The Last of Us
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I swear, Joel replies.
A lot rests on that belief.
And everything could change between them should that belief crumble.
The second scene drives that point home.
For one member, it certainly does.
As a compromise, Owen suggests they go to Seattle and figure out a plan from there.
She hasnt given up on vengeance, but it will have to wait.
But when she does kill Joel, she knows how shell do it.
Or relatively well, anyway.
Ellie has gotten tougher in more ways than one.
Somethings amiss between the two.
Even so, Jackson looks lovely.
If youhaveto live in a retrofitted postapocalyptic American city, its hard to imagine one better than Jackson.
But making it work takes a lot of, well, work.
Joel, too, is looking well, even if the years have obviously weighed on him.
Its the sort of greeting hed normally deliver to Ellie, except its not directed at Ellie.
Its Dina (Isabela Merced), who well soon learn is a close friend of Ellies.
But Dina has a question unrelated to breakers.
Why is Ellie mad at Joel?
Joel doesnt have an answer.
When he elaborates on this, Dina comes to a realization: Joels in therapy.
He denies this, then admits it, and then asks Dina to keep it to herself.
Elsewhere, Ellie is partaking in a different sort of therapy.
But theres a limit to Ellies increased responsibilities.
Tommy tells Ellie that she and Joel are the same goddamn fucking person.
Ellie replies that, if true, he should know hes not winning this fight.
This seems likely to be a problem for Joel, but Joel has other problems.
But Marias requests stem from a need to keep Jackson expanding to accommodate refugees.
Hes a multifaceted man, and those facets include being a big sweetheart.
To remind him of this, Maria tells him, You were a refugee, too.
Could therapy be aiding his attempts to get in touch with his more sensitive side?
Maybe, but in Gail (Catherine OHara), he has a tough therapist.
Joel pays her in (not-so-great) weed, and that seems to suit Gail.
Whatever skills Gail has as a therapist, and they seem considerable, she treats herself by self-medicating.
She has an understandable reason to do this.
Its her birthday and her first without Eugene, her husband of 41 years.
Joel doesnt understand her distance or her brusqueness.
Gail also senses theres something Joels not telling her.
All Joel can say is that he saved her.
To Gail, this seems like an odd secret to be keeping.
She cant yet realize that hes referring to both his proudest moment and his deepest shame.
Ellies back to her sarcastic self when she and the others receive patrol instructions from Joel.
Dina has an idea: Why dont she and Ellie go to the dance together?
Dinas free, after all, having broken up with Jesse (again).
The corpses of several infected lie outside next to the corpse of a bear.
Breaking protocol, Dina and Ellie decide to see whats inside.
To determine how many infected they might encounter, Ellie and Dina crouch outside and listen for their noises.
They count two, which isnt ideal, but they head in anyway.
This, too, is not ideal!
Ellie prevails, but this seems like a troubling development.
In private, Ellie has other concerns.
Her painful solution is to surround the area with scars to disguise the telltale toothmarks.
Ahead of the dance, Joel decides to check on Ellie.
Joel might not be able to repair their relationship, but there are some things hecanrepair.
At the dance, Ellie and Jesse watch Dina dance until Dina claims Ellie has her partner.
Every guy in this room is staring at you right now, Ellie tells Dina.
Maybe theyre jealous of you, Dina tells her.
Then, to illustrate why, Dina kisses Ellie.
The space between them just got a little deeper.
The wordless moment between them when Ellie returns home only confirms this.
This will surely have consequences in the future.
Or at least it seems to.
Ellie has grown up (to a point).
Joel has grown older and settled into a role as a community leader.
Whether it will survive the promised dangers to come, however, remains to be seen.
Still, Ellie seems to be developing a specific taste.
One thing that has not changed about Ellies taste: She still favors Chuck Taylors.
Dina razzes her about this, but cloth Chucks really arent practical winter footwear, even pre-apocalypse.
What do you call a grizzlys ribs?
Anyone capable of this level of terrible wordplay clearly belongs with Ellie.
Good to see Robert John Burke as Seth.
Correction: This recap has been updated to remove a detail that may still be unknown to non-game players.
