The Beginning of the Finale Episode for ‘The Last of Us’ Season One is More Symbolic Than You Can Ever Conceive

Time seemed to fly by as we were plunged into a deep pool of emotional trauma week after week, but thankfully the season one finale of The Last of Us has arrived and left us with its last searing impression before it disappears behind the scenes for production on its second season.

In the episode “Look for the Light,” viewers were treated to an intense, thought-provoking cold opening featuring a pregnant woman named Anna – who later is revealed as Ellie’s mother. Not only did this backstory provide us with insight into how exactly Ellie contracted her infection, there was also an undeniable level of symbolism present throughout in a more abstract sense.

Ashley Johnson, originally known for her incredible portrayal of Ellie in the iconic video game The Last Of Us more than a decade ago, put an immense amount of effort into developing Anna’s character. Her hard work is evident through Bella Ramsey‘s fantastic performance as Anna!

People who are familiar with the source game would have been deeply moved by Johnson’s performance, as she delivered her lines and actions in a way that was entirely true to Ellie from the video game. For this particular audience, it felt almost like having two Ellies onscreen at once!

Last week, the original Joel actor from The Last of Us video game, Troy Baker, made a stunning transition to live-action. Of course, he wasn’t alone in doing so as Johnson also gained acclaim for his portrayal.

You can now catch all nine episodes of The Last of Us season one on HBO Max.