Welcome back to the blog, readers. At this point, there is no surprise when I tell you that The Last of Us is the best show on television right now. It is undeniable. I just watched the sixth episode, titled "Kin," and wanted to share my thoughts. Can this episode, directed by Jasmila Žbanić live up to the rest of the show's greatness, or did the momentum finally sputter out so close to the end and the good stuff? Stick around and find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my review, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
I am so sorry for being late on this review, it's just that I was dealing with some personal issues as of this past week, but now I promise I will be back on the grind now that some of those issues are resolving themselves. With that being said, it's not fucking fair how good this show is. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann should be ashamed of themselves for how good this show is. Every week I tell you I run out of good things to say, so I have no idea what I will say by the time the finale comes around. This is the most character-driven episode of the series so far, and I ate every minute of it.
The MVP of this episode is Pedro Pascal, and Kris Carr is right. This episode is his Emmy submission. What he is able to do here is truly incredible. The way he is able to shift emotions throughout the course of the episode; from his stoic ways with the couple outside Jackson to completely breaking down to Tommy admitting his failures to his interactions with Ellie. I told you he should get it after the first episode, but I believe he should get it after this one. Speaking of Ellie, holy hell. What Bella Ramsey does in this episode is just as incredible. She plays into Ellie's youthful enthusiasm for the resort in Jackson and its wonders, and she does it wonderfully. And *that* scene, holy shit. I'll talk on that later, but I think this is her Emmy submission episode as well.
It was really nice to see Tommy again after the first episode, and I loved the interactions he had with his brother Joel. And I loved how he decided that he wouldn't risk his future to go with Joel. He shows off a vulnerability that is infectious. And Gabriel Luna is an incredible talent who gives an incredible performance. Complimenting him is his wife Maria, played by Rutina Wesley, who gets more to do her than I think she got in the game. She had a crucial scene in which she tells Ellie about Joel's daughter Sarah (who we see in flashbacks) that we only hear about in the game. And I love the presence she brings to Ellie, something I hope we get more of in future seasons.
Before I talk about Jackson, I want to talk about the scene when Joel and Ellie are stopped by Maria and her crew. The tension when the Cordyceps-sniffing dog goes towards Ellie and starts growling is absolutely palpable and it had me on the edge of my seat. And then the dog went up to Ellie and started licking her, which absolutely warmed my heart. You know, the one thing that melts my cold, cold heart is when a dog shows up and steals the show. Screw what I said about Pedro Pascal being the MVP of this episode, it's the damn dog.
Now I want to talk about Jackson. The gated and secret community in Wyoming is gorgeous to look at and makes you want to actually be there with our characters. They have everything there: a movie room, a bar, a stable, working electricity, and much more. Some people had pointed this out already, but I wanted to make a point out of it. Jackson represents the closest the remnants of humanity have come to replicating life before Outbreak Day, and it is a marvel that they were able to achieve something like this, both in the show and the creators.
The scene when Joel pours his heart out to Tommy is nothing short of a masterpiece. Joel had earlier lashed out at his brother when he learned Tommy would be a father, but his reasoning comes out, and comes out big time. He reveals that ever since he agreed to shepherd the expedition to get Ellie to where she needed to go, he has been having panic attacks and nightmares where he constantly fails her, and we know his biggest regret is not being able to save Sarah. He begs Tommy to continue the journey because he fears he will fail Ellie, just as he believes he failed Sarah. This scene highlights his hesitance to get close to Ellie, because he fears he will lose her if he does. It also highlights that he has never gotten over Sarah's death, and 20 years later, he is still as broken and fragile over it. Well done Pedro and Gabriel.
But the scene that I wanted to talk about was "the scene." If you know, you know. Going off the last scene, Ellie overhears some of that conversation and confronts Joel about it. Believing that Joel always intended to leave her, she pours her heart out to him, revealing that she has gotten to know loss just as he has (we'll find out more about that next episode). She also reveals that he has opened up a side of her she has never known, and she would be more afraid being with someone else. I was kind of nervous, and I thought Pedro and Bella wouldn't deliver the same gravitas that Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson did almost 10 years ago. But holy hell, they did. I think now that Bella poured more emotion into that scene than Ashley did, and stoic me damn near shed a tear, especially when Joel reaffirms to himself that Ellie is not his daughter, and he is not her father. Emotional shit right here man, just give these two their Emmys already.
The ending of the episode almost broke me too. While different from the game, we get an idea of where we're headed next. We get teases for future seasons, like on the board we see tack paths leading to Seattle, California, and our season finale destination: Salt Lake City. How Joel dances with death is different, as he is stabbed by a baseball bat-turned-shiv and pulls it out. Damnit Joel. Ellie begs him to get up and says she cannot move on without him, as we hear Depeche Mode's "Never Let Me Down Again." I didn't think we would get it in this capacity. It just packs more of a punch, especially because it is sung by Craig Mazin's daughter Jessica. Damn.
There is one major tease to a season 2 (maybe) character. When Joel and Ellie are talking to Tommy and Maria in the mess hall, Ellie spots a girl staring at her and points it out. I've heard people stating that this girl could be Part II character Dina, who Ellie forms a relationship with. Clever tease? Maybe so, but I would love it if it was.
Thank you so much for waiting so long for this review. Hope you all enjoyed it, and stay tuned for my review of episode 7, my spoiler discussion of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and some more film reviews.
Comments