The Last of Us season two is coming, and it’s going to be brutal. Fans of the acclaimed game franchise of the HBO series is based on know exactly where the story is going, and exactly how much pain the characters will go through.
Season one of The Last of Us focuses on Joel (Pedro Pascal) a hard-bitten survivor of the zombie apocalypse. (This isn’t your typical zombie apocalypse, by the way – these are mutant mushroom zombies). He’s hired to smuggle an infection-immune young girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to safety, and along the way he comes to see her as his own daughter. This relationship leads to tragedy later on.
So that should convince you that this TV show isn’t meant for little kids! But what about older teens? Well, there’s lots of great discussions to be sparked when you watch The Last of Us with teenagers… if you want to let them watch it, of course.
The Last of Us season one is rated R
Let’s take a look at how The Last of Us earned its R rating
Sex and nudity: Most of the sex and nudity (no full-frontal nudity) comes in the critically acclaimed third episode of the show, “Long, Long Time.” This episode focuses on the character of Bill (Nick Offerman) and how he meets and falls in love with his partner Frank (Murray Bartlett) while trying to live a solitary life in the apocalypse. We see Bill and Frank just about to have sex, but not actually having sex.
Later on, the character of David (Scott Shepherd) transpires to be a pedophile with sexual designs on Ellie. When he attacks her, she stabs him to death.
Violence and gore: There is a lot of violence and gore in The Last of Us season one, something that’s bound to continue into the next season as well. It’s not just a case of zombies attacking humans, humans attack other humans as well, with horrific results. At one point Ellie encounters a cannibal group and little is left to the imagination about their “meat.”
Language: Pretty much all of the characters swear, including the 14-year-Ellie.
Drinking and drugs: Characters drink and drug dealing are referenced.
Frightening or intense scenes: Every episode has not one but multiple frightening and intense scenes. Even child characters are infected or killed during this show. Episode one sees the death of Joel’s daughter, and episode five sees the death of an infected child and the suicide of his older brother. Episode eight is one of the most intense and bloody episodes, as Ellie goes up against the cannibalistic pedophile David, who uses religion to motivate his followers.
If you make it to the end of The Last of Us with your teen, the ending raises a question that may not have an answer. Was Joel right to refuse to sacrifice Ellie for the good of the world? It’s a debate that Last of Us fans have been having ever since the first game came out, and Joel’s actions in the season one finale shape his and Ellie’s fates in season two.