The Last of Us – Kin Review

Unresolved trauma has a way of sneaking up on people when they least expect it – sometimes decades after that first blush of pain was inflicted upon a person. When it comes to Joel, hit after hit have built up a massive wall around the man – no surprise there for anyone who has been watching The Last of Us thus far – and at some point, that wall was bound to crumble. From the chest pains (which I genuinely worried were sign of something a bit more deadly) to his continued refusal to let Ellie close lest he potentially lose her the way he lost Sarah all those years ago, it was refreshing to see the series – and Joel – take steps toward forging that bond between Joel and Ellie that will be necessary as the series heads toward its season one conclusion.

Until the final moments of the episode, “Kin” was shaping up to be one of the quieter hours of the series thus far. Yes, we were shown the reunion between Joel and Tommy (and the introduction of Maria, played by the always great Rutina Wesley), along with another interesting settlement in Jackson, Wyoming. But this episode was less about showing us this wider world – or even getting Ellie closer to her potential saviors in the Fireflies* – rather it was about Joel getting out of his own way to realize that he is the person Bill told him he was all the way back in episode three: he’s a protector.

*Twice now, the Fireflies haven’t been where they should be. While it looks like this branch of the sect made it out in one piece and headed west to Salt Lake City, it’s still troubling that so many Firefly encampments are gone. Is someone hunting them? Are they closing ranks because they heard from Marlene that hope is on the way? And what are the chances we end up finding Marlene when Joel and Ellie head to Salt Lake City – since I’m certain Joel is getting out of this alive for now?

Now, getting Joel to a place where he could realize that he’s not the sum of all those he’s lost – and all those he’s killed out of necessity and simply because – wasn’t an easy journey. His tearful speech to Tommy (excellent work by Pedro Pascal in showing us the depth of guilt and pain Joel has been pushing down over and over these past twenty years) laid out how much of a failure he still sees himself as. In his mind, he should have been able to protect Sarah. His killings shouldn’t have pushed Tommy away – he should have been able to keep his brother with him, like a good older brother does. He should have been able to protect Tess. Ellie shouldn’t have to take out her gun to protect Joel. He should be the hero, the strong one, the person people can count on. But, because he’s not perfect, he’s not infallible, he shouldn’t be trusted – Ellie shouldn’t trust him because he’ll just fail her like he failed Sarah. But what he didn’t realize – what he doesn’t take into account until Ellie’s own impassioned speech – is that no one needs him to be everything every time. It’s a hard, but necessary lesson for Joel to learn right now.

When Bill told him that they were the protectors, you could tell that Joel didn’t believe it. That it hurt him to think that someone could have seen him as someone like that when all he does is lose those he’s supposed to protect. But I don’t think that’s what Bill meant, at least not entirely. Bill protected Frank from harm, but he also loved him deeply – he centered his life around making sure that Frank was able to live out his in safety – until there was nothing more that Bill could do and Frank made a choice to end his life. Joel has done the same with those he has loved – he did everything he could to protect Sarah from the end of the world. He kept Tommy safe until Tommy made the choice to leave him. He tried to keep Tess safe until Tess made a choice to take Ellie, which led to her death. She made a choice – there was nothing Joel could ultimately do. And then there’s Ellie. Joel thought he could protect her from himself by taking her choice away from her. But her choice will always be to stay with the one person who has shown her trust and loyalty in her young life: Joel.

It’s that realization – that she trusts him, that she has her own demons that Joel isn’t responsible for, that Joel can’t promise to protect her, that she has her own choices to make in this world and that Joel can’t take that away from her – that allows Joel to finally accept that this isn’t a chore for him, that he’s not on trial, that Ellie wants to be here, with him. Their bonding on their ride to the university was joyous to see – and certainly foreshadowed that something bad was bound to happen, because no one in post-apocalyptic dramas can be happy for very long. This was the moment where Joel made a choice to accept that he doesn’t always have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders – that it’s ok to allow others to help lift that load. Unfortunately for him and Ellie, this revelation came with a price and it’s going to be interesting to see how Ellie manages to get the duo out of this situation. But, once they make it out the other side, I’m eager to see this relationship continue to deepen. Because even someone with as dark of a past as Joel deserves to have support, love, and friendship at the end of the world.