Living With B

If you haven’t watched Episode 6 yet and want to stay unspoiled, now’s your cue to tap out!

Joel surprises Ellie for her birthday. Years later, Ellie prepares to confront Joel about her past.

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My Thoughts on Episode 6, The Path

Another episode, another review… And I’m still not a fan.
The good news? The final episode is next week, so I can return to my regularly scheduled program of sitcoms. Not going to lie, I wish I were disappointed that Season 2 is coming to an end, but I’m honestly ready for it.

As Denver and I predicted, this episode was entirely flashbacks. And while I’ve been asking for flashbacks all season, now that I’ve gotten them… they didn’t stand out. At all. So let’s start there.

I did appreciate that we got some insight into Joel and Tommy’s upbringing. This opening scene attempts to create a lackluster full-circle moment. Joel’s father, Javier (Tony Dalton) opens up about the abuse he experienced at the hands of his father. He talks about trying to break the cycle and how he hopes that Joel does better than him. It’s a sweet moment and added some depth to Joel. Plus, Tony Dalton is such a fantastic actor and has such a great moustache.

To be fair, Joel does break the cycle of abusive parenting. Even when Ellie rebels against the life they have built, he keeps his calm. We love seeing growth!

This whole episode just felt like a tribute to Joel: he’s a woodworking man who is doing his best for Ellie. It was also nice to see the relationship between Seth and Joel being cordial rather than combative. It was just nice to see Joel happy.

Hearing Joel tell Ellie that he loved her and that he would do it all over again, referring to his decision to taking her from the Fireflies, was nice!

Also, the scenery? Stunning. The scene where Eugene is about to be killed? Beautifully shot. As much as I’d love a heartfelt moment with Denver before my tragic end, I wouldn’t have minded looking at that view.

I didn’t mind them reusing the dancing scene for the final flashback. Seeing it from Joel’s perspective and hearing their conversation added something new. I didn’t mind how this scene was used for the full-circle callback where Joel tells Ellie that he hopes he is better than him.

So yes, I have some pros this time. Love that for me. But unsurprisingly, there are still cons. Big ones.

Let’s talk about the horrible, hard cuts between flashbacks. Every time one ends: bam! Black screen. “One Year Later.” Over and over again. It was repetitive and amateurish. I don’t know what the better solution would’ve been, but it’s not this.

And Ellie… oh, Ellie. She isn’t working for me this season. It feels like they have intentionally dumbed her down. What happened to her FEDRA training? Where’s any caution? She burns herself and doesn’t even try to pass it off as an accident, and only says that she thought it and did it because she wants to wear short sleeves. I get it, but it feels like she wants people to know she’s immune.

On top of that, her personality shift makes zero sense to me. She goes from a girl who is giddy about dinosaurs and space to one who is smoking pot, getting a tattoo, and hooking up with girls — all without any clear reason or build-up. Hormones or not, there is usually a reason for a sudden switch. But there is none, of course.

The writing feels clunky and overly explanatory — like the creators don’t trust us to understand what is happening unless they spell it out. I hate being hand held as a viewer.

The flashbacks also lacked an emotional punch. In the game, I felt the pain. Joel singing Future Days by Pearl Jam? The space shuttle scene? Devastating and beautiful. The show doesn’t deliver the same impact. I understand they were trying to show what Ellie was reflecting on while heading back to the theatre, but it doesn’t work.

While we’re talking about flashbacks… where was Dina? We’re meant to believe this romantic relationship has been blossoming for a while, yet she is barely present. Aside from the dancing scene, there’s no development, no emotional grounding. If this relationship is so important, why was she not mentioned… At all.

Final Thoughts

Oddly enough, this episode focuses more on the complicated relationship between Ellie and Joel, rather than Ellie and Dina. That’s fine. This isn’t the worst episode of the season, but it isn’t great. It’s just fine…

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