The Last Of Us episode 4 is the shortest of the season, but it still packs quite the punch!
It introduces a brand new character who is not a part of the video games but easily could have fit right in. Despite being 43 minutes long, it sets up for what is sure to be one of the best episodes to come.
Ellie & Joel’s Travels
The Last Of Us Episode 4 starts with Ellie checking out the new gun she got from Bill’s house in the previous episode. Clearly, she hasn’t spent much time around firearms, but she knows that she needs to learn how to use them in a world like this. Joel is busy getting gas out of abandoned cars, and right here is where fans of the video games will be jumping for joy – Ellie pulls out her book of puns. Of course, Joel is rolling his eyes at these jokes, but long-time Last of Us fans will be thrilled for this to be a part of the show.
After a day of traveling, Joel and Ellie make camp. As they are getting ready to sleep, Ellie asks Joel if she can ask him a serious question. Then, in true Ellie fashion, she asks him what the Scarecrow got an award for (he was outstanding in his field). This is classic Ellie and Joel, and it is fun to see them joking around together in such a dire situation.
Ellie becomes worried that people will find them after Joel says they can’t build a fire because of this. He warns it isn’t the infected in this area but the people they need to be cautious of. He then guards the camp instead of sleeping to keep her safe.
In the morning, Joel tells the story of how he and Tommy met Tess, and then Tommy met Marlene and joined fireflies. Last Joel heard, he had quit the fireflies too. Joel thinks his brother is all alone out there, and he has to get him. They are heading to a radio tower, their only lead on his current whereabouts.
They arrive at a familiar scene for those who play the games, a tunnel blocked by cars. However, they don’t go inside as Joel tries to drive around it. Instead, while looking for a way onto the interstate, they move near an abandoned quarantine zone. This seems to spook them both as it looks like a wasteland.
They then get attacked by a gang that tries to trick them by asking for help. Joel knows this is a trap immediately, but they still end up in a firefight. They end up having to hide in a garage, and Ellie climbs into a hole in the wall to get inside a room so she cannot be seen. However, Ellie ends up saving Joel by shooting a teenager who is strangling him. The boy starts crying about his mom, saying he is a friend now and she can help them. We will eventually meet her.
Joel takes the gun from Ellie, upset that she has it, and the teen hands over his knife. Joel tells Ellie to go back behind the wall so she doesn’t have to witness what comes next — and he kills the boy – at least, we think so.
A New Character – Kathleen
We then flash to a man being questioned by a woman who we soon learn is Kathleen. She says she wonders if this is the cell where her brother was beaten to death, and it is clear she is not messing around. She says she is looking for Henry (video game name drop) because she needs to get revenge for her brother’s death.
All of a sudden, car horns start honking, which is a signal for her to come outside and meet with everyone. The boy that Joel nearly killed is revealed to be her son. The people explained that they found a truck loaded with supplies, and perhaps Henry hired mercenaries to go after them. She asks if the boy will survive, even if she has a doctor, which we know the man she was interrogating to be, and they say no. That is when she goes back to the cell and kills the doctor.
Joel and Ellie have climbed to the top of her list now that her son has died, and she thinks it was intentional. Joel tells Ellie that he knows what it’s like the first time you hurt someone, and he’s sorry she experienced it. But he adds that she shouldn’t have had to do that. Ellie says it wasn’t her first time but doesn’t want to talk about it. Joel then gives her a gun and shows her how to hold it right. He tells her to keep it in her backpack if she needs it.
As we follow Kathleen, who is working to hunt down Henry, she checks a room filled with superhero drawings. She says there is not a lot of food left, and Henry will not let Sam starve. Joel and Ellie find a building to hide in, entering through the garage. They go up as high as they can to look over the city and see what they are dealing with.
Ellie asks how Joel knew that was an ambush earlier, and he explains he has been on both sides. He had to do what he had to do to survive when the outbreak hit.
The two set up a bed on the 33rd floor. Ellie tells another joke from her pun book, and the two laugh themselves to sleep.
Suddenly Ellie is screaming for Joel. He wakes up and sees that she is being held at gunpoint by a young boy with a superhero mask painted on his face. We assume this is Sam.
Overall Thoughts
The Last Of Us Episode 4 is another excellent episode, with lots of intel being given to viewers. Kathleen is a new character that fans will not be used to, but she fits into the plot perfectly and could easily have been any of the people with whom Joel and Ellie cross paths at this point in the game.
The episode as a whole is relatively short but still entertaining. However, overall, it feels like a little bit of a waste of an episode, with more setup for what is to come than giving us substance.
Still, we get hints of both Ellie and Joel’s past and a first look at Sam, making it very exciting for those who know what comes next.
Rating: 7/10
