The Last Of Us Season 2: Episode 1 (Future Days) 7 Ups & 3 Downs

And with that, one of the most anticipated TV returns in recent years is in the books. After a two-year gap, The Last of Us has kicked off its sophomore season with 'Future Days'.

It's a tough spot to be in, because there was always going to be huge anticipation for the long-awaited next chapter in the story, but with a five-year gap, new plot lines and characters to introduce, and building blocks to lay down, it was always going to be something of a slow burner. Certainly not the explosive start that season one enjoyed.

However, what audiences were given in their return to Jackson was a solid if unspectacular episode that sets the scene for the remaining six to come. There was action, certainly, but this was more about moving certain chess pieces into place, something that subsequent episodes should benefit from.

That being said, there was a lot to enjoy about The Last of Us' return, even if no one will ever call it their favourite episode. Let's start with the Downs, though, some of which are minor, but Downs nonetheless. Needless to say, heavy spoilers for this episode to follow...

The first season of The Last of Us was applauded for staying so true to the video game from which it was adapted. Sure, there were some minor detail changes here and there, some stories and characters were further expanded or left behind, but largely the main beats of the story were present.

With such an outstanding source material to draw from, why would the showrunners look to do anything different? Well, episode one of season two has already planted the seeds to potentially stray away from The Last of Us Part II.

There were a couple of huge moments in 'Future Days' that could lead the story astray, from Ellie (Bella Ramsay) being bitten by the infected woman in the supermarket, to Cordyceps seemingly finding its way within the gates of Jackson. There are always going to be changes when a video game is adapted, and it's important not to get too hung up on them as the show is its own entity and, as such, will have differences, but these could be the wrong kind of differences.

This is very much a tentative Down that could be proven wrong over the coming weeks and episodes, and hopefully so, but for right now it feels as though these changes may take away from the story rather than improve it.