The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		5.0

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 23, 2025

One of the unfortunate side issues with the interconnectedness of the internet and the nonstop "content" it provides may be the ubiquity of unwanted "spoilers" passing through newsfeeds or social media accounts, though in the case of one major development in the second season of The Last of Us, much as with the rest of this series, it's arguable that "spoilers" had already been revealed since the television outing is famously based on a videogame series and follows the general outlines of that game's (or games', depending on point of view) narrative(s). This second season of The Last of Us probably in fact departs from its videogame source a bit more than the first season does, but the epochal event that flooded those aforementioned newsfeeds and social media accounts is unavoidably central to what occurs in the story, and simply can't be ignored in any discussion of the show's sophomore year. So with that in mind, spoiler-phobes are advised to skip over the following section.

As someone born and raised largely in Utah's largest city, I reacted somewhat hilariously when Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) supposedly found refuge in Salt Lake City as the first season of the series wended its way to a somewhat calamitous conclusion. My personal funny bone was also tickled by the fact that events in the first season's wind up centered around a hospital in Salt Lake since I had worked at the University of Utah Medical Center when I was a student at the University of Utah. It probably goes without saying that the hospital in the series ended up being a good deal more nefarious than your typical medical establishment (one hopes, anyway), which then set events into motion for what ends up transpiring in the second season. Without reverting to any big spoilers from the first season even if those are probably now more moot than any pertaining to the current season under review, the upshot of all the dramatics is that as the second season quickly moves ahead several years from the first season's time frame, with the result being the relationship between Joel and Ellie is seriously strained.

Of course everything changes with that aforementioned "big event", namely the horrifying bludgeoning death of Joel in the second episode, after the season's premiere episode aptly sets things up in Jackson, Wyoming while detailing the fractured interactions between Joel and Ellie. With Joel's demise, the focus inalterably moves on solely to Ellie as she then comes to realize what sparked Joel's subterfuge from season one and moves on to avenge his death. That actually takes a while to develop, with the series kind of following Ellie on a somewhat twisted passage through her own stages of grief. If Ellie then arguably becomes the "new Joel", in a way featured character Dina (Isabella Merced) becomes the "new Ellie", partnering with Ellie (in more than one way). The second season has kind of mirroring aspects between Ellie and Dina where they both end up in more or less the same roiling emotional space, though their trajectories to arrive there are manifestly different.

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: While this is a standalone 4K release without a 1080 disc, I am offering screenshots from HBO's standalone 1080 release of The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season as I think it actually provides a better representation of the look of the palette in particular, rather than offering screenshots from the 4K disc which are by necessity downscaled to 1080 and in SDR. Because this release does not include a 1080 disc, the 2K video score above has been intentionally left blank.

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of HBO and Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.78:1. If various online sites like the IMDb are to be believed, this season utilized the Arri Alexa 35 rather than the Arri Alexa Mini (with a 4K DI), and I have to say to my eyes this second season may actually outshine the excellence of the first in both detailing and palette highlights courtesy of the HDR / Dolby Vision grades. I specifically mentioned some of the "digital magnificence" of the first season, and that's once again on tap here, though there's some really beautiful integration of practical sets, like the gigantic Jackson village built for the series, with digital elements, like some of the backgrounds of the Jackson scenes (you can see the greenscreen sheets hanging at the ends of streets in some of the making of supplements, in preparation for later digital elements). There are some really striking moments of palette nuance in this 4K UHD version, including a evocative orange tones opening the third episode, but also a glut of both really warm summery tones and icier blues and grays that tend to evoke colder climates. Fine detail on all of the practical sets and costumes is outstanding. Some of the later episodes are quite dimly lit for long swaths of time, and I frankly wouldn't argue that the HDR / Dolby Vision grades add a ton of new shadow detail, but there is some. The only CGI element I found a bit cartoonish was some of the supposedly explosive flames that consume some unwanted interlopers at various moments.

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season features another outstanding Dolby Atmos track that provides near constant immersion throughout all of the episodes. The outdoor material, especially some of the horrifying scenes with marauding attackers, probably have the "showiest" moments, where a glut of sound effects virtually assault the listener from all sides. But even in some of the more pastoral moments (and there are quite a lot of those, actually) the track almost vibrates will smartly placed ambient environmental effects. A number of explosions or gunfire provide bursts of impressive LFE. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Making of The Last of Us: Season 2 offers "inside the episode" featurettes:

Episode 1 (HD; 8:53)




Episode 2 (HD; 9:08)




Episode 3 (HD; 12:12)


Note: There's a Play All option for the above featurettes.

• Growing the World of The Last of Us (HD; 2:03) is a brief look at set construction.


• Welcome to Jackson (Set Tour) (HD; 3:24) offers more looks at the town.


• Battle of Jackson, Deconstructed (HD; 11:13) has a lot of interesting background information.

Disc Two

• Making of The Last of Us: Season 2

Episode 4 (HD; 11:24)




Episode 5 (HD; 8:32)


Note: There's a Play All option for the above featurettes.

• Joel's Journey to Season2 (HD; 3:39) offers a brief overview of the character.


• Ellie's Journey to Season2 (HD; 2:58) offers another brief profile.


• Character Featurettes offer more snippets on the following:

Joel (HD; 00:57)




Ellie (HD; 00:51)




Abby (HD; 00:54)




Dina (HD; 00:54)


Note: There's a Play All option for the above featurettes.

• Mushroom Taste Test (HD; 4:33) offers four of the younger performers trying mushrooms.

Disc Three

• Making of The Last of Us: Season 2

Episode 6 (HD; 11:06)




Episode 7 (HD; 12:07)


Note: There's a Play All option for the above featurettes.

• Pedro & Bella Q & A (HD; 6:34) offers the pair answering each other's questions.


• Open Book: Isabela Merced and Young Mazino (HD; 5:07) offers these two also answering questions.


• Stalker Showdown, Deconstructed (HD; 3:21) looks at a key scene in Seattle.


• Camera Roll: Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced & Young Mazino (HD; 3:13) is more candid conversation.


• In Action (HD; 4:34) looks at some of the stunts and action set pieces.


• Ellie's Path (HD; 16:39) gives more detailed character information.


• Beneath the Surface: The Visual FX of The Last of Us (HD; 16:41) has some good candid footage as well as information on the larger scale visual effects.

HBO and WBHE kind of weirdly released a SteelBook of the first season's 4K release almost two years after the wide release in standard packaging, but they're releasing both this SteelBook and standard packaging of their 4K release simultaneously this time. The SteelBook is definitely more reminiscent of some of those cool wintry tones I mention above in the video section, with front and rear panels largely emphasizing gray. Joel and Ellie are on the front, with a bit of a "viral" background, while the back offers a special necklace/amulet. The interior panels offer a photo of attackers attempting to breech a chain link fence. A digital copy is included and there's a J card surrounding the SteelBook.

The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm not sure if maybe The Last of Us is trying to tell me something, but also somewhat hilariously for me personally this second season ends up in Seattle, which is exactly where I lived for the few years of my childhood spent away from Salt Lake City. Luckily I was too young to have worked anywhere in the Emerald City, but it was where I first took golf lessons, which may or may not be relevant to this overall somewhat disturbing trend of connections. HBO has already announced the third season of The Last of Us, which will reportedly be at least tangentially based on events portrayed in the videogame franchise. Spoilers may therefore continue to abound, but the fantastic thing about this series is how it's quite easily able to surprise and shock even given the "foreknowledge" of certain events. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements very enjoyable. Highly recommended.