The Last of Us Season 2 opened with a gut punch to the viewers as Joel met his tragic fate at the hands of Abby. While this marked a bold start to the new season, the quality of the episodes began to dwindle as the show progressed due to some unwanted changes to Ellie’s character. Earlier, Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross teased that episode 6 of The Last of Us season 2 will be a ‘special’ episode. They were right on the money, as the sixth episode, which showcased the growth and fall of Joel and Ellie’s relationship, was the strongest yet, and the show gloriously returned to its roots.
Spoilers Warning: This article contains major spoilers about story of The Last of Us Part 2 game and season 2 of the TV show. Proceed with caution.
The Heartfelt Beginnings of Joel’s Fatherhood in The Last of Us
As teased in the previous episode, episode 6 of TLOU season 2 takes us back in time to Joel and Ellie’s peaceful years in Jackson Town. The flashback portions in The Last of Us Part 2 are some of my favorite sequences in the game. The game told the story in a non-linear fashion with flashbacks in between. Although I didn’t find the game’s storytelling incoherent, this type of storytelling hurt the pace and experience for many gamers, making it one of the game’s biggest flaws
There are some things that you can only pull off in the adaptation. For example, TLOU showrunners brilliantly extended Bill and Frank’s beautiful story in season 1, which was praised by everyone. In line with that episode, Neil Druckmann created a very special episode rich with a collection of emotional flashbacks of Joel celebrating Ellie’s birthdays.
Happy Birthday, Kiddo – Joel Miller
After everything Joel and Ellie went through in season 1, they get their serene start in Jackson Town. Joel gets a second chance at fatherhood (after losing his daughter Sarah) by raising Ellie in the settlement. The first half of episode 6 highlights how Joel made each of Ellie’s birthdays special with a series of meaningful gifts. For Ellie’s 15th birthday, Joel got a cake, a handcrafted guitar, and sang “Future Days” by Pearl Jam with the guitar for her.
Ellie earlier confirmed that she would have wanted to be an astronaut at the university in the events of Part 1. To celebrate her 16th birthday, Joel took Ellie to a museum and gifted her a cassette to let her enjoy the simulated experience of an astronaut entering space, fulfilling one of her lifelong dreams. This was an unforgettable experience in the game, and the live-action adaptation recreates it faithfully as well. The showrunners gently unfolded the precious bond between Joel and Ellie up until this point, and as predicted, then focused on the tension that begins to strain their bond.
Joel and Ellie’s Relationship Falls Into Turmoil
By the time Ellie became 17 years old, Joel’s relationship with Ellie began to take a hit as Joel struggled to face the challenges of raising a teenager. Joel was clearly unhappy with Ellie’s activities involving tattoos, drugs, and finally experimenting with her sexuality. He tried to understand her better from then on. However, Ellie’s burning questions about the Salt Lake Hospital incident emerge again, as no amount of happy times can put her restless mind at ease.
The final nail in their relationship came in the form of Eugene. The old man was bitten by an infected and wished to see his wife one last time to bid his final goodbye. Joel, who promised Ellie that he would honor Eugene’s wish earlier, broke it and ended Eugene’s misery when Ellie was away.
When we get there, I’ll tell Gail what she needs to know and nothin’ more. It’s the right thing to do. Ellie, I had no choice.
This moment proved to Ellie that Joel would lie for what he thinks is the greater good. When Joel further lied to Gail about Eugene’s last moments, Ellie revealed the truth about Eugene’s death to his wife. This event shed light on Joel’s true self and also silently gave away the answers to Ellie’s questions about Joel. From now on, their relationship took a disastrous turn that nobody saw coming at first.
Joel’s Final Conversation With Ellie
This episode wonderfully traced the arc of Joel and Ellie’s relationship from its gentle bloom, through growing tension, and finally ending in heartbreaking collapse after the Eugene incident. In the game, Ellie finds a firefly recording at the hospital and finally learn the truth about Joel’s actions to save her, which cost their relationship. Unlike the game, the live-action did a fantastic job of letting us experience the rise and fall of this found family through a well-woven string of flashbacks, which led to their final conversation.
Ellie and Joel’s final conversation on their porch is the ending of The Last of Us Part 2 game. Joel accepts Ellie for who she is and even gives his blessing that Dina would be lucky to have Ellie in her life. Then, Neil Druckmann decided to bring the complete ending sequence earlier and let Ellie learn the truth about what happened at the hospital from a broken Joel.
But If somehow I had a second chance at that moment… I would do it all over again – Joel
The creators even further explained Joel’s selfish actions based on love, and now he had to pay the price for it. You might also be wondering why Neil created an opening flashback scene where Joel’s abusive father (cameo by Tony Dalton) explains how he is trying to do better than Joel’s grandfather ever did. It was done to bring Joel’s character arc come full circle, and I have to agree that it was done even better than in the game.
If you should have one of your own… well, then, I hope you do a little better than me.
Joel breaks the cycle of abuse and becomes an understanding father to Ellie. Just like him, now Ellie will end the cycle of revenge by remembering her conversation with Joel in the final moments of the game. These striking parallels and expanded moments bring a whole new meaning to the story. By presenting and painting a complete picture of Ellie and Joel’s journey, the show swiftly fixes the jarring experience some gamers faced in the game.
As someone who loved the game every bit, I’m totally blown away by Neil Druckmann’s sheer brilliance in fleshing out Ellie and Joel’s relationship, which was already deemed perfect by the fans. This episode was a rollercoaster ride full of emotions, and this is exactly what The Last of Us is about. The well-written episode 6 marks a strong return to form for the TLOU season 2, with masterful performances from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. We hope this momentum carries on forward to its finale next week. That said, what do you think about this special episode? Let us know in the comments below.
