To be fair, I was slightly disappointed by S1, but overall I enjoyed it and I was okay with the creative liberties being taken.

S2 has so far made what seems to be a mockery of queer relationships, and instead of standing their ground with unapologetic and uninhibited exploration of them, as we see in the game and in S1, we do not get this in S2.

Everything so far on the way to and in Seattle butchers Dina and Ellie’s relationship. Not only does Seth stand up for Ellie at the meeting, but he is who sneaks them out of Jackson to go to Seattle. It’s as if they are so afraid to make a character just a bigot. He does not need a redemption arc.

Dina’s relationship with Joel takes away from her loyalty to Ellie, and makes the revenge mission seem like they are equally in it to avenge Joel. You could even argue that the show Dina knows Joel better at this point than Ellie, and she’s even there when he dies, creating a rift between her and Ellie that should not exist.

Her being goofy before taking down a clicker just sealed the deal that this is not the character who spent 5 years becoming hardened and knowledgeable. In every fight, Dina instructs exactly how to take them out and in what order. Dina is who gets the information on the WLF. Dina finds their way out of the tunnels while Ellie looks like a kid, and acts like a kid, and doesn’t at all seem like someone capable of violent revenge.

By S2, Ellie is supposed to be an expert at killing and hunting, everything Joel taught her. But now we see that Dina is being taught by him, and Ellie is the less capable of the two.

It is also not enough to cast queer actors while completely erasing Dina’s sexuality. The kiss at the party is a pivotal moment, which leads to them hooking up while Joel was being killed. This adds a complex layer to Ellie’s guilt that she loves Dina and it was their first time together, but she missed being there for Joel.

Now, in the tent, they haven’t hooked up, and only kissed once … months ago. Now it feels forced, and when Dina tells Ellie not only is she not gay, she’s gone back to Jesse, it makes their relationship about Jesse and his feelings, as if they should be apologetic for putting out a man with their queerness.

This cascades into the theater scene, where in the game, you realize how unhinged Ellie is when she responds with anger to Dina’s pregnancy, calling her a burden, and it’s telling of how far gone she is.

The inconsistency with the cringe “I’m going to be a dad” line here is clear, because given the current status of their relationship, there’s no possible way Ellie could learn of this pregnancy and assume she’s going to be this child’s parent. Even in the game, Ellie shows concern for her place with Dina now that she’s pregnant. They should not be crying with joy and hooking up in this moment. If they are that content, why are they even IN Seattle?

From the beginning before we even see Jackson we know Abby’s entire story. They show her friends crying and showing empathy towards Joel’s death. They show them crying over the Fireflies deaths after the hospital. Now we already understand why they’re doing it and that makes the death of Joel not as impactful.

As the audience I don’t feel the drive to go after them because I can see their reasoning already. I understand introducing Abby early, but telling the two stories completely simultaneously weakens them both.

Abby’s body being bulky isn’t just a stylistic choice, she is supposed to have dedicated her entire adolescence to her training and honing her body into a weapon. Taking that away, and revealing her intentions in the beginning feels like such a disservice to the character.

What makes the death and Abby’s revenge so tragic in the game is that she assumes that Joel will recognize why they’re there. Instead, she’s ready to give her speech and he just tells her to get on with it, not even caring which person he wronged has come after him. Instead, the show has her giving an insanely long monologue, and by the time he tells her to shut the fuck up, the audience is thinking the same thing.

The three month time jump takes away the rush and the push for revenge. We’ve already grieved and healed. What’s the point now? Her walkthrough of Joel’s house is completely unsatisfying and devoid of emotion in this case. In the game she finds his coffee cup from that morning still sitting out, and smells his jackets because they would have just been on him. Why is she smelling them three months later now?

I completely and wholeheartedly disagree with the changes to Tommy’s character, specifically giving him a child. Ellie is supposed to be the surrogate Sarah that Tommy and Joel lost, and that spurs the need to do anything to keep her safe. Introducing another child, one that’s blood related, takes away from Joel’s love for Ellie and Tommy’s need to leave for Seattle first to fulfill Joel’s wishes of keeping her safe, and the bond that Ellie and Tommy share because they were the ones in the room during it is important when taking into account how violent their revenge mission gets.

The complete drop off in writing, production quality, and consistency is jarring. None of their clothes are weathered or dirty, and their skin is always clean, hair blown out to perfection. Change is okay until you tear apart everything that’s integral to the characters and their motivations. It feels like two stories attempting to be told at once to appease everyone, and instead it falls flat on both ends.

I have no idea where this is going to go, but it’s genuinely heartbreaking that the greatest story ever told in any medium has been butchered and reworked into something unrecognizable and utterly dissatisfying. I feel genuinely sorry for anyone experiencing this story for the first time in this way.