It’s been weeks since Joel (Pedro Pascal) met a violent end in HBO’s The Last of Us. People who played The Last of Us Part II knew this was coming, but newcomers have been in a state of mourning since season two’s second episode took away their TV peepaw. Like a lot of players did in 2020, they went into this expecting another story of Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) doing post-apocalyptic family bonding, only for Joel to be taken off the board very early. After episode five, however, all these new fans are celebrating because Pascal is coming back to the show, at least for a little while.
Episode five, “Feel Her Love,” ends on a horrifying note as Ellie tortures Nora (Tati Gabrielle) for information and finally gets a taste of the revenge she crossed state lines for. But rather than leaving viewers on such a dour moment, the episode ends with a brief flashback to better days. Ellie wakes up in her bed in Joel’s home back in Jackson, and the man himself enters the room with a “Hey, kiddo.” The episode ends with the pair smiling at each other as the sun shines into their home.
To be a bit of a party pooper (just for a second, I swear), I’m not thrilled the show couldn’t just leave us sitting with the ugliness of Ellie’s actions as the credits rolled. I’ve written a fair bit in my episode recaps about how HBO seems dead set on making sure our funky little lesbian remains the hero of her story, even to the detriment of supporting characters like Jesse, who takes on a more antagonistic role in her stead. Putting this sunny flashback scene right at the end of what is arguably one of Ellie’s darkest moments plays like an attempt to cushion the horror of what she’s just done to Nora, a woman who has already been done a disservice by the way the game and show frame her death.
Pushing that aside with all its might, the show immediately distracts us with Pedro Pascal’s smiling face. “Look, it’s Joel! He’s alive and well and handsome.” (Congrats to him on that). Now we can pretend all this revenge business was just one big nightmare. Time to do cute shit. At least, that’s the vibe fans are hoping for in next week’s episode. Will it actually be as wholesome and cute as they’re hoping? To be determined. HBO’s preview of the episode has already gotten fans riled up, ready to see Pascal in his element as Ellie’s surrogate father.
Game fans will recognize a handful of these scenes from The Last of Us Part II. The game sprinkled flashbacks of Ellie’s history with Joel throughout her days in Seattle, but the show seems to be condensing those moments into one Joel-centric episode. This episode (and the season finale) are notable in that series director Neil Druckmann and Part II narrative lead Halley Gross also have writing credits on them alongside showrunner Craig Mazin. Will their contributions be enough to get me off my perpetual hater train when I write up next week’s recap? Find out on the next episode of The Last of Us: Daddy-Daughter Dance.