Last night, "The Last of Us" season 2 officially entered hallowed ground in the pantheon of great shows.
Hopefully, you'll pardon my mixed metaphors. Still, after watching "Through the Valley," it's clear to most (but not all!) people that HBO's zombie apocalypse video game adaptation series is up there with the best shows to ever grace the prestige TV network, including "Game of Thrones."
Spoilers for "The Last of Us" beyond this point
And if this show is now the next "Game of Thrones," then last night, we officially got our "Red Wedding" with the brutal execution of Joel Miller.
Like the "Red Wedding," this was a moment that fans of "The Last of Us Part II" game were aware of and protected from their friends.
I've been trying to keep it secret from my wife for months. While she had suspicions, the devastated look on her face when the broken shaft of a golf club (seemed like a 9-iron?) went through Joel's neck told me I had done my job.
Now, it's important to note that while myself and many others who watched deemed this an incredible moment, it went down a bit differently than it did in the games. And some fans of the games were not happy about how that went down.
However, I think if you set aside the merits of last night's episode as an adaptation of the source material — full disclosure: I don't have an issue with the adaptive choices made so far — it's clear that this was an incredible episode.
The moment we know Joel is doomed is devastating. His demise is brutal, with no punches pulled (literally). Ellie coming just in time to watch him wordlessly die is as heartbreaking a moment as it's ever been.
But that's also only part of the story. Because while "Through the Valley" may have been this show's "Red Wedding," I'd argue it's also its "Blackwater."
The assault on Jackson was as spectacular as Joel's death was devastating
The inciting incident in the game and show for Abby's capture of Joel is a horde of infected pushing the two together.
Now, in the game, the horde has done its job once Abby has Joel captive. But in last night's episode, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann decided to give the horde a final mission.
Again, this choice has some detractors among the game series' fan base.
But while you can argue about whether or not it served a storytelling purpose (which, I do), there's no denying that as an action set piece, it was spectacular.
In fact, between barrels of gas exploding infected by the dozens, seemingly more ammo used than in a World War II campaign and an epic one-on-one showdown between Tommy and a bloater that ends in deus ex incineration, I found myself comparing the assault on Jackson consistently with "Blackwater."
For those who never watched the penultimate episode of "Game of Thrones season 2, you should stop what you're doing and watch it now. You don't even need to watch any episodes before or after — it's that good.
In "Blackwater," the episode is entirely centered around Stannis Baratheon's assault on King's Landing via Blackwater Bay.
The iconic moment of the episode comes when explosive wildfire tears through the ranks of Stannis' ships, decimating his forces. There's also an incredible assault on the city gates that follows, and ultimately, the defenders manage to save the city.
If you watched last night's episode of "The Last of Us," I probably don't even need to spell out the comparisons. You know the gas is the wildfire, the infected are Stannis' men, etc.
Ultimately, "Through the Valley" will be remembered in the same breath as "Red Wedding" and "Blackwater" as iconic episodes. After watching it myself, I'd be hard pressed to find a reason why it shouldn't.
Stream 'The Last of Us' season 2 on Max now
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
Here's what he's been watching lately:
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