You Probably Missed the Real Reason Jackson Was Doomed in The Last of Us

In episode one of the new season, Ellie gets bit (again) while fighting a stalker in an abandoned supermarket. Naturally, because she doesn't want anyone to know she is immune, She tries to hide the bite. She cuts it open with a knife to disguise the mark, and then rinses the knife in the sink. The blood washes down the drain, and that’s where the camera lingers. The water swirls, red and infected, into the pipes of Jackson. It’s never spelled out, never underlined, but come on. That shot is doing a LOT of work. That’s not just a cool visual. That’s Ellie introducing the fungus into the safe zone, unknowingly, but undeniably. And at the end of the episode, what do you know - we see red, fungal tendrils reaching out from a broken drain pipe.  

Now jump to episode two. Abby, obsessed with finding Joel, makes a reckless decision to venture out alone. She falls down a steep hill, crashing into the middle of a dormant horde. There is a moment of quiet tension, will the horde stay dormant? Is she in danger? but sure enough - she wakes it up. Again, just like with the sink, The visual tells the story - The snow starts draining down and out come hundreds of infected. Her obsession led her straight into a hornet’s nest, and she kicked it.

Now consider this: Ellie and Abby don’t just accidentally trigger two separate dangers. They mirror each other. Ellie brings the infection inside Jackson. Abby wakes it up outside Jackson. One is internal rot. The other is external pressure. And together, they form a perfect storm. The two characters don’t meet yet. They’re not even aware of each other. But the story is already showing us that they are two halves of the same narrative. These are two direct reaction to one traumatic moment - Joel's decision at the end of the first season - One is internal festering, the other is bubbling rage. Both are closing in on Joel and everyone he loves.

And if that isn’t just brilliant writing, I don’t know what is.

This is why I keep saying Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are operating on another level. These are the kinds of details you don’t catch until your second watch. Maybe not even then. It’s subtle, but it recontextualizes the entire arc of the season. This isn’t just a story about two characters caught in the same apocalypse. It’s a story about guilt, about consequence, and about the invisible ripples of our decisions.

Ellie’s sin is hiding the truth. She tries to bury things - her trauma, her bite, her guilt. And that secrecy literally infects the safe space she’s trying to protect. Abby’s sin is obsession. Her refusal to let go of revenge leads her straight into danger, and that danger affects everyone around her.

Fungus in the drain. Horde in the snow. These aren’t just cool set pieces. They’re metaphors.

And the show trusts us to put that together.

It’s honestly kind of refreshing to see a story that doesn’t beat you over the head with its themes. We’ve gotten so used to exposition dumps and on-the-nose writing that we forget how powerful subtlety can be. This is storytelling that respects its audience. And it’s absolutely packed with these little echoes and reflections. It rewards you for paying attention.

So yes, The Last of Us season 2 is already excellent. But it’s not just excellent because it looks good or has strong performances. It’s excellent because it knows what it’s doing. Every scene, every line, every cut has a purpose.

You might have thought the first two episodes were just setting the table.

Turns out, they were already serving the first and second course, I can't wait for the main one.