black as we hear a gunshot in the background, not knowing who fired the gun nor who was potentially hit. The episode then goes back in time, taking us to the start of Abby’s journey these last few days. Some may feel like this ending is odd or abrupt, but given how The Last of Us Part II’s story is split up between the two protagonists, Ellie and Abby, and the fact that this season only had seven episodes, this is arguably the best place to end season 2 and a great way to tease what’s to come in season 3. It may not feel as concise as season 1’s ending, but that’s because season 1 had a clear beginning and end to the story. The source material for season 2 is a lot heftier and there’s plenty more of The Last of Us Part II left to be adapted for the show. This episode is a great way to effectively end Ellie’s Seattle arc and this chapter of the story while preparing the audience for next season to shift gears, and protagonists. Hopefully fans of the show will keep an open mind as we prepare to see Abby’s side of the story next season. I know I’ll be seated and ready whenever that time comes. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! All seven episodes of The Last of Us season 2 are available to stream on (soon-to-be HBO) Max now. Learn more about Den of Geek’s review process and why you can trust our recommendations here.

[Ed. note: This story contains major spoilers through The Last of Us season 2 finale.] By now, it’s hopefully not much of a spoiler to know that gaming’s gruffest dad suffers an untimely death early on in the latest season of HBO’s The Last of Us. You’d think, like the games, that this would mean the end of Joel as a character in the show. But according to the showrunners, you can’t rule it out entirely. In a press event held late last week, showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin sat down for an hour to talk shop about the season 2 finale of The Last of Us. During the Q&A portion of the event, Druckmann and Mazin were asked if the show would ever explore the events between the death of Joel’s daughter Sarah and the time period before he meets Ellie. While the duo initially demurred, both conceded that it wasn’t out of the question in its entirety. “It’s always good to leave some things a mystery, to let the audience use their imagination to fill in the blanks,” Druckmann says. “Obviously, every once in a while, we tap into those mysteries when they’re important for the story we’re telling here. So, I guess, never say never.” Mazin repeated that they’d “never” say the show wouldn’t explore more of Joel, but in the case of season 2, going down that narrative path was a complicated proposition. “And this season was tricky because it was so driven by this traumatic event: Joel dies,” Mazin muses. “And once Joel dies, it is so big and impactful that you don’t have quite as much room to sort of wander down some side streets, you really need to stick to what happens as a result of that, as well as what happened leading up to it. “But I think next season, we probably will have a bit more flexibility. And you know, we love a side trip to Indonesia, it’s one of our favorite things to do, so maybe- maybe a side trip to, you know, Joel and Tommy terrorizing the countryside, we’ll never know.” Druckman chimed in by stating that they never would have guessed that the show would end up exploring Joel’s childhood, as it did in episode 6 of season 2. “You can’t predict these things,” Druckmann says. This sentiment was echoed later by Mazin when discussing the topic of what’s going to happen in season 3. “I’m experienced enough to know that two weeks from now we may have a different idea of how it should go,” Mazin says. “All I can say is we haven’t seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever and we haven’t seen the last of Bella Ramsey, and we haven’t seen the last of Isabela Merced, and we haven’t seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story.” It’s worth noting that in real life, the cast of The Last of Us already held a “wrap” party for Joel’s actor, Pedro Pascal. You might have already seen footage of Pascal celebrating by dancing with what appears to be a giant rainbow glow stick. To some, this may read as if Pascal’s time on The Last of Us is done. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Capital Buzz (@capitalbuzz) But more Joel wouldn’t necessarily mean that the show brings Pedro Pascal back into the mix. Theoretically, the writers could depict a younger Joel with a different actor, as it did when it depicted Joel as a teen. For now, all we know is that season three will likely place the focus more on Abby to mirror the perspective changes found all throughout the game. The season 2 finale ends with Abby overlooking an enormous Wolf base in Seattle, after all.

The Last of Us season two wraps with episode seven, but was it a satisfying finale? Fun-gal and games. Image credit: HBO Feature by Victoria Phillips Kennedy News Reporter Published on May 26, 2025 The Last of Us' second season has now come to an end, with a gritty episode which delved further into the themes of grief and revenge. Please note, there will be spoilers for The Last of Us - both the show and the game - below. Image credit: HBO I never thought this last episode of The Last of Us season two was going to be easy to pull off. The showrunners delivered a moving episode last week, which, while a great watch, staggered the current day's momentum. And, unfortunately, I don't feel the series gained enough of that momentum back in season two's seventh episode to make for a truly great finale. The finale is not quite 50 minutes long, picking up after the main events of episode five. Jesse is with a wounded Dina in the theatre, where he proceeds to remove the arrow from her leg. Dina tells him she can't die, and also refuses to drink any alcohol, rousing his suspicions that there is something more she isn't telling him. A short time later, Ellie arrives back at the theatre, following her confrontation with Nora. It is clear that this Ellie is a very different person from the Ellie we saw in season one, who after beating David to death was unable to contain her emotions despite her actions in that moment saving her life. She was distressed, crying and shaking. After Ellie beats Nora in Seattle, though, she is almost numb. She does not lash out, but rather stares vacantly as Dina tends to her wounds, calmly saying how she made Nora talk. The Ellie we once knew is fading away. Image credit: HBO The dynamic between Ellie, Dina, and Jesse during the season two finale is a high point of the episode. The three young actors each show an earnestness in their performances. When Ellie tells Isabela Merced's Dina what Joel did at the Firefly hospital, Dina firmly says they need to leave Seattle. They need to go home (this does water down her speach about revenge from earlier in the season, though, it has to be said). Young Mazino's Jesse, meanwhile, serves as the level-headed, parental voice of reason, taking on a role well beyond his years as he rallies the team to find Tommy before they leave Seattle. Lastly, Bella Ramsey continues to deliver a tenacious performance as Ellie. I particularly liked the scene between Ellie and Jesse in the bookshop. Here, Jesse admits that he not only once considered leaving Jackson to be with a woman he had fallen in love with, but that he had voted not to go after Abby during the council meeting several episodes earlier. Jesse does not patronise Ellie here. Instead, he is calm and collected. He explains his reasons, stating that Jackson's community is what's important to him. He acts for the greater good, even if that means sacrificing his personal happiness. He is a natural and capable leader, something that highlights Ellie's increasingly warped sense of reality and scrappiness. Unfortunately though, Jesse's sound words are not enough to get through to Ellie, who sees an opportunity to find Abby, and takes it, even though she promised to go home. And, from here on, the season finale begins to struggle. Image credit: HBO Ellie separates from Dina and Jesse to find Abby, and on her way comes across Seraphites, as well as Mel and Owen. But, while these scenes do pack a punch - seeing Ellie getting hoisted by the neck by the Seraphites is certainly not an easy watch - they don't get enough time to stand on their own and really make an impact on the viewer. The confrontation with the Serphites in the woods is a footnote on Ellie's way to the aquarium. Did it really need to be there? For Ellie's story, I really don't think it did. I appreciate there is the war between the WLF and the Serpaphites ticking along in the background of this episode, but I have played the games. I know what the showrunners are building up to with the WLF and the Seraphites in the background, but if someone doesn't know the source material already, I wonder if these moments - including the one between Isaac and Park at a WLF camp - may fall a little flat due to their lack of clear direction. The Last of Us season two's finale teased events beyond Ellie and Dina, but given viewers will have to wait (potentially) a couple of years to find out what these story scraps all mean, are they actually worth it? | Image credit: HBO Then there is that confrontation between Ellie, Mel and Owen. I say confrontation, but actually the show changes some narrative points here, and I think this is to the detriment of the story. In the show, Ellie shoots Owen in the throat, killing him. Meanwhile, a rogue piece of detritus from the shot lodges itself in Mel's neck, wounding her enough that her death is inevitable. So, Mel's death was accidental. I don't think it should have been. In the game, Ellie knows what she is doing as she kills Mel, and I wish the series had committed to making Ellie's killing spree, which continues to show her downward spiral on her quest for revenge, intentional. I will say this, though. The moment it is revealed that Mel is pregnant is certainly a harrowing one, and Ariela Barer does a brilliant job bringing emotion to Mel's death as she reaches out to Ellie in a bid to save her unborn child. I wish Ellie had been stronger here. Ellie is clearly upset by the accident which led to Mel's death, and is deeply affected at the realisation that Mel is pregnant. Of course, it reflects Dina's pregnancy. And yet, when in her dying moments Mel asks Ellie if her baby is OK, Ellie can't even muster a small lie to ease her passing. She just stays silent. Changes like making Mel's death accidental dilute the impact of The Last of Us Part 2's story. I feel the show made Ellie seem quite infantile here, when really by this moment in the game we are starting to see the real darkness in Ellie, which makes the player further question if her bloody quest for revenge is actually justifiable any more. Meanwhile, although I can not fault the actors who continue to deliver some truly outstanding performances, any impact this moment may have had on viewers is over too quickly. Jesse and Tommy arrive to see Ellie looking distressed, and swiftly remove both her and, by extension, the viewers from the scene. It's uncomfortable, but it would have benefited the story to let us all sit in that moment for longer, to allow the reality of it all to nestle in. Image credit: HBO The rest of the episode continues to happen at breakneck speed, and while she doesn't get much screen time, Kaitlyn Dever steals the scene with Abby's return, making a big impression very quickly. Prior to the season two's debut, there was much chatter about Dever being physically very different from her in-game counterpart. But, while smaller in build, there is no doubting Abby's capabilities in the show. She means business, and while Ellie's kills have often been messy and lacking finesse, it is clear Abby has military training and a steady resolve. The show ends with a cliffhanger, with Jesse dead Abby shoots at Ellie before we cut back to Abby at the WLF base in Seattle. "Day One," the screen teases. Now, we are going to hear Abby's side of the story. It is an interesting set up, for sure. But, again, I worry how those who have not played the games will feel about season two ending this way. Has the show done enough to pull viewers back for season three, which is still potentially several years away, where the focus will be on a character we have actually spent very little time with? Image credit: HBO The second season of The Last of Us has been uneven. There is no doubting the production value behind the season, and the actors have all done a phenomenal job bringing Naughty Dog's characters to life for TV. Merced's Dina has been a particular highlight this season and, along with Mazino, has been a brilliant addition to the cast. But, despite these great performances, the story has felt both too slow and too rushed. Episodes such as the series' second instalment offered plenty of action, but then episodes such as the fifth and today's finale felt more like a patchwork of convenient and sometimes rather dull moments, all dashing to an all-too-quick conclusion. Spores, for example, only showed up once to serve Nora's death. It would have been good to have seen them at least one more during the season to make their introduction feel less contrived. Image credit: HBO Saying that, though, I am genuinely looking forward to season three, which was confirmed earlier this year. Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have an interesting journey ahead of them, and I am curious to see how they will continue to evolve and adapt The Last of Us Part 2 for TV. Before I go, I will give season two credit for something extra, though - I am so glad we didn't have to see Ellie kill a dog (also, thank you Jesse for confirming Shimmer is actually OK, despite seemingly being forgotten about Ellie and Dina). She lives! | Image credit: HBO And with that, that's a wrap on The Last of Us season two. Thank you for joining me each week to discuss the episodes as they happen. Until next time, keep looking for the light!

Following last week’s sojourn to the past, the season 2 finale of The Last of Us throws us right back into the aftermath of Ellie killing Nora. If there were any doubt that her innocence has been lost, Ellie’s conversation with Dina this week confirms it. She’s numb, looking blankly into a mirror and not quite recognising who she sees in the reflection. It’s in stark contrast to the last time we saw Ellie commit such violence: in season one, when her emotions burst forth after fighting off David. Back then, she could collapse into Joel’s arms. But now she’s the protector, looking after Dina and the child she’s carrying. At least she’s the protector in theory. Because little of what Ellie decides to do next reflects that outlook.Instead, it's Jesse who must act like the responsible adult, despite barely being older than Ellie or Dina. His words of warning fall on deaf ears, as Ellie refuses to see how her mission is bringing down everyone around her. It culminates in a lesson in selflessness at a Seattle bookstore in which Jesse finally admits that he voted against going after Abby in episode 3. Young Mazino is fantastic in this moment of revelation, bringing a much-needed level of maturity and level-headedness, without ever patronising Ellie. Jesse knows her too well to know she won’t react well to being told what to do, so he gently nudges her in the right direction. Sadly, she chooses a different path.PlayEllie’s choice between avenging those she’s lost or retreating back to Jackson with those who remain echoes her decision way back in episode 2. On that Wyoming mountain, she opted to follow her heart and go after Joel, rather than helping the greater Jackson community fight the flames and infected. You’d think her journey since would’ve been an eye-opening one, but it’s clear she hasn’t learned her lesson, as the ever-strong fuel of love and hate dominate her decision making, and seemingly always will. Bella Ramsey is great in this rooftop confrontation with Jesse, displaying a sternness and personality that far outsize their stature.The dynamic between Ellie, Dina, and Jesse makes for a strong first half to the episode, but I feel the rest of the finale loses its way. We barrel along towards its horrifying centerpiece: the murders of Mel and Owen. The realisation that Mel is pregnant is undoubtedly a real sickener, compounded further by Dina’s situation and Ellie flicking through the pages of a children's book only minutes prior. But I find the choice to make her death accidental a curious one. What’s meant to represent the lowest Ellie will sink in her quest for revenge is reduced to a tragic mishap.Another example of this adaptation pulling its punches when it comes to moments of pure violence, numbing the impact of the story as a result.“We’re made to feel some sympathy for Ellie in the show’s version of this event, when really, it should be the point at which we fear her most. She should feel like a lost cause, not like a lost child stumbling into a horror movie. She can’t lie like Joel could. Not even a little white one to put Mel at ease. This moment acts in fantastic concert with the story of Eugene in last week’s episode, but it’s just nowhere near as effective in its overall execution, and another example of this adaptation pulling its punches when it comes to moments of pure violence, numbing the impact of the story as a result.Bella Ramsey is astonishing in their display of Ellie’s despair, but the scene is harmed by the speed at which their character finds herself in this situation. The episode darts from one location and set of characters to another across its final 20 minutes. We see Isaac’s armada setting off into the night, with their intentions unknown. He fully expects to die tonight, but where are they going? It’s a mystery for another time (unless you’ve played The Last of Us Part 2, of course). The moving pieces and distance covered can be a little disorientating, especially if you’re not already familiar with the game’s plot and narrative devices. We barely know Isaac, and barely know any of the people Ellie will kill. Oh, and we even see her washed up on an island before almost being dispatched with in a uniquely Seraphite manner, only to be saved by a distant alarm. It’s all over in the blink of an eye, and it feels like one too many ingredients have been tossed into the mix as we’re thrown around like Ellie in the choppy Pacific waters.We’re getting scraps of a story here, including that almost-hanging. The problem is, this is TV and viewers will have to wait many months, if not years, to see the gaps filled in, rather than the half dozen hours of game that follow in The Last of Us Part 2. I admire the decision to stick to this structure, although I do feel the main effect of the dual perspectives was to hold the reveal of Abby’s motive until the halfway point – a revelation granted to us only two episodes into this season. I wonder how much impact seeing her perspective will have when our hatred for her hasn’t been built up in quite the same way.Even Jesse’s death is done too quickly, barely giving us a moment to sit with it before the clock rewinds. Ultimately, it’s a tough one, because it’s hard to judge just how successful this part of the story is without a third season for context. A barely half-told story is hard to evaluate, but the decision to let the viewers know that we’re following the same structure as the source material is a smart one. A smash cut to black following Abby’s arrival would’ve been tantilising, but I think even more bewildering for an audience not familiar with where this story goes. Rewinding time teases a whole new side to this story, one seen through the eyes of characters we’re just getting acquainted with – and without the performances of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey to anchor it. I’m fascinated by the prospect, and eager to see Druckmann and Mazin contend with the challenge it presents.

The Last Of Us season 2 was a mixed bag and I’m worried about season 3 Adam Starkey Published May 26, 2025 1:00am The performances are still the show’s biggest asset (HBO) The second season of The Last Of Us has been defined by growing pains, but its shortcomings highlight the narrative benefits of video games over TV. After the first episode, I celebrated The Last Of Us season two’s initial changes from the game. Instead of the largely redundant retread of season one, fans of the source material this time had something to chew on beyond just live action novelty. How will the story work when Abby’s motivation is revealed so early? What is the significance of new characters like Gail? And why is Joel now the person who killed Eugene?  Following the rushed finale, the wish for these changes has become a classic monkey’s paw scenario. For every positive (and there are still many), an odd or unsatisfying choice has been lurking around the corner – to the point where I now think this story, structurally and in its emotional impact, simply works better as a video game. Let’s start with the positives. After having some concern around whether Bella Ramsey could sell an older, more intimidating version of Ellie, these were mostly quashed during Ellie’s torture of Nora – for my money, the most effective, and harrowing, scene of the season. The show could do a better job of making Ramsey look older (it’s easy to forget a five year time jump has happened) but Ellie’s descent is hitting all the right, chilling notes. Elsewhere, Kaitlyn Dever makes a big impression as Abby. despite having little screen time, and Jesse, played by Young Mazino, works far better here as a mirror to Ellie’s warped sense of morality. The difficulty in portraying the latter is something the show is clearly wrestling with, and some of the changes in the HBO adaptation range from positive to perplexing. In the finale, pregnant Mel’s death is an accidental casualty of Ellie’s shoot-out with Owen instead of a venomous stab to the throat – a decision which helps make Ellie less of an irredeemable monster in her thirst for vengeance.  This alteration to keep you on Ellie’s side, however, is undercut by choices elsewhere. In the show, it’s explicitly spelled out that she knows Joel killed Abby’s father – a note which was left somewhat ambiguous in the game. This could have been left as a heartbreaking realisation for Ellie, when she finally confronts Abby – the wake-up call where she discovers they’re both locked in the same cycle of hate at the expense of their loved ones. But now Ellie is still actively chasing Abby, and killing her friends, despite having this context. I don’t like to pick sides between vengeful murderers, but it doesn’t take an arbiter of morality to see the lesser of two evils here.  Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby will be the focus of season three (HBO) This decision might be why the pivotal flashback between Joel and Ellie, which comes at the end of the game and recontextualises her unrelenting desire for revenge, was pushed to an earlier spot. However, this choice has its own issues. Sure, audiences might better understand Ellie’s inconsiderate willingness to put others at risk to avenge Joel, but in terms of narrative twists, this story has no big cards left to play – unless the TV show has something new planned, for future seasons.  Between these reshuffled scenes, along with Joel’s more overtly evil characterisation, as someone who lied to Ellie again (!) and killed Eugene before he got his final wish, there’s a clumsiness in this season which has lessened some of the nuance. We might have a clearer sense of all the characters at play, but it’s made the show feel more flat as a result.  As such, the prospect of season three being focused on Abby’s story isn’t as enticing as it should be. The idea of pivoting the show’s cast and focus over an entire season is intriguing, as an unusual experiment in the realm of TV, but I don’t know what shocks or revelations it can deliver now we know Abby’s motivations at the outset.  If the next season does build up to the theatre confrontation with Ellie, albeit from Abby’s perspective, I’m not convinced TV audiences will have the same patience in waiting to see what happens next. This pivot was sustained in the game because the initial novelty was supported by the same gameplay loop, but when you’re relying on the narrative to keep the momentum going, a prolonged clock rewind is a much harsher buzzkill for the pace. More Trending I’m curious how this season has landed with people who aren’t familiar with the games, but the show’s shortcomings, from my perspective, represent the benefits of video game storytelling over non-interactive entertainment. Joel’s death hits a lot harder after you’ve been fighting for survival in his shoes for hours beforehand, while the themes of cyclical violence strike a stronger chord when you’re the one firing the gun against all the very familar ‘enemies’.  The length of The Last Of Us Part 2 does undermine these qualities, and it’s far from perfect overall, but structurally the perspective shift forces you into positions designed to make players uncomfortable, notably in the fights between Ellie and Abby.  When you learn Abby’s side of the story, you don’t want to slash at her with a knife, or mash a button to strangle her throat. Every stab and punch lands with greater significance, and it’s an unsettling payoff which feels unique to video games – a medium where violence is rarely ever questioned or utilised for any other purpose outside of inconsequential thrills.  This is the magic of The Last Of Us Part 2 and a TV adaptation, no matter how much it alters or reshapes the narrative, cannot replicate these strengths as effectively. It doesn’t necessarily have to, but without these unique interactive qualities the biggest challenge for the TV show is what it can offer instead. Based on this season, the only answer seems to be the novelty of live action itself. Young Mazino’s Jesse is a surprise highlight (HBO) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. 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The Last of UsByKenneth ShepardPublished6 hours agoWe may earn a commission from links on this page.Image: HBOOne of the best scenes in The Last of Us’ second season came in this week’s sixth episode, with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) taking a trip to an abandoned museum. It’s a beautiful moment that is ripped right out of the Last of Us Part II video game, and the show does it justice. But fans who have played the game will know that this segment had a bit more to it originally. It’s only natural that the TV show, with its shorter run time, would have to cut some scenes down, but the wild thing is that it looks like HBO actually shot the rest of the segment and just didn’t use it in the final edit.Suggested ReadingNintendo Switch 2 Price Is Set at $450 for Now, But Could Go Higher Share SubtitlesOffEnglishSuggested ReadingNintendo Switch 2 Price Is Set at $450 for Now, But Could Go Higher Share SubtitlesOffEnglishNintendo Switch 2 Price Is Set at $450 for Now, But Could Go HigherThis section of the game depicts Ellie’s 16th birthday. Joel knows she has a fixation on space and dinosaurs, so what better way to make her big day one to remember than by taking her to a museum that spotlights both? In the game you find a huge dinosaur exhibit on the bottom floor, and after you’ve explored that one, there’s another section dedicated to space travel waiting for you upstairs. Ellie is ecstatic exploring both floors, with the highlight being when she enters a spacecraft and listens to a recording of a pre-apocalyptic NASA launch so she can imagine what it might’ve been like to get off this ruined rock. It’s an incredibly sweet moment sandwiched between a lot of violence and heartache.Naughty Dog / CINEMATIC GAMINGThe show, meanwhile, only has one of these floors. We see Joel and Ellie mess around with a solar system diorama and pretend to be astronauts, but we miss the section where Ellie spouts off cool dinosaur facts and puts a hat on their skeletons. Ultimately, if you have to pick one or the other, the spaceship is the more important moment and the one worth showing the TV audience. But, wildly enough, it looks like Pascal and Ramsey shot scenes on a recreation of the dinosaur floor that never made their way into the episode. In the behind-the-scenes featurette for the episode, we can see footage of the actors and crew on the dinosaur floor, complete with all the overgrowth, grit, and grime you’d expect in a place that has been mostly abandoned for decades.MaxFans are sad to see the set but none of the scenes that took place in it. Maybe we’ll see some deleted scenes in the special features whenever the season two box set is released. Who among us doesn’t want to see Ramsey putting a cowboy hat on Pascal as he grimaces and lightly protests? Don’t deny me this, HBO.The Last of Us has one more episode this season, but it won’t be the end of the show’s take on The Last of Us Part II’s story, as HBO is stretching it out across multiple seasons.