After last week’s emotional tour de force, The Last of Us made the right move in taking a beat before fully diving into the next confrontation for Joel and Ellie. Now, I’m sure there will be some people who want the series to be more of a go, go, go narrative arc, but this is the moment in this story where we need time to see the relationship between Joel and Ellie begin growing, changing, and their emotional connection cementing. After all, in light of Bill’s final message to Joel – he’s a protector who needs to take his role in Ellie’s life seriously – this is our first real chance to see Joel as that parental figure to Ellie, with him seeing her as a person and less of a task to complete on the road to Tommy.
Sure, Joel refers to Ellie as cargo, but come on, we can all see the protective nature of Joel emerging throughout this episode. And boy, was it a joy to get to see Joel finally crack a smile after that truly awful joke before Henry and Sam caught them unawares as they slept (at least I’m assuming they are Sam and Henry – I suspect I’m right, but we’ll find out next week just who this pair of brothers are and what role they will be playing in Joel and Ellie’s disastrous trip to Kansas City). We needed this episode as a palette cleanser, yes, but we also needed it as a key bit of character development. A road trip montage is a key element of so many films and television shows. That trip allows people to bond, to talk, to get to know each other. Ellie, for the first time, makes it clear that she trusts Joel. Those stupid young teenager jokes are a sign of love, respect, and a request for Joel to give her a little bit in the way of trust in return. And Joel? Well, as with all gruff characters tasked with caring for children, his outer shell is starting to thaw and he’s letting himself become vulnerable to another person for the first time in years. It’s something to see.
Now, outside of this excellent character development, we get our first view of what a society looks like with the QZ has fallen apart thanks to the work of a rebel group. Headed by Kathleen – played by the always great Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) – a woman who is clearly seeking revenge against Henry for something that happened to her brother (what that is, we have yet to discover), this group is heavily armed, hostile to any outsiders, and willing to kill whomever Kathleen deems necessary to accomplish her goal of revenge. There’s no indication as to how Kathleen managed to get in charge of this group of people – like many things with this cadre of rebels, I suspect answers are coming our way next week – but she doesn’t seem like a particularly bloodthirsty leader. Which all but signals that she’s going to do something particularly heinous at some point (if killing a doctor who may have been a FEDRA informant against his neighbors despite a lifelong relationship with him doesn’t qualify as heinous in your book – it just doesn’t in mine when it comes to post-apocalyptic storytelling). As I said, Lynskey is such a dynamic actor that I will gladly watch anything she appears in (seriously, if you’re digging The Last of Us, you will likely also dig Yellowjackets, which gives Lynskey an incredible starring turn in a similarly dark series), so I’m very intrigued to see just what is in store for us when we return next week and get the full story from Henry and Sam – why is Kathleen after them? What have they done (or not done but been accused of doing)? How did Kansas City fall into this state? And how has Kathleen garnered a militia without seeming to be a particularly charismatic leader? Lots of questions that we need answers to. Oh! And there’s also that mysterious thing under the sink hole (I’m assuming it’s a particularly awful zombie thing that will be nearly impossible to kill). We need to see just what that is and how much havoc it is about to wreak.
But, even without a major moment in the episode, “Please Hold My Hand” was incredibly effective as a transitional hour. Ellie made her first kill that we’ve seen (although sadly not her first, per her conversation with Joel). The death of Bryan was really awful to watch play out – a young man playing at war, terrified in death and calling out for his mother, killed by another young person. A really complex and difficult reality to acclimate ourselves to – kids killing each other. And then the reveal that Henry and Sam are young as well? Oof. This is a world where kids have to grow up quickly to survive (even in the QZ), and seeing it play out in front of our eyes is hard. We know Ellie and Joel aren’t going anywhere anytime soon – at least not until the endgame of the series – so we know they’re going to make it out of this scrape in one piece. But still, seeing the others out there, young like Ellie, unable to survive on their own, hunted for various reasons, and playing at things they should be too young to know about. It’s a lot. And it sets the stage for part two of this stop within the narrative.
Last week may have been an all-timer of an episode. But this week was just what we needed to get ourselves back in the game and back on the trail. We got enough breadcrumbs to get excited for the payoff. We learned more about both Joel and Ellie and saw their bond strengthening. This is what makes a series truly great – knowing when to ebb and flow a story, letting it breathe and take up space when necessary. I’m excited to see just what is to come.
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