[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for The Last of Us, Season 1 Episode 6, “Kin.”]
Probably the greatest facets of The Final of Us is how grounded the sequence is within the realities of life for its characters. After final week’s installment, nobody might ever accuse this present of skimping on fungal-zombie-related motion, however the specifics of day by day survival are given equal weight, particularly because the characters of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) develop nearer on their journey to probably discover a remedy for the plague that broke the world.
So, in celebration of this strategy, let’s break down a number of the finest particulars from the latest episode, which picks up after the tragic conclusion of Joel and Ellie’s time in Kansas Metropolis. Lots of floor is roofed actually, because the pair arrive in Wyoming earlier than then touring all the way down to Colorado, however there’s additionally some important storytelling as effectively, as Joel and Ellie uncover a brand new protected haven earlier than persevering with on their quest. As we see so usually on this present, the little issues add as much as one thing massive.
01. Ellie Actually Notices Joel’s Age
The Final of Us (HBO)
Over the previous few episodes, Joel has been caught slipping twice: First by the ambush in Kansas Metropolis after which when Henry and Sam acquired the drop on them. In “Kin,” Ellie picks up much more indicators that Joel is shedding his edge.
Early within the episode, Ellie worries when Joel has coronary heart palpitations, and whereas it seems she isn’t as involved when he falls asleep whereas on second watch, there seems to be a tacit settlement she may need to select up extra slack. This all involves a head when Joel will get stabbed and falls off the horse whereas they’re getting away from the attackers.
02. A City With Christmas and Bacon
The Final of Us (HBO)
The Final of Us hasn’t pulled its punches in the case of the brutality of life after Cordyceps — and there’s solely extra darkness to come back, almost definitely. However the aid of Joel and Ellie not simply discovering Tommy (Gabriel Luna), however discovering a beacon of civilization after weeks of scrambling, can’t be understated, and director Jasmila Žbanić does a stellar job of capturing the specifics of life in Jackson, with its working lights, a movie show, and ice to your drinks.
03. The Diva Cup
The Final of Us (HBO)
We’ve beforehand seen Ellie deal with the wrestle that’s discovering female hygiene initiatives through the post-apocalypse — in Episode 3, she spent a good portion of display time searching down tampons. So the present from Maria (Rutina Wesley) right here is one which she might not instantly admire, however whereas there are many present-day ladies who don’t love this explicit methodology for dealing with that point of the month, there’s little doubt that the reusable nature of the system makes it a godsend in a time when CVS isn’t open 24 hours.
One historic observe: Variations of the menstrual cup have been in use for a very long time, going again to the 18th century, however the Diva Cup web site proudly proclaims that the corporate “introduced the DivaCup to the mass market in 2003.” So sure, technically the corporate was in enterprise earlier than the world fell aside within the Final of Us timeline, however was it mass-producing sufficient gadgets by that time? Eh, we don’t have to nitpick this explicit element.
04. Film Evening
Screening on the native theater is the Oscar-nominated 1977 romantic comedy The Goodbye Lady, starring Richard Dreyfus, Marsha Mason, and Quinn Cummings — Dreyfus gained the award for Greatest Actor for his position as a struggling actor who strikes in with a single mother and her precocious daughter. Past the theme of discovered households, it’s onerous to make certain why this explicit movie was picked for inclusion within the episode; it in all probability doesn’t harm that WarnerMedia (which after all additionally owns HBO) owns the rights, however the movie isn’t at present streaming on HBO Max. Perhaps it’ll get added to the TCM hub come March.
