You know the drill.
THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND THE GAME SERIES IT IS BASED ON.
ADDITIONALLY, THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS OF SUICIDE BELOW.
like READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
This is done in several ways, but I will start with discussing two new characters.
After a flashback to Henry’s suicide in episode five, the show skips forward three months.
A lone character with a brace of dead rabbits then approaches a remote cabin.
When Marlon enters the cabin, his wife Florence can be seen making eyes towards the back.
It then transpires that Joel is in there, keeping a gun at the ready on Florence.
However, she is unconcerned and has even made him soup.
Despite being asked to stay put upstairs by Joel she heads down to the room with her own gun.
Ellie’s clear defiance of Joel once more makes Florence titter.
“If your brother’s west of the river, he’s gone,” Marlon tells Joel.
I have to say, I was a touch disappointed with this scene.
Perhaps the biggest change from the game in this episode, however, is Jackson.
In the game, we see Jackson from its outskirts but never actually enter through the community’s gates.
when she sees it) but they then move on from this game set piece fairly swiftly.
They are then met by an unknown group on horseback.
Here, inside the community’s walls, Joel is finally reunited with his brother Tommy.
It is worth noting Ellie does not look entirely happy for Joel at this moment.
Rather, she looks concerned that now Joel has found his brother he will leave her.
Is blood thicker than water?
A further spoiler warning here, as discussion of The Last of Us Part 2 follows.
The show’s version of Jackson is very much the Jackson from The Last of Us Part 2.
As in the game, Tommy has married Maria since leaving the Fireflies and settled down in Jackson.
Unlike in the game, the couple are expecting a baby.
Another difference from the game is Maria does not “run” Jackson, but is on the council.
As in the game, Joel tries to convince Tommy to take Ellie to the Fireflies.
He also lies about Tess when Tommy asks after her.
However, Joel eventually tells his brother he feels weak and he is failing Ellie.
When Joel rejoins Ellie, the two have the same argument they have in the game.
Ellie is angry Joel is handing her over to Tommy.
Ellie shouts at Joel: “Everybody I have cared for has either died or left me.
Everybody - fucking except for you!”
She does not want to be alone.
This moment cuts deep.
As in the game, the two make their way to the university on horseback.
As always, things aren’t going to be that easy.
In the show, he is stabbed by one of the raiders.
In the game, Joel is impaled by a spike after falling during a fight.
Ellie helps Joel back to their horse and they flee.
The episode ends with a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again”.
The version playing out episode six is laced with sadness, and once again I cried.
Before closing off the article, a few quick honourable mentions.
I loved when Joel and Ellie discussed their hopes and dreams with each other.
Early in the episode, Joel tells Ellie he wants to run a sheep ranch from an old farmhouse.
This is what Ellie does with Dina towards the end of Part 2.
The second thing I appreciated was Ellie’s attempt to whistle.
She does this in the game as well.
Lastly, the wardrobe department did another great job of replicating the in-game outfits in this episode.
What did you think of the sixth episode of The Last of Us?
