A Review and Recap of Episode 6 of Season 1 of “The Last of Us”

By Deepak Grover Last updated Feb 21, 2023

The Last of Us episode 6 jumps ahead three months in time. Joel demands information about his brother Tommy from a couple while holding them at gunpoint. Ellie also arrives, disobeying Joel’s warnings to stay away, and discovers that the area west of the river is filled with death and maybe worse than the infected. Joel tends to accept them, but something is off. He struggles to breathe for a moment and grips his chest before continuing.

Like we’ve seen throughout the season, Joel and Ellie hike across the landscape before pausing to create a fire and talk about their future together. Sam is also brought up, along with how Ellie tried to save him by spilling her blood.

After making it to the dam and the “river of death,” the two find themselves surrounded by a group of guys riding horseback. They order Joel to drop his weapon and Ellie to back up while drawing their own weapons. The boss uses a dog trained to detect sickness to inspect them both for it, but miraculously, the mutt detects nothing from Ellie.

They are taken to a community where plenty of people are working after learning Joel and Ellie wish to see Tommy. Tommy, who is currently working in construction, is one of them. The two exchange hugs before being ushered in for dinner.

Ellie becomes aggressive right once, yelling at anyone who even glances her way and demanding that her gun be brought back. Also, she gives Joel instructions to congratulate Tommy on his recent marriage to Maria. Before Joel mentions his objective to go and accompany Ellie to the Fireflies in exchange for a vehicle battery to meet Tommy, she continues to discuss the fantastic advantages of communism. With what we now know about the people, that mission has become a little more challenging.

Tommy refuses to help Joel move Ellie closer to her destination despite Joel’s persistent requests. He admits that he won’t be moving on with him because he is expecting a kid with Maria. After gritting his teeth, Joel finally concedes to leave his hair in the morning after gathering some items. Joel explains that Ellie is immune before that happens though.

Ellie and Joel have an extensive discussion about their path and what grief is after Maria confides in Ellie about Sarah. Joel eventually makes a commitment that when their voyage is over, they will part ways.

Joel makes the decision to ride one of the horses away in the morning. Ellie chooses to follow him when he offers her the alternative between sticking with Tommy. Before heading to the university, where the Fireflies are said to be holding up, Joel and Ellie practice their shooting in the wilderness. They continue inside but discover only monkeys because there are no guards there. and a map with numerous pins pointing in the direction of Salt Lake City.

However, four scavengers appear outside as well, forcing Joel and Ellie to leave. They might have likely shot them because of their position. However, they go outside, and when one of them attacks Joel, the man stabs our hero in the abdomen. The other three hunters arrive, and Ellie fires haphazardly to defend him.

However, none of the other hunters have weapons, so there is no additional confrontation. Joel, on the other hand, is hurt, and as he clings to his stomach in agony, he eventually falls from the horse.

The Episode Review

Does anyone else feel as if there is nothing to fear and that the world is utterly empty? Landscape photography is something I love, but The Last of Us has this peculiar pattern where we spend 15 to 20 minutes just gazing over vast swathes of terrain without any infected or other people to be seen.

However, the episode is also somewhat monotonous. Although I recognize that this is a human drama, the action and important game scenes that have been completely removed and stripped don’t do the original material justice.

The campus is overrun with hunters throughout the game, forcing Joel and Ellie to attempt a risky escape through the hallways. There are several of them, and the situation is tight, suspenseful, and downright terrifying. It’s also a highly important section of the game because it finishes with Joel getting hurt and the two barely escape with their lives. But this way? Ellie and Joel both have guns, are high, and could have gotten the better of the four hunters outside.

They possibly could have taken them out because we know Joel is a skilled shooter with a variety of firearms under his belt (thus the target practice scene immediately before). Instead, this episode’s conclusion is hurried and generally unpleasant, and the infected have scarcely been mentioned at all in this show.

Arcane and Edgerunners are much better video game adaptations than The Last of Us, which isn’t a really standout zombie franchise. There are a lot more superior options available in this category. Those scenes are strangely the greatest parts of the entire series, so let’s hope the upcoming episodes ramp up the pace and do adhere to the original content.