Previously: Abby accidentally caused a horde to bombard Jackson and then most definitely on purpose KILLED JOEL, then walked back to Seattle instead of stealing the horses.
WELL. What an episode to follow. I’ve been waiting all week to see how they interpreted that time between Joel’s death and heading towards Seattle. I did also spend some time pondering Mandy W.’s question. I am not adventurous enough to just pack up and find somewhere new after living somewhere with running water and access to movies, so I’d definitely help rebuild and start laying out plans for some extra special “traps” for future hordes a la Kevin McCallister.
Apocalypse Now
It’s been three months of slow healing for both Jackson and Ellie. She’s finally being released from the hospital while everyone else scurries around Jackson welding fences and making new fortifications. It seems Ellie hasn’t left the hospital at all, so she returns to ‘the Millers’ to see a pile of bouquets on the lawn and the stillness of an empty home. Not even a few hours out of the hospital, and Dina reveals a secret she’s been holding on to for months: she DOES know plenty about Abby and the Seattle WLFs, but she was waiting until Ellie was healthy enough to hear it. With a clear path forward, Ellie is consumed with getting a group together for retaliation, but she’s struck down at a council meeting 8 to 3. The people are tired, grieving, and the message of forgiveness rings louder for many than the call for vengeance.
Obvs a little thing like a vote “no” wouldn’t stop Ellie. Dina also knows this, so she shows up to Ellie’s garage spouting some practical truths that Ellie wouldn’t last five minutes out there in her chucks and buttload of bullets but no first aid supplies. She reveals a packing list AND a travel plan with a 3 a.m. departure time out the East Gate, and this just makes my heart swell with love for her even more. But not even one amazing travel agent is able to pull off a stunt like this alone, no, no – Dina is accompanied by bigot-sandwich Seth (Robert John Burke), one of the only people at the town meeting who agreed with Ellie that they needed to make the WLFs pay. He gives Ellie a better gun, a handshake (returned reluctantly), and well wishes to get those motherfuckers.
Dina, Ellie, and Shimmer travel in a Northwesterly direction until they reach the lush forests surrounding Seattle, where they come across the gruesome aftermath of a massacre, so bad it makes Dina physically sick. We met this group earlier, as they were walking “away from war” led by a man and his young daughter (do ya see them? The PARALLELS?). They’re in some kind of religious-y cult called the Seraphites, who believe in “the Prophet” and they have lines cut into their faces (even the children!). Ellie and Dina are understandably shaken at the violence on display, but it only makes them more determined to bring Abby’s group to “justice”, as they assume they are the ones who did this.
The State Of Us
Ellie is so deep in her grief for Joel that she is experiencing PTSD flashbacks, isolating herself, pretending she is fine because she can’t share how destroyed she feels. Bella’s face went through so many little emotions in every scene, though none more than when Ellie kneels by Joel’s grave and places a handful of coffee beans on the ground. The little smile when you can see she’s recalling a memory about his love for the brown bean water and then the instant it comes back to her that she’ll never relive that with him again, and the smile just drops. Despite Ellie trying to hold up this front that she’s not completely feral, everyone—literally, everyone, lol—sees through it and is concerned for her.
It Ain’t All Bad
Well, things are still pretty bleak, but I did get some levity and chuckles from Gail (Catherine O’Hara) and her conversation with Ellie and then with Tommy about Ellie.
Survivor of the Week
Dina is THAT girl right now. She’s a portrait of grief in mirror to Ellie, showing us someone dealing with their sadness by keeping their head, reaching out for human connection, and yet making her plans while biding her time patiently. In every action, Dina shows she’s Ellie’s ride or die even if Ellie isn’t ready to recognize that loyalty. It was absolutely the right move to keep the Abby info from Ellie until she was healed. She tries to fine the “right” path forward for Ellie to get her revenge, and when that doesn’t work out, she’s got contingency plans in place.
Pour One Out For
Tommy’s emotional state. The man had to deal with a horde destroying his town, then learn about his brother’s death, then try to be there for his brother’s enraged adopted daughter while also rebuilding the town and all the while fighting the desire for revenge himself. He fucking got me with that, “Give Sarah my love.” line as he cleaned Joel’s body. 😭
Best Time To Cover Your Eyes
No real on-screen violence, but that was two too many close-ups of the poor, dead red-headed Seraphite girl and her father. She’d just gotten her first hammer too. ☹
We Must Adapt To Survive
Some minor spoilers since we are discussing show vs game differences, so be warned.
- I’m constantly amazed at the set/production designers of this show. The interiors for Joel’s house were literally only built for the scene of Ellie walking through them, and there was such attention to detail to match the game. I think the part that got me the most was all the flowers sitting outside on the front lawn. In the game you never saw Joel interact with anyone in town, so when you get to this moment it’s the first time you see that Joel wasn’t just loved by Ellie.
- I loved some of the shots of Ellie and Dina riding Shimmer through the outskirts of Seattle, picking their way through abandoned cars and overgrown roads. This part of the game was so pretty to play, and really was a calm before the storm.
- One of the biggest changes from the game is Ellie and Dina actually leave with Maria’s tacit approval because Tommy is the one who sneaks off on his own. I know some are worried this means Tommy isn’t going to leave either, but I think the key moment from this episode that will inform Tommy’s actions for the rest of the season is when he tells Ellie that Joel would run off to protect her, not to avenge her… They are changing Tommy’s motivations but I bet they aren’t changing key aspects of the story.
- In the same vein, they are playing with the timing and structure of Dina and Ellie’s relationship; part of their “rate this kiss” tent moment was adapted from a more intimate moment in the grow-house from the last episode. I know many were very upset this scene didn’t happen and are now worried they’re somehow “lessening” the relationship, but these moments feel clear to me the show is wanting to give Dina more agency and personal history, and actually want to highlight the relationship more by taking a slow-burn approach so we get to see their relationship blossom, versus how they were already so comfortable with each other in the game.
Graffiti On The Wall
- I loved the choice of making Seth one of the only people to agree with Ellie that vengeance is necessary. But I do NOT think this is in any way a “redemption” arc for him. It’s more of a wake-up call, like – Ellie, look at your life, look at your choices! This bigot you don’t even like is the one you want to emulate!?
- I am enjoying Gail as this outside figure watching the melodrama go down and giving her unvarnished thoughts, which then reflect some of our story’s thesis statements. Are some people beyond help? Can you go against your nature? Can you save someone from themselves?
- Hearing the Seraphites whistling in the woods gave me my own PTSD. I’m excited to learn more about the prophet and their backstories beyond what we know from the game.
- This thought is more about the fandom than the show: I wonder how many tuned in this week despite declaring they wouldn’t after last week’s shocker.
Meet Mandy W. back here next week for what looks to be another intense, action-packed episode! While we’re waiting, I wanna know, would you be able to travel cross country with just a backpack and some ammo in your pockets? On horseback?? Couldn’t be me.
