How “Yellowjackets” Season 3 Brings Human Sacrifice into the Modern Age [Spoilers]

Warning: This article contains spoilers for this week’s episode of “The Last of Us,” which is available now to stream on Max.

The long wait is over, and Season 2 of “The Last of Us” has arrived, hopping ahead five years after the events of the first season. Before it does, a recap reminds us where we last left off, with Joel (Pedro Pascal) making the fateful choice to save Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from certain death in the Fireflies’ secret lab in Utah.

The bond he’d forged with the vulnerable teen on their journey there developed into a deep familial relationship, resulting in Joel putting Ellie’s life ahead of, potentially, all of humanity. It’s a decision that left a trail of bodies in Joel’s wake; he killed both to retrieve her safely and ensure no one would follow. When Ellie came to, Joel placated her survivor’s guilt with lies that the hospital was laid siege by raiders after the Fireflies had already failed to develop a cure from others like her.

It’s a grim moral path that hangs over the series as Season 2 begins, with the consequences of Joel’s actions being set in motion, all while the premiere reintroduces the lead characters as they’ve since settled into the cozy Jackson, Wyoming community after leaving Utah. 

The packed season premiere focuses on life within the Jackson community, where tension bubbles just beneath the surface of an idyllic life. There’s also the cordyceps infection that’s still free to spread rampantly with no cure in sight, thanks to Joel, beyond Jackson’s fortified walls. 

Here are five of the biggest takeaways from “The Last of Us” Season 2 premiere.

 Joel and Ellie’s Estrangement

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

The first noticeable shift in Season 2 comes early; the strong bond Joel and Ellie developed in the first season has curdled. The pair are no longer on speaking terms by Ellie’s choice, much to Joel’s chagrin, and she’s moved out of the home they share and into the garage to keep him at arm’s length. The premiere doesn’t spell out the cause behind their rift, though doles out enough clues to indicate that life was rosy in Jackson until the falling out.

That includes the introduction to Dina (Isabela Merced), an upbeat teen close to both Ellie and Joel. Dina’s closeness with both makes her, at least for now, a liaison of sorts between the estranged father-daughter duo; though she’s closer with Ellie. It’s through Dina’s friendship with Ellie that the latter finally settles more into the community, while Joel finds himself reeling from the estrangement and residual guilt.

So much so that he’s taken to seeing the community’s resident therapist, Gail (Catherine O’Hara).

Gail’s Shocking Truth

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

In a post-apocalyptic setting, Gail’s unique perspective feels, well, normal. The episode introduces her in a session with Joel, who immediately vents about Ellie shutting him out. Gail cuts him off with disinterest, demanding that they drink to her birthday instead. It’s a brilliant scene that reads like a frustrated therapist tired of circling the same exact issues without moving forward. She shifts into tough love mode once Joel groans that he’s closer to Dina than his surrogate daughter. For much of the episode, the calm, calculating, and confrontational Gail attempts to coax out the truth from Joel, to pull out the secrets he’s guarding so fiercely but are eating him alive inside. 

The tension between Gail and Joel explodes in high emotion and bitterness when Gail gives an example of telling the truth even when terrified: she loathes Joel for killing her husband, Eugene. It’s a loaded confession that sends Joel fleeing the room quickly and raises more questions. It also highlights one of the ways that the new season is already departing from its source material; Eugene is mentioned in The Last of Us Part II as a character who’d previously served as a Firefly with Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna in the series) and died from a stroke before the game’s events. It remains to be seen why Joel killed Eugene, but the shocking reveal that Gail is reluctantly working with her husband’s murderer gives illuminating context to their interactions.

The Stalkers Have Arrived

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

While Joel is trying to work on himself, Ellie is testing the boundaries of authority in Jackson. On what should be a routine patrol, Ellie and Dina defy orders and follow a blood trail into town. It’s the first sign that something’s deeply amiss with the fungus-like zombies as the trail leads to a scene of a great battle; a bear and a group of infected fought to the death. While the patrol group’s leaders are nervous and want to return to report it, Ellie and Dina instead investigate the nearby grocery store, where Ellie falls through the second floor and finds herself being hunted by a rather sneaky and intelligent infected. 

It’s the series’ introduction to the Stalker, the games’ tougher to kill enemy that quietly tracks and hunts their human prey without easy detection. The Stalker was introduced in the first game only a couple of times before becoming a prevalent menace in the second game. They’re more aggressive and faster, too, making them a much bigger problem for humans compared to the standard Clicker or Runner. 

While Ellie does survive her encounter with the Stalker, it successfully bites her, threatening to expose her secret immunity. Moreover, the Stalker’s official intro in “The Last of Us” spells out to audiences what the characters have yet to fully realize: the cordyceps infection is evolving.

The Quiet Invasion of the Cordyceps

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

If the arrival of the Stalker hasn’t driven home that Jackson’s idyllic way of life is about to come crashing down this season, the final moments of the premiere drive it home. As the revelries die down and people head home to bed, the camera focuses on the pipes at the construction site Joel was overseeing to reveal that cordyceps are in the process of infiltrating.

The Jackson community sends out regular patrols to keep track of the hordes that are infected, but they don’t account for this. Having the cordyceps invade this way, undetected, could prove a bigger threat than the growing hordes and unexpected enemies forming outside the community’s walls.

This small but significant reveal at the end of the premiere signals that Jackson is gearing up for a devastating battle ahead; its residents just don’t know it yet. 

Abby’s Intense Introduction

Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO

The immediate consequences of Joel’s actions in the season one finale come with the introduction to Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever (No One Will Save You). While The Last of Us Part II took time to acclimate players to this playable main character before revealing her connections to the Fireflies’ Utah lab, the premiere wastes no time establishing her fury and motives.

Early in the premiere, before it jumps ahead five years, Abby gets introduced along with a group of Fireflies in Salt Lake City, burying the dead that Joel massacred. Among them was her father, the surgeon who was to have operated on Ellie in season one, making the group’s vow to get revenge deeply personal for her. Her wrath is palpable as she demands that they don’t just kill Joel but kill him as slowly as possible for maximum suffering.

Her resolution to bring her father’s murderer to justice proves unwavering when the end of the episode reveals that she’s successfully tracked Joel’s whereabouts and her group is getting close to the Jackson settlement. It’s a chilling introduction to the character that, in conjunction with the cordyceps’ evolution, sets up the overarching stakes for the season. 

“The Last of Us” Season 2 premiere laid the groundwork for an intense war ahead, but it’s the murky morality and continued repercussions of Joel’s season one choice that fascinates most as it continues to create ripple effects. Watch new episodes on Max every Sunday night.