The Last of Us fans think Bella Ramsey "bodied" the brutal showdown in season 2 episode 5: "Stone cold vengeance mode"

The Last of Us season 2 amped up a notch with episode 5. This week's installment saw things take an even darker turn for Bella Ramsey's Ellie as she came face-to-face with one of her adversaries – but before we get any further, this is your warning that the following contains major spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 episode 5.

If you're still here, you'll know that Ellie and Dina's second day in Seattle culminated with Ellie confronting Nora (Tati Gabrielle), a WLF doctor who was present when Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) killed Joel (Pedro Pascal) in episode 2.

On the run from both the infected and the WLF, Dina is injured by a Seraphite arrow and Jesse (Young Mazino) takes her to safety, and Ellie slips off to find Nora in the hospital. Nora won't tell her where Abby is and makes a break for it, but Ellie corners her in the hospital's abandoned basement. It's abandoned for a reason, though – the WLF has sealed it off after Cordyceps spores were found down there that cause airborne infection.

Of course, Ellie is still immune, but Nora isn't so lucky and starts to choke to death. She refuses to tell Ellie anything, so Ellie begins to beat a dying Nora with a metal pipe. It's a brutal moment, but fans are loving Ramsey's performance.

"Bella, you absolutely bodied that scene," one fan wrote on Reddit. "I was cautionary about the writing of Ellie so far, but you absolutely nailed it. The cold stare, the slow monotone voice switching to pure anger, all of it. Great work."

"They were absolutely incredible, as always. The scene gave me chills," someone else replied.

"THIS was the Ellie (the cold, killer one) that I was looking forward to seeing," wrote another fan.

"I was a bit worried, after the last episode, that they wouldn’t fully integrate Ellie’s losing of herself on her revenge mission, especially after the pregnancy reveal," said someone else, referring to what Dina tells Ellie in episode 4. "But seeing her leave a wounded Dina and a vulnerable Jesse to go find Nora erased that completely. She put some of the closest people to her second, risking their death, to go get information about Abby. I’m very excited for the remainder of the season."

"When Nora was spouting off about the hospital and Abby's dad, I was wishing for Ellie to say 'I know' especially after the build up between the Joel/Ellie tension in ep1 and Dina telling Ellie the story of her first kill," another fan said. "And then she said it. Stone cold vengeance mode. Such a fantastic moment. Perfect delivery. No notes."

The Last of Us season 2 airs weekly on HBO and Max in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK. Make sure you never miss an episode with our The Last of Us season 2 release schedule, or catch up with our The Last of Us season 2 review.