The Last of Us – Kin

Pack your bags because we are going to Wyoming–Communist Wyoming, to be exact so make sure you bring enough stuff for everyone. It’s been three months since Joel and Ellie’s harrowing ordeal in Kansas City, but this week they finally land in a thriving town tucked away from the infected. It’s the brotherly reunion Joel has been hoping for, but the life Tommy is living is about as confusing to his sibling as those parental feelings he’s starting to have for Ellie. Feelings that seem to be sparking panic at all the worst times.

Out West

We began where last week’s episode left off, with Henry (Lamar Johnson) pulling the trigger on himself and leaving his new friends and the viewers who were barely holding it together after Bill and Frank, stunned.  We fast forward three months later and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) have made their way to Wyoming where they assume they’ll find missing brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna), who might have a clue as to where the fireflies’ medical camp is located. The same one rumored to be housing scientists working on a cure, and might be able to synthesize one from Ellie’s resistant blood. On their trip the two come into contact with a man named Marlon (Graham Greene) who has been hiding out in the desolate wilderness of Wyoming with his partner, Florence (Elaine Miles). Joel (always the suspicious one) holds the couple at gunpoint while he questions them about where they are located on a map. Without landmarks and workable roads, Joel is relying on this couple to tell him the truth – something he rarely expects people outside of the QZs to do. What we learn about Marlon right off the bat is that he doesn’t like people. He tells Joel that he and Florence, who makes a killer bowl of soup that neither guest/hostage taker refuses, moved to no man’s land before the world fell apart. Florence makes it known that she was never fond of the idea but this bickering old couple seems to be thriving post-pandemic so Marlon must have been on to something. Not only have they survived the infection and the infected but they’re so far remote from the rest of the survivors that they’ve never even heard of the Fireflies – the well-known group of resistors fighting FEDRA oppression. What they do know is that Wind River Reservation and it’s neighboring cities, Laramie and Cody, have been taken over by the infected. They’ve also seen bodies of both the infected and uninfected littering “Death River” that frightened them away from going any further west. In fact, when Joel asks Marlon what would be a safe route West towards Jackson – the last place Tommy was heard from – and Marlon responds with “go east.” Following the river where bodies outnumber fish probably isn’t the safest path to take but Joel isn’t deterred. Starving and unsure of when the next incredible bowl of soup will fill their bellies, Ellie swipes a slaughtered rabbit from Marlon and Florence on her way out the door and the act seems to trigger Joel’s anxiety.. Ellie even asks if he is dying but that rabbit might have reminded Joel of something and it is directly tied to the trauma he has spent two decades trying to bury. His reaction also reminds Ellie of her biggest fear, which she expressed to Sam in the last episode…if he dies she will be alone. Considering the fact she doesn’t even know how to hunt, Joel’s death would ultimately lead to her own..

The Wild Outdoors

As the two follow the river to their destination we are blessed with glimpses of incredible scenery and jaw-dropping views of mountains, lakes and the Aurora Borealis. The epic cinematography in this dark drama about fungus zombies is a visionary and a joy to watch. Throughout the three months they’ve traveled from Marlon’s to the outside of Jackson. Joel works hard to resist his paternal urges and almost has to force himself to remember that Ellie is just a delivery to honor Tess’ last wish. He refuses to connect with her in any meaningful way. He won’t teach her to hunt – a skill that could come in handy since it is clear that rabbit meat didn’t keep them fed for months. In the daytime the two travelers hike through the snowy mountain range while Joel educates Ellie on the world before the pandemic – everything from his very important and universally beloved career as a contractor to hydroelectric dams he admits he knows nothing about. At night the educational chats give way to science and introspection. Joel tells Ellie he dreams of being a lonely sheep farmer and she tells him she dreams of becoming an astronaut like her hero, Sally Ride. When the topic switches to Ellie’s concerns about what happens when “we” make it to the Fireflies’ camp, Joel is shocked by her use of “we.” They are not a unit as he assumes his job will be over once he hands Ellie off to the scientists. But the teen is concerned that her blood isn’t special after failing to cure Sam’s bite with her cut hand. Now she wonders what will happen to her if this entire trip amounts to nothing. Joel pretends that isn’t his concern but throughout their trip we have seen signs of his concern pop up in the form of panic attacks whenever Ellie is in danger. He had one when she took the rabbit, and another when they got stopped by a group of masked men and women on horseback whose leader, Maria (Rutina Wesley), and her guard dog confronted them. His anxiety seems tied to the fact he was unable to save his daughter, Sarah, and now he might not be able to save this girl, too. When the protective dog Maria uses to sniff out the infected approaches Ellie we see Joel start to panic thinking it might lunge at her due to her bite-scar. Luckily, the cured teenager is a bit of a dog whisperer because they become instant kissy-face friends and Joel can breathe deeply again.

The Reunion

Maria’s group also turns out to be friendly when Joel mentions his brother Tommy. He learns his brother has been living in the thriving city of Jackson and his wife, Maria, escorts the two inside the heavily protected walls of the city! Thanks to that hydroelectric dam Joel knew nothing about, Jackson has water, heat, happy children and all the delicious food Ellie can shovel into her cursing mouth. It isn’t long before Joel reunites with Tommy and he, along with his very pragmatic wife, takes the two travelers on a tour of the town. Maria points out their churches, the school and even a jail that she says for which they have no use. If you are wondering why they don’t then you are not alone. It could have something to do with the bodies Marlon and Florence saw wash up on the banks of Death River. Suspicious law and order aside, everything about this place seems like the pandemic never happened. Joel looks shocked when his brother admits they’ve managed to survive because they are all communists living a communal experience. Later, it’s the seemingly mature Tommy who is appalled by Joel when he realizes his brother is still living his morally corrupt life as a smuggler and sometimes a killer for hire. He thinks this because when Tommy asks about Ellie we see Joel lie and tells him that she is the daughter of a Firefly leader and he is only delivering her to them for a price. Tommy is living what he considers to be an ethical life now and admits he doesn’t want to be involved in whatever job Joel is doing. He knows the Fireflies’ camp is at Eastern Colorado University but now that he is going to be a father, he doesn’t want Joel’s work karma rubbing off on him. Besides, to live in Jackson you have to follow certain rules. They don’t want “the wrong people” just showing up at their gates. Joel offers him a less than enthused congratulations on the baby and now realizes the reason why Tommy went off the grid and stopped calling was that his loyalties are now attached to this place and Maria. Joel is an outsider here and so is Ellie – who definitely doesn’t fit in with the local teens. To say Joel feels pushed aside is an understatement and asks Tommy if he would be on that list of “wrong people?” Only if he tempted Tommy back to their violent life in Boston. He is firm on not joining Joel en route to the university and with that so there is nothing left for him to do but take Ellie and leave.

Speaking of Ellie, she gets pampered a bit with a much-needed hot shower, a new warm coat and a haircut courtesy of Maria. She also gives the teenager a menstrual cup which Ellie calls “the weirdest gift ever.” When the two sit down for a chat Maria tells Ellie she was an Assistant District Attorney in her former life and the names Ellie sees hanging above the fireplace belong to her son, Kevin, and Joel’s dead daughter, Sarah. A daughter? This is news to Ellie who tucks it away until later when she ties Joel’s attacks to that loss. It is very clear that Maria isn’t fond of Joel and even goes out of her way to warn Ellie about being “careful who you put your faith in.”

Goodbye, Girl

Later that night the whole town, minus Tommy and Joel, gathers to watch the movie The Goodbye Girl. The brothers use the evening to reconnect before they say their early morning farewells. While they’re catching up, Joel comes clean about Ellie and the cure, as well as his fears he will fail this girl as he did Sarah. He admits the fear is affecting his health and he worries these attacks could wind up getting her killed. This prompts him to ask Tommy to take Ellie to Colorado without him if only to keep her safe from what he thinks is his curse. If he is building this better life to sort of wash away the sins of their past then what better way to do that than be a part of a cure that could save humanity from the cordyceps? Tommy is stunned by his brother’s truthfulness and care for this girl so he agrees to take Ellie in the morning.

When Joel meets up with Ellie to fill her in, she already knows about the conversation he had with Tommy and she is hurt and angry. “If you’re going to ditch me, ditch me,” she yells, not caring about the fact Joel thinks she will be safer with his brother. This hand-off pushes Ellie to bring up Sarah as she reminds Joel that she isn’t his daughter. Just mentioning Sarah’s name turns Joel into a hostile and cold mess. He barks out angry orders for her to go with Tommy because this conversation and their mission together are over.

The next morning Tommy takes Ellie to the stables to gear up for the trip but Joel is there waiting. So much for sneaking out before the big goodbye, what a softie! Joel has a change of heart and decides to leave the travel plans up to Ellie. She can go with Tommy or with Joel and the choice is an easy one. She immediately shoves her bag at Joel and is ready to leave. After the brothers say goodbye, Tommy tells Joel that he and Ellie will always have a place in Jackson should he need one. Regardless of the animosity wafting off of Maria, the offer seems to put the two travelers’ minds at ease. Whether it was releasing the ghost of Sarah and the guilt haunting his heart, reuniting with his brother or the fact Ellie chose him regardless of whatever curse he thinks hangs over his head, the two seem to be heading to Colorado with less personal baggage to carry. The conversations between the two are lighter, Ellie’s jokes are better received and Joel has even agreed to teach her how to hunt.

After five days on the road they finally make it to where the Fireflies are supposed to be working on the cure but the entire camp has been abandoned. The only thing left behind is a pack of lab monkeys and a map pointing to Salt Lake City. They don’t get much time to discuss their next move because raiders are outside forcing them to flee. Unfortunately, one catches up to them and comes at Joel with a baseball bat that he manages to dodge as it smashes to pieces against a tree. Joel grabs a hold of the guy, but in the struggle to break his neck the raider grabs a hold of a broken piece of bat and stabs Joel with it! The raider is dead but Joel is bleeding out and poor Ellie is witnessing her worst nightmare come true. She flies off her horse to help stop the bleeding, desperate for him to live. As Joel starts to fade, the screen turns black and the last thing we hear is Ellie crying out, “I can’t do this without you.”