The Last of Us Season 2: Inside the Chaos of Jackson’s Infected Assault

1. A Storm of Fire and Flesh: The Infected Attack on Jackson in The Last of Us Season 2

The trailer for The Last of Us Season 2 immediately captures attention with one haunting image: a massive horde of infected swarming the snowy gates of Jackson. The quiet, idyllic refuge built by survivors Maria and Tommy becomes the epicenter of chaos as Clickers, Runners, and even a Bloater descend on the town’s walls under the cover of a blizzard.

Gabriel Luna, who portrays Tommy, described the filming of this pivotal moment as “an absolute hurricane of stimuli.” With flamethrowers blazing, ammunition casings littering the ground, and relentless infected storming the gates, the sequence is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious and cinematic in the series to date. “There’s like two inches of brass on the ground from all the rounds we’re firing,” Luna told Entertainment Weekly. “It gave us everything you needed to feel like we were really in that moment.”

Rutina Wesley, who plays Maria, echoed this sentiment, recalling the overwhelming scale and attention to detail on set. “It was huge,” she said. “I just remember being in awe that they would build it with that much detail.” The Jackson set wasn’t just a backdrop—it was an immersive world constructed with painstaking care, including full interiors of buildings that would allow for fluid, continuous action during the attack.

2. Character Depth Amid Chaos: Tommy and Maria’s Emotional Center

While Season 2 is set to deliver some of the show’s biggest action beats, The Last of Us remains, at its heart, a character-driven story. Director Mark Mylod, known for his work on Succession, ensures that the emotional stakes are never lost amid the spectacle. According to Luna, Mylod often pulled the actors aside for “whispered conversations” about intention and love. These quiet moments ensured that every fireball and every close encounter with death was grounded in personal stakes and human relationships.

Tommy and Maria are key figures in this emotional tapestry. As the caretakers and leaders of the Jackson community, they are responsible not only for each other but also for maintaining the fragile peace that holds their society together. The attack threatens everything they’ve built and forces them to confront what they’re willing to sacrifice to protect it.

Tommy’s arc, in particular, is intensified by his growing estrangement from his brother Joel, played by Pedro Pascal. As seen in the trailer, Tommy’s leadership is tested as he races along the settlement’s perimeter walls, trying desperately to coordinate defenses and keep his people safe. “Our stuff is not just an aspect of the chaos,” Luna said. “It’s an element of the story.”

3. Building Jackson: Behind the Scenes of the Massive Set

One of the most striking achievements of Season 2 is the incredible recreation of Jackson—a sprawling, lived-in community carved out of the post-apocalyptic ruins. Unlike many TV sets that use digital backdrops or partial constructions, the Jackson of The Last of Us was built across several city blocks with functioning interiors, alleyways, and complex geography.

Production designer Don Macaulay and his team created an environment that not only looked real but could be interacted with during long tracking shots and intense fight scenes. The snow-covered town becomes a dynamic battlefield, with tight corners, open streets, and layered staging areas for both defenders and the infected.

Wesley recalled the “massive scale” of the set with awe. The team behind the series has always prided itself on authenticity, and the second season is doubling down on that promise. Every frame of the action is crafted with attention to realism, from the textures of the snow to the creaks of floorboards underfoot during moments of suspense.

This commitment to physical set design also enhances the actors’ performances. “When you’re in a space that detailed, you don’t have to imagine the world,” Wesley said. “You’re already in it.”

4. Expanding the Narrative: Time Jumps, New Faces, and Returning Threats

Season 2 of The Last of Us picks up five years after the end of Season 1, with Joel and Ellie now living in Jackson. However, their relationship remains strained—a direct result of Joel’s devastating choice at the end of the first season to rescue Ellie from the Fireflies at the cost of a potential cure for humanity.

Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley’s characters, Tommy and Maria, are caught in the middle of this tension. As leaders of Jackson, they’re trying to build a future based on trust and stability, but the ghosts of the past—both Joel’s and their own—continue to haunt them.

Complicating matters further is the arrival of new characters, including Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever. The trailer hints at a looming confrontation between Abby’s faction and the residents of Jackson, with the infected assault possibly being a harbinger of even darker days to come.

With dense emotional material and morally complex decisions ahead, Season 2 will explore themes of revenge, redemption, and generational trauma—all while maintaining the tense, action-driven pace fans expect.

5. What Lies Ahead: Raising the Stakes in Season 2 and Beyond

If Season 1 of The Last of Us was about survival and unexpected companionship, Season 2 is about reckoning. The attack on Jackson is just the beginning of a much larger narrative arc that dives into the consequences of Joel’s past actions, Ellie’s coming-of-age journey, and the fractured nature of humanity in a broken world.

With its emotionally rich characters, jaw-dropping set pieces, and philosophical depth, The Last of Us is set to once again redefine what’s possible in video game adaptations. Luna and Wesley’s performances will anchor this new chapter, adding emotional resonance to the series’ most explosive moments.

As the infected horde descends upon Jackson, viewers can expect not just a thrilling battle, but a crucible—one that will reshape relationships, test loyalties, and prepare the ground for the game-changing events to come.

From: Huystyle