A long awaited reunion hangs over this week’s episode of The Last of Us, as Joel finally meets his brother Tommy again after years apart, which leads to unexpected emotional complications. Here we go…
River of Death | Three months after the Henry incident, a man named Marlon (Graham Greene) returns from hunting to his snow covered cabin to find Joel (Pedro Pascal) pointing a gun at his wife. Joel demands to know where Tommy is and Marlon points on a map, but warns them to not go past the river near Tommy’s location, saying that bodies are always found there. As Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) leave, Joel suddenly loses his breath, but brushes it off. They venture further west and make camp by the river, where Joel lets Ellie have her first drink. As Ellie asks Joel what he would do if the vaccine works, she also tells him that her blood didn’t cure Sam.
The next morning, they cross a bridge over the river with no problems and find a dam, meaning electricity nearby. Soon after, men with gun on horseback surround them and threaten to unleash an angry dog on them, but it sniffs Joel and acts cute. It then sniffs Ellie to see if she’s infected, but it also acts cute with her. A woman on a horse demands to know Joel’s name and when he answers, they take them to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, guarded by a gate. Once inside, Joel sees Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and the two have an emotional reunion.
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Little Slice of Paradise | As Tommy feeds Joel and Ellie, he also reveals that one of the armed women, Maria (Rutina Wesley), is his wife. They give them the tour of the town, which is infected free and houses 300. Joel tries to convince Tommy to take Ellie to the Fireflies, but Tommy refuses, which makes Joel angry and to make matters worse, Tommy tells him that Maria is pregnant, bringing up old wounds for Joel.
Maria takes Ellie to an abandoned house, where she gets a shower and clean clothes. She heads across the street to Maria and Tommy’s house and finds a memorial for Sarah and Kevin. Maria tells Ellie about Sarah, which is a shock to Ellie, and then takes her to a house playing old movies for the kids in town.
Tommy finds Joel in an old shoe shop and tries to apologize to him, when Joel tells Tommy that Ellie is immune to the fungus. Joel tells Tommy the whole story of what they’ve been through the last few months, adding that he’s fearful for Ellie’s safety. He begs Tommy to take Ellie to the Fireflies without him, fearing that he’ll let Ellie down, and Tommy agrees.
Separate Ways | Joel heads to the house where Ellie is staying and she reveals that she overheard him talking to Tommy. She’s pissed at him for abandoning her, even bringing up Sarah, which angers Joel to the point that he walks out on her and says they’re going their separate ways.
The next morning, Tommy arrives to take Ellie, but as they go to the stable, Joel is there. Ellie immediately says she’s going with Joel and Joel and Tommy say goodbye, with Tommy promising that they have a place in Jackson Hole when it’s all over. After they leave, Joel teaches Ellie how to shoot his rifle properly and they carry on with their journey. Five days later, they end up in Colorado, where they see a Firefly logo sprayed on a sign at the University of Colorado. They go inside and find a list of supplies to bring, and a bunch of monkeys swinging around. They see a map with pins pointing to Salt Lake City, as well as a group of people with bats outside.
One of the men comes at Joel with a baseball bat, but misses and snaps the bat in half. Joel snaps the guy’s neck, but he stabs Joel in the stomach with the broken half of the bat. They manage to escape on the horse, but Joel falls off the horse and isn’t moving…
The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO.