In the most recent episode, titled ‘Please Hold My Hand,’ Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie continue their journey as they plan for the future.
This episode may feel a little slow to some, but it still manages to entertain while maintaining the excellent quality that ‘The Last of Us’ has been known for.
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“The Last Of Us” (Episode 4): Joel & Ellie Relationship Explored!
Ramsey is the show’s soul, and the “embarrassingly funny” gags she tells during the episode are bloody wonderful. Ellie’s ‘No Pun Intended: Volume Too’ lightens the situation and even makes Joel giggle.
That is exactly what we wanted to see from the start. Meanwhile, Pedro Pascal is hypnotic. There isn’t a single flaw in his portrayal of Joel.
However, Melanie Lynskey’s Kathleen is the episode’s MVP and a fantastic addition to the series. We’re interested to see how this figure creates tension for the duo and the audience.
Overall, ‘The Last of Us’ Episode 4 concentrates on the build-up, and viewers learn a lot about the town and people. Joel and Ellie’s friendship is strengthening and they are becoming more intimate. However, we would like ‘The Hunters’ to be as engrossing as they were in the game in order to leave a lasting impression.
“The Last Of Us” (Episode 4): Kansas City Is In Disarray
In Kansas City, the freeway passes through a tunnel that is obstructed by wrecked trucks and cars. Instead of going backwards, they exit the highway and aim to rejoin at the next exit.
We observe piles of bodies that they manage to miss as they drive through the city, and they see a deserted quarantine zone.
Soon after, they notice a man strolling in the street, slumped over and crying for aid. Joel instructs Ellie to fasten her seatbelt as the two drive approach the man, Joel stating that they would not assist him.
As they pass the man, another man throws a cinder block on their windshield, a spike strip pops their tires, and another man appears with a gun. As they are being fired from the street, Joel and Ellie drive their pickup into a laundromat.
Joel instructs Ellie to crawl into a hole in a nearby wall and remain there until he arrives, telling her that she would not be wounded. Joel hides behind the worthless truck and shoots at their assailants once she arrives.
Joel believes all of the men are dead until another man sneaks up behind him, knocks Joel to the ground, and presses his gun up to his neck, slowly killing him.
Ellie walks up on the man and shoots him with her secret gun, knowing she has no other option. But the man is still alive, screaming and pleading with Ellie not to shoot again.
Joel takes Ellie’s gun, the pleading man’s knife, and orders her to go back through the wall. We hear Joel knife the man to death from where she is hiding.
Joel and Ellie leave the laundromat after all the men have left, seeking to locate higher ground and a way out of danger.
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“The Last Of Us” (Episode 4): Reviews
The first part of the program is devoted to the two characters alone. The pace is slower than The Last of Us’ action-packed first episode, but it maintains that this is a character-driven drama that isn’t only about fighting zombies.
Viewers are reminded of Ellie’s background as she admires her gun in the restroom. She grew up in a war zone, living behind four walls that, when crossed, brought her into contact with a world on the verge of annihilation.
That first scene is a pivotal point in Ellie’s character development, as she is now experiencing the world and learning about its genuine status, rather than simply attending classes at a FEDRA-run school.
Her personal path is almost like a commentary on the actual world, where young people transition from the safe setting of school or college into the harsh reality of employment and survival.
The duo’s road journey serves as a reminder of how amazing The Last of Us looks.
The abandoned homes, overgrown shrubbery, long-forgotten neighborhoods, cluttered bridges, and disused amusement parks stand in stark contrast to the world that spectators are accustomed to seeing.
As the phantom villages emerge in front of Joel and Ellie, the cinematography remains excellent. Ellie’s “punny” comments make both Joel and the audience smile in the midst of this drab, lifeless world.
When Ellie asks Joel, “why did the scarecrow get an award?” it’s easy to forget that the two are trying to take a break in the midst of the forest, presumably surrounded by raiders.
While Joel is expected to be enraged by this childishness, he responds, “because he was exceptional in his specialty.” This sequence is just the start of the friendship that the two are anticipated to establish throughout the series.
When the couple arrives in Kansas City, they are ambushed by hunters, resulting in the episode’s first action sequence. This intense moment features some amazing camera work as Joel attempts to drive away from the surprise attack.
It’s a nail-biting moment when their car wrecks and Joel has to fend off some of the hunters, complete with some very serious battle choreography.
Viewers are reminded that this is not a glamorous plot, with the hero demonstrating his fighting prowess and dispatching every adversary in sight.
Indeed, Joel’s survival abilities are well illustrated in this scene, as he attempts to fight off one of the hunters who has him pinned down to the ground.
The scene in which Ellie removes a gun from her backpack and shoots one of the hunters represents significant character growth for both protagonists. Until now, she has put on a brave face and repeatedly requested Joel for a gun.
When the moment comes to end someone’s life, it’s evident that Ellie isn’t prepared or hardened enough to do it. Her hesitancy reminds viewers that she is still a little girl who is unprepared for the evils of the world.
This incident also kickstarts her relationship with Joel, as he immediately transforms into an overprotective guardian figure. Viewers can tell that Ellie and Joel’s unbreakable friendship has been strengthened at this point.
Not only is he grateful to her for saving his life, but he is also shocked that someone as young as his daughter had to do such a heinous step.
“The Last Of Us” (Episode 4): Who Is Kathleen?
They are ambushed by a gang in The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4. They attempted to dupe them by having one man pretend injured and seek for assistance, but Joel is not duped.
They are forced to hide in a garage, and Ellie climbs through a hole in the wall to enter a chamber.
We then see a man being questioned by a woman who we later learn is Kathleen. She asks if this is the cell where her brother was beaten to death, and it is evident she is not joking.
She claims she is seeking for Henry in order to get revenge on her brother’s death. This is an interesting tie-in because Henry and his younger brother Sam appear in the TLOU video games.
Car horns start honking all of a sudden, signaling her to come outside and meet everyone. Joel’s son is revealed to be the boy who was nearly killed by Joel.
The people explain that they discovered a vehicle laden with supplies, and that it could be mercenaries. She inquires whether the boy will survive, even if she had a doctor, which we know the man she was questioning to be, and they respond in the negative. When she returns to the cell, she shoots the doctor. The boy then passes away.
She believes Henry ordered the attack on her son, and Joel and Ellie are now on the top of her list. Ellie and Joel are seen hiding at a store. Joel tells her he understands what it’s like to hurt someone for the first time, and he’s sorry she went through it.
He goes on to say that she shouldn’t have had to do that. Ellie claims that wasn’t her first time, but she refuses to discuss it.
Joel then hands her a gun and instructs her on how to properly hold it. He instructs her to store it in her backpack.
We follow Kathleen as she searches for Henry in a room filled with superhero artwork. She claims there isn’t much food left, and Henry will not allow Sam go hungry.
Joel and Ellie seek refuge in a building, entering into the garage. They climb as high as they can to get a good view of the city and what they’re up against.
“The Last Of Us” (Episode 4): Is It Worth Watching?
Episode 4 of The Last of Us is another fantastic episode, but one that spends more time building up what is to come for its two main characters – both long and short term – than it does providing many defining moments of its own.
Nonetheless, Melanie Lynskey’s appearance as Kathleen gives the cast a scary, menacing edge, and the terrific action scene is truly thrilling.
Much of the episode is devoted developing Joel and Ellie’s friendship, and the pace is appropriately slowed to allow it to gradually flourish – a critical decision made to maximize the impact of future payoffs when the stakes will be raised once more.
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