Living With B

If you haven’t watched Episode 3 yet and want to stay unspoiled, now’s your cue to tap out!

After Dina shares crucial intel, Ellie prepares to petition the town council. Near Seattle, a religious group flees a war.

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episode summary & my thoughts

We are on the road again in episode 3 of The Last of Us!

We open with Tommy visiting Joel and saying his final goodbye: “Say hi to Sarah for me.” I don’t know why this made me instantly cry, but it did. Something about how raw this felt hurt. He lost his niece at the beginning of the series and his brother during an extremely hard time for Jackson.

Additionally, Ellie wakes up in the hospital and is met with flashbacks of Joel’s death, which sends her into a trauma-induced reaction. This also hurt, because you can see how much pain she is in. Not only is this traumatic, but it is also heartbreaking to know that the one person who always had your back is now gone. Pain, pain, and more pain!

However, we jump 3 months and Ellie is released from the hospital after a long, and much needed hospital stay. She is evaluated by a physician and Gale, the psychotherapist that resides in Jackson. She is happy, and ready to move forward with her plans of revenge. She visits her and Joel’s home which is decorated with memorial pieces for Joel. Ellie enters the home and visits Joel’s bedroom, where she ultimately breaks down from grief.

Another moment that broke my heart into a million pieces as we can assume Ellie hasn’t entered the home since she found out the truth. You can feel just how much she is emotionally going through.

Dina visits and we find out she visited Ellie in the hospital often. In the hospital, Ellie asked if Dina knew any information regarding who did this. Dina, in hopes of not upsetting Ellie, told her no. But she does know and is going to tell Ellie now.

Finding out who was there and where they are possibly located is valuable information to Ellie and her plan for revenge, which is a core theme for this season and will help push the plot further.

Ellie and Dina visits Tommy and gives him the intel Dina has. After this, they make a formal request to allow 16 of their bests to hunt for Joel’s killers. Both sides of the debate are brought forth. One person argues that sending 16 of the best out, leaves Jackson vulnerable to raiders and infected alike. Another question to ethical implications of seeking revenge. Then there is Seth, the most unexpected person to be on Ellie’s side. He makes an impassioned speech about the cowardice and stupidity of everyone in the room who isn’t prepared to get payback.

Ellie has her time to speak, and she reframes Seth’s call for revenge into a more noble cause: justice. Not for her. Not for Joel. But for everyone in Jackson. Despite Ellie’s speech, the council denies the request and we are off.

This is an interesting insight into town hall, that we did not get to see in the game. Additionally, this episode goes to lengths to show the similarities between Joel and Ellie. Gale mentions this in an impromptu therapy session with Tommy, where he tells her that he fears Ellie is following in Joel’s footsteps to heal her grief through rash, violent behavior. Something Joel was known for after he lost his daughter, Sarah. Gale then mentions that nurture can only do so much and that the rest is nature. She continues by saying “If she’s on a path, it’s not one Joel put her on. No. No, I think they were walking side by side from the very start.” and ends with “Some people just… some people just can’t be saved.”

This feels like an assessment of Ellie’s character and her future. Which if you have played the games, you know that this is a testament that will rang true in the future. You can’t run from what your destiny is.

Next thing we know, Ellie is packing to leave for Seattle when Dina checks in on her.

Although Ellie is initially worried that Dina will talk her out of going, Dina is two steps ahead of her with a map that has the best route and a list of supplies they need for the journey. And Dina ropes in Seth, once again, our unlikely hero.

Seth assists the two in sneaking out of Jackson to begin their journey to Seattle. Before they leave, they visit Joel’s grave where Ellie is able to say a proper goodbye, leaving coffee beans behind on his grave. A touching and sad moment that broke me in two.

On their journey, they discover a group of adults and children who have been murdered. The assumption is that it was W.L.F. (Wolves).

If you played the games, you knew exactly who this group was when you first saw them. Seraphites, who communicates in whistles. They are, well… Terrifying! Additionally, Wolves are just as scary if not more terrifying!

In the end, Ellie and Dina make it to Seattle and it is clear that they are entering underestimated dangers in an unfamiliar territory. The Wolves are much larger than anticipated. Soon enough we’ll see just how much of a risk Ellie and Dina are willing to take in order to claim their revenge.

final thoughts

I don’t think this is the strongest episode of TLOU, but it is still a great episode filled with heartache and grief. Although Ellie has experienced grief before, this one feels deeper and much sadder. This episode helps move the story forward as we see Ellie throw herself full force into the need for revenge.

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