Welcome back to the blog, readers. The Last of Us is killing it every week and has become my favorite show on television right now. And yes, I am saying that after 3 episodes. Episode 3 was a triumph for television, so how were the boys over at HBO able to top themselves with Episode 4, called "Please Hold to My Hand" and directed by Jeremy Webb? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
First off, why did they have to add the "to" to the title of the episode? I was perfectly okay with the title "Please Hold My Hand." I'm just shit-talking and you shouldn't take this part seriously.
With that being said and my shit-talking out of the way (of which by the way none of is towards the episode itself), I want to say one thing. I keep waiting for a bad episode of this show. And apparently Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann don't want to oblige. It's almost like they're shitting out gold here. I love this episode and what they're doing here, and that's staying faithful to the game while adding to and enriching the experience.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are absolute diamonds in the rough and I am running out of things to say about how great they are. Their natural chemistry and infectious (see what I did there?) charisma keeps me coming back every week, and every week I am buying in to their relationship more and more. Their interactions are getting crisper and crisper, and I can't believe I am loving this as much as I am. The first 15 minutes of the episode are awesome; from the car ride to Kansas City to the interaction in the woods to the abandoned bar when Joel teaches Ellie how to use a gun all the way to the end of the episode when they are in the building and Joel finally laughs at a joke in Ellie's joke book. (By the way, the car ride was beat for beat from the game!)
I ate up everything that happened in Kansas City, from the initial fight with the bandits that was apparently inspired by Children of Men to the characters of Kathleen and Perry. Melanie Lynskey plays Kathleen with the right balance of chilling warmth and brooding relentlessness that makes for a great villain. I know we only saw her for half the episode but I can't wait to see how her story is fleshed out. The same thing applies to Jeffrey Pierce's Perry. He gets some dynamic work in and we even see an ethical dilemma brewing with his character. He sees something happening underneath a building (I'll go out on a limb and say that this is the Bloater that we see in the next episode) and wonders if they should do something about it.
By the way, Pierce played Tommy (Gabriel Luna's character) in the games and he was wonderful. Tommy had a greater presence in Part II but he was present in Part I. So there's your trivia of the day. Also a Bloater is someone who has been infected for over 10 years and has built up bulletproof armor, while retaining the echolocation ability and the agility of a Clicker (the Infected seen in the museum in Episode 2).
Kathleen's story ties directly into two characters that make their debuts at the end of the episode and will feature more in the next episode so it was nice to tie the two together. She has a belief that the character of Henry (played here by Lamar Johnson) killed her brother, and assumes the bandits Joel and Ellie stumble upon and kill are Henry's work as well. I could have sworn when I saw one of the bandits named Bryan that it was internet personality Supes (Matt Ramos). Unfortunately it was not.
This episode also furthers the relationship between Joel and Ellie more than the previous three episodes and this episode is a turning point for the show. This is the relationship that drives the video games and it will drive the show going forward, especially with what is yet to come that I WILL NOT spoil. I had already mentioned the car scene when Ellie reads jokes from her joke book and Joel tries not to laugh, until the final joke of the episode about diarrhea that makes him laugh. The nudie magazine exchange is taken straight out of the game and it is IMMACULATE. Ellie saving Joel with Bill's gun is a nice payoff for that moment when she takes it last episode.
But the highlight of the episode for me has to be when Joel and Ellie are hiding out in the abandoned bar and he teaches her how to use a gun. This moment unpacks so many layers for the show and I believe it is what is the turning point. First off, we have Joel finally trusting Ellie enough to allow her a gun. This moment is beginning what we're all expecting, of him becoming a father figure to her. He is also beginning to warm up to Ellie, and based on what will happen the payoff will be great. Also I previously mentioned their natural chemistry, and it is on full effect in this scene.
Episode 4, titled "Please Hold to My Hand" (still, why the "to'?), is a major win for a show that has had nothing but. Focusing on building the relationship between Joel and Ellie, this episode is jam-packed with moments that endear you to these characters and prepare you for what comes next. Thank you for reading this lengthy spoiler-filled review and I hope to see you next week for a review of the fifth episode.
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