“The Last of Us” returned Sunday night, and I don’t think fans were overly impressed.

Basic info:

• Network: HBO and streaming on Max.
• Season two plot: Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.
• Season two episode count: Rumored to be seven.
• Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, Kaitlyn Dever and Jeffrey Wright.
• Season two premiere date: April 13, 2025

“The Last of Us” returns for the start of season two.

Fans have been eager to see where the story of Joel and Ellie goes after season one wrapped up back in March 2023.

It’s been more than two years since we returned to the world of the popular video games and TV series. Hype was off the chart for the season two premiere Sunday night.

I was locked and ready to roll expecting to get a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.

Nope!

Almost nothing interesting happened. There’s a time jump that brings viewers forward five years after the events of the bloody season one finale.

There were really only a handful of interesting things that happened over the course of the hour-long season two premiere. When only a few things happen, then you know it was a dud of an episode.

First, we’re introduced to Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), a surviving member of the Fireflies. She’s hellbent on killing Joel in revenge for his massacre at the end of season one. We then don’t see her again for the entire episode until the very end, when she arrives at the outskirts of Jackson.

Speaking of Jackson, it appears that the deadly virus is working its way into the town. Okay, interesting enough, I suppose, but nothing that really moves the needle. The only interesting part of the episode was when Ellie got into a fight with an infected creature that appeared to be insanely intelligent. It trapped Ellie and stalked her instead of just running out to attack like the infected season one. It’s a sign the infected are growing more self-aware and intelligent.

And that’s more or less the entire episode summed up. Fans waited for more than two years for “The Last of Us” to return.

We were expecting some kind of epic entrance for season two. That’s not what happened at all. It was slow, boring and had very little going on.

Maybe the season will pick up moving forward, but so far, season two is off to a very disappointing start. Let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.