Ryan Shoots First: The Last of Us (S1 Ep6) “Kin”
It feels like it’s been a while since we were with Joel and Ellie with the early episode last week but with the action-packed episode last week we are slowing down quite a bit but in the best ways. This week we get to explore Joel more as he meets up with his brother Tommy but we also explore his connection to Ellie as she learns even more about his past. Pedro Pascal really delivered this week as he for the first time is able to let some things out. We skipped ahead a few months in time and it was interesting to see that over that time Joel and Ellie have developed a cadence but it’s clear they’ve been getting by and a lot of the walls are still up.
This particular episode featured one of the absolute biggest scenes in the whole series. A particular one that gets spliced together and essentially establishes the dynamic of the bond between Joel and Ellie. That she feels safer with him and he is more scared with her. They stuck to the source material almost word for word but the actors did an excellent job and it really paid off well. This leads in to the cliffhanger ending and the next big jump for Ellie’s development in the story. Although it looks like by the Scenes for next week we will be taking a detour into Ellie’s back story from the game’s DLC Left Behind. We knew it was coming and this does seem like a pretty natural break for us to place it.
If you’ve been following my reviews you know by now I love the show but they just keep nailing the big moments. Fans of the game can think of the 5 or 6 critical points in the game that everything hinges on and they really haven’t missed on any of them and this week may have been the biggest. This week was low on action but in a drama series, it’s important to have these pauses. Moments to check in with our characters and learn a little bit more about them before we load in the next big set. It’s something HBO series are known for that every week you may not get the blockbuster action but being confident enough in the story it is telling to let things breathe and let us invest in the elements of the story.
I certainly look forward to seeing the DLC play out but I am really looking forward to seeing what comes next in the main timeline I suppose a few weeks from now.
Observations
- Nice time jump
- I like this lady
- Seeing snow knowing some heavy stuff is coming.
- Bunch of broke construction dudes know that duct tape boot trick
- Look I try not to go for the low-hanging fruit here but I can’t deny the Ellie and Obi-Wan high-ground joke.
- Oh, I don’t like what the music’s doing as they cross this bridge at all.
- Joel knowing Ellie was gonna ask how the hydroelectric dam worked. Love it.
- First look at Jackson!
- Maria has really good handwriting
- Boom. Cats out of the bag.
- Dina is in there somewhere!
- Man Joel finally being able to let it all out.
- This is such an important scene. They nailed it
- I don’t remember the pregnant line from the game if so that’s a great addition for the one-liners
- Perfect way to end the episode.
