If the meteoric success of The Last Of Us has taught us anything, it’s that we’re always here for a hopepunk story that delivers some cold, hard truths about what’s coming for us all at the end of the world – or, y’know, what’s left of us after it.

The first season, while brutal and terrifying and filled to the brim with (whisper it, they don’t like us to use the Z-word) fungus zombies, is actually a love story: Pedro Pascal’s Joel is tasked by a rebel militia group with smuggling a teenager across post-apocalyptic America. And, while it’s hate at first sight for him and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, of course, Joel eventually realises that she has battered down the shutters around his heart and become something like a daughter to him. 

Too bad the Fireflies need to cut out her brain so they can rid the world of those terrible aforementioned fungus zombies, eh?

Watch the trailer for The Last Of Us season 2 below:

Based on the videogame of the same name, the series ended on the sort of violent cliffhanger that left audiences conflicted and uncomfortable – in all the best ways.

Naturally, then, we’re champing at the bit for the much-anticipated second season, which is already picking up rave advance reviews thanks to its big budget battle sequences, powerhouse performances and deeply emotional themes. Which means, yes, we will sob every bit as much as we shrink away from our screens in terror – prestige telly at its finest!

If you can’t quite remember everything ahead of the new season premiere, don’t despair; I’ve got you covered with this handy recap of what’s happened so far. Let’s dive on in, shall we?

1. The cordyceps outbreak

The first episode of the first season took us rocketing back in time to the heady days of 2003, when the world’s enjoyment of Avril Lavigne’s metaphor-laden song of the era is suddenly interrupted by a cordyceps fungal outbreak.

What starts as a localised problem quickly spreads across the globe, resulting in a decimated humanity. And, for those who think this is pure fantasy, I have bad news: the cordyceps fungus is a real-life organism, known for infecting insects (like ants) and turning them into mind-controlled ‘zombies’.

It’s a disturbing concept made even more terrifying by how The Last Of Us extrapolates that idea to human society. Because while the virus is fictionalised, the fungus – and our warming climate’s role in its potential spread – absolutely isn’t.

2. Not your average zombies

I may have been calling them fungus zombies for ease, but one of the key elements that sets The Last Of Us apart from typical post-apocalyptic stories is its portrayal of the infected. They are not shuffling brain-guzzling members of the undead – at least, not in the traditional sense. Instead, they are living victims of a parasitic fungal infection, and they evolve through different stages, from the terrifying Clickers to the hulking Bloaters (I’ve created a handy glossary here for you – you’ll want it open).

Each type presents a unique challenge, forcing Joel and Ellie to navigate a world not just full of hostile humans, but a terrifying variety of predatory threats. Each feels more grounded and real than typical media depictions – so much so that you can almost imagine Sir David Attenborough gravely talking you through the unique types of infected in a documentary, drawing attention to their evolutionary process.

3. Joel and Ellie’s relationship

The Last Of Us might be one of the darkest shows in our TV schedules (and that’s saying something), but it’s also the one with the most love in its shadowy soul – largely thanks to the complex and evolving relationship between Joel and Ellie (also, though, Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett eating fresh berries in the sunshine).

What starts as a simple task – Joel, a reluctant protector, promised a big payment for delivering Ellie to safety – becomes a story about love, loss and survival, as her presence forces him to confront his grief and unresolved trauma over the death of his own daughter. Ellie, in turn, transforms under Joel’s wing from a curious, naive girl into someone hardened by the brutal world she inhabits.

Come the ending of the first season, where Joel makes the shocking decision to save Ellie at the cost of humanity’s chance at a cure, underscores the central theme of the show: survival isn’t just about living – it’s about who (and what) you’re willing to sacrifice to protect those you love.

4. Ellie is immune to the cordyceps virus

In a series of flashbacks, we learn that Ellie’s mother, Anna (Ashley Johnson), was bitten by a fungus zombie while she was in the middle of giving birth to her daughter. Which means, yes, Ellie got an incredibly unique dose of antibodies that protect against cordyceps… making her, as far as we know, the only person to be immune to the infection.

5. What Joel’s decision means for everyone

For much of the season, he was a sympathetic antihero – but, for many, Joel became villain-coded when he murdered doctors, scientists and medical personnel to save Ellie at all costs, even if it meant dooming humanity’s chance at a cure. It was his big Meatloaf moment (he would do anything for love), resulting in an all-too-visceral bloodbath made all the more shocking by the fact that Ellie… well, Ellie most likely would have voluntarily undergone the procedure.

Of course, we’ve no clue how the Fireflies would have been able to mass produce a cure from their research, let alone roll it out around the globe. Perhaps everything would have continued as it was, minus Ellie’s existence. Still, Joel prioritised his own wants and needs over those of the entire world, which is sure to put pressure on their fledgling father-daughter relationship somewhat… especially as a) he killed Merle Dandridge’s Marlene, whom Ellie loved dearly, in the middle of his violent rampage, and b) he lied to Ellie about what really happened while she was unconscious.

It’s paving the way for an incredible second season, quite frankly – one which moves beyond season one’s fare of survival and bonding, instead delving ever deeper into the complexities of loyalty, guilt and revenge. 

Can love truly hope to abide in a world as brutal as this one, though? And, with society still in ruins, can anyone ever truly consider themselves safe… or forgiven?

Roll on the season premiere, already!

The second season of The Last Of Us will premiere on Sky and NOW on Monday 14 April.

Images: HBO