Reaction Review: The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6: Kin
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
EPISODE SUMMARY
Warning: major spoilers for The Last of Us season 1 episode 6, “Kin”, are throughout the entire review. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
We start the episode off with a bleak reminder of Henry committing suicide after having to kill his infected brother Sam. In case that wasn’t enough, we see dead animals — a stag hanging upside down, and rabbits being carried by an unknown civilian — right afterward. The man, post hunt, finds Joel wielding a pistol and holding him and the hunter’s wife hostage (or maybe not: the wife made Joel soup). Joel’s here to find his brother, Tommy. Naturally, Ellie is there (and also holding a pistol). They both need help getting out of the forest that they are stuck in, and are hoping to continue in the right direction towards Tommy. The man warns Joel and Ellie to never go past the river, and his wife confirms that doing so would result in “death” (mainly because of infected people and scavengers alike). With this advice, Joel and Ellie head out (but the latter takes one of those rabbits with her).
As they set out, Joel begins to clutch his heart and stop in his tracks, resting on the fence outside. He assures Ellie that he’s fine and that it’s just the cold getting to him. They continue their hike. They can see the “river of death” from afar and decide to set up camp for the night before continuing forth the day after. At night, Ellie notices the northern lights up above: another natural wonder she likely has never had the pleasure of experiencing in her contained, held back life. On that note, Ellie asks for a swig of Joel’s flask. This experience doesn’t go as well, as Ellie sneers “so gross”.
After some liquid courage, Ellie begins to ask what happens once she is brought to the Fireflies base to help with the vaccine to end the infection. Joel claims he is going to become a sheep farmer. Ellie aims much higher: she wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. Before she gets too far with her dream, she asks “it’ll work, right?”, referring to the vaccine. She expresses her concerns after being unable to save Sam with her own blood, but Joel tries to assure her that the infection is much more complicated than this, and that there likely will be a vaccine that will work once they arrive. Joel then opts to keep watch for the night.
The next morning, Joel wakes up in a state of panic, noticing he fell asleep on night watch duty. Ellie is there with a rifle, confirming that she watched Joel for the night and that all was fine. Joel’s not impressed and wants the rifle back. We hear that very rifle in the next sequence, as Joel is firing a warning shot in case of predators nearby (they’re about to cross this “river of death”). There’s no sign. They head for the bridge and continue past the river afterward. They find a dam: they must be nearby Tommy and his settlement. However, that isn’t the case: Ellie notices that they’re quite likely on the wrong side of the river again and are lost. Joel checks his map before many strangers on horseback circle around them and hold them at gunpoint. They force Joel to drop his weapon, and they tell Ellie to step back. They’re going to check Joel for any possible infection via a sniffer dog, and we know this will be fine. Ellie is hesitant, because she knows she will read “positive” despite being immune.
Unfortunately, she is asked to be inspected next. Joel recognizes that this is bad news. The dog begins to walk towards her and he is worried like the rest of us, until we see that Ellie is playing with the sniffer dog with no problem. What a relief. Joel now states his reason for being here: he is trying to find Tommy. One of the strangers asks him his name, clearly understanding that this may be the brother Tommy has talked about for decades. They all head towards the town, and we see this beautiful community (for once: the only sign of hope otherwise was what Bill and Frank gave us three episodes prior). Everyone is working together, safe, healthy, and thriving. Joel sees Tommy from afar, and a huge weight is lifted off of both of their shoulders: they have finally reunited so many years later. Joel claims he wanted to save Tommy, but he realizes this is a silly remark, given his discovery of how loving this community is. With the familial relationship confirmed, Joel and Ellie can now be trusted, and they are being fed after their long trek.
Tommy reveals that the woman that let them into the community, Maria, is his wife. They settled here seven years prior and have made an all-inclusive commune (as long as they don’t allow outsiders in, of course). After they do a bit of a tour, Joel and Tommy share a drink together. Tommy asks about Tess; Joel shrugs this question off with a dishonest “she’s fine”. After a bit of conversing, Joel begins to antagonize Tommy, asking if Maria is the reason why Tommy stopped radioing him without warning. He wonders if Tommy is holding a grudge over the scavenging years where they both had to kill others to survive, and that’s why he didn’t want him to keep in touch. Tommy reveals he’s going to be a father and thus wants to lead as different of a life as possible now; he admits that he thinks he’ll “be a good dad”. Joel doesn’t really respond well, and Tommy takes offence to this, bringing up the death of Joel’s daughter, Sarah. Joel promises to grab supplies and leave the next day. Once he storms outside, Joel begins to have another panic attack and actually envisions the deceased Sarah; it’s clearly someone else, and Joel is quick to realize, once again, that Sarah is gone for good.
Ellie’s had a nice shower, and she notices a note for her amongst her new clothes: “I’m across the street”. She assumes it’s Maria that left the note. She pops into the house as instructed and finds a fireplace that will suit her well in this winter. Above the fireplace? The dates of Sarah and “Kevin”’s deaths. Before Ellie can figure out who the other name belonged to, Maria does, in fact, pop in, with a winter coat for Ellie. She then gives Ellie a haircut and notices the memorial. Maria tells Ellie that Kevin was her child, and Ellie finally realizes that Joel has a late daughter, concluding that this “explains him”. Maria offers Ellie some advice before she leaves: “the only people that can betray us are the people we trust”. They then go to the movies.
At the movie house, Ellie notices Tommy and Maria having a chinwag. Joel’s not at the cinema: he’s busy trying to prepare for the day after. Tommy goes to find him and offers him proper winter boots, knowing Joel was trying to alter his own boots to best serve him in the winter. Tommy uses this opportunity to apologize, but Joel asks about the trek to the university (for Ellie and the vaccine), asking if it’s a suicide mission. He then reveals that Ellie is immune, and Tommy is initially skeptical. Joel promises him it’s been months and nothing has happened. Tommy needs to hear the whole story, and Joel brings up Marlene’s request for Joel and Tess to smuggle Ellie to the Fireflies, how Tess died and asked Joel to carry the mission, how Ellie saved his life, and other details of their journey. Then he brings up the dog walking towards Ellie and how Joel was scared that she would be torn apart: a sign that Joel has really begun to love Ellie like a father.
Joel then brings up these dreams that plague him every night. He can’t remember what they are, but he wakes up knowing that he feels as though he has lost something. It’s because of this failure he keeps feeling his entire life. Tommy then figures out why Joel is saying this: he wants to leave Ellie in the community, because Joel fears that he will fail again. Joel doesn’t want Tommy telling anyone about the immunity that Ellie has; not even Maria. Tommy says he’ll take her out at dawn the next day (albeit begrudgingly). They go their separate ways.
Back at the movie house, Tommy finds Maria, and she notices Joel isn’t with him; her smile drops a bit. Joel goes back to the house he’s briefly staying in for the night: he wants to go talk to Ellie. She’s reading someone else’s diary. She knows that Joel is ditching her, and she is not pleased. Ellie tells Joel that she's not Sarah, and Joel doesn’t want to hear it. He tells Ellie that she has no idea what loss is, and she begs to differ: she has said that everyone she’s ever loved has died or left her except for Joel (well, until now, it seems). Joel then says he is not her dad, and she is not his daughter. They, too, will go their separate ways. Just when I thought Joel was connecting with Ellie more… One of Joel's dreams starts, and it's a memory of his time with Sarah on Christmas day.
The next day, Ellie is sitting, dreading what lies ahead (although she’s prepared). Tommy comes to pick her up. They’re going to the stables (Ellie had taken note of a young horse the day before). Joel is there, and he has changed his mind and states that Ellie should have been given a choice on the matter. Ellie angrily just tells Joel that they’re going to head out. Tommy tells Joel there’s a place for Ellie and him in the commune, should they ever return. Joel and Ellie leave, and hopefully the latter’s day will be a little better: Joel’s teaching her how to hunt now. Ellie is back to asking Joel questions, almost as if nothing happened the day before. The next day, they find the University of Eastern Colorado: where they will meet the Fireflies and deliver Ellie once and for all.
The university looks… quiet. Too quiet. Where is everyone to receive Ellie? Well, there are monkeys running around the campus, so at least there is some life. While they head towards the laboratory marked with the Fireflies emblem, Joel and Ellie arm themselves just in case. The building is trashed, and clearly void of any recent, civil interaction. Ellie notices medical supplies, and Joel finds a packing list on top of it: whoever was here before clearly evacuated. However, there are noises upstairs. Joel and Ellie stealthily slink their way upstairs, guns in hand. The culprit appear to be more monkeys. At least these aren't clickers, though. While in this new room (once the monkeys departed), Joel and Ellie notice a map that may lead them to where the medical team have vacated to. They hear coughing outside, however, and this time we’re not blessed with monkeys: scavengers are nearby.
Our two protagonists leave through the back, but they're spotted by a scavenger. Joel breaks his neck after evading the surprise attack, but he actually isn't so lucky. Joel has been stabbed with a severed baseball bat. More scavengers spot them and are now sprinting towards them. They escape via horseback, and with Ellie firing behind her. They get far enough, but Joel has lost a lot of blood. He collapses off of the horse and doesn't seem to be conscious. Ellie starts trying to save him and confesses that she cant do this mission without him. The camera zooms out while a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” plays; the first time this song was played in the premiere episode, it signified Tommy warning us that trouble is ahead. Now, it warns us again: things are about to get tough from here.
FIRST REACTION
Of the two episodes that were crafted to deliver story and character structure (“Please Hold to My Hand” being the other), “Kin” is stronger. We get to see Tommy again and know that he’s doing well, but also can spot that Joel is unable to give himself solace. Then again, he does want to fulfill Tess’ dying wish (to bring Ellie to the Fireflies), but he clearly unable to connect with the commune: it’s as if he feels as though he doesn’t deserve happiness. This episode took quite a few deviations from the game (which shouldn’t come as a surprise by this point), and most of them seem fine (like the erasure of the portion where Ellie flees on horseback and Joel has to find her, which saves time here). I do think Ellie forgives Joel a little quickly after the bombshell he dropped on her, and maybe that could have been handled a teensy bit better (I know Ellie wants to learn how to hunt, but would Joel offering this really make her come around him dismissing her as not his own flesh and blood?). Then again, Ellie is a tough cookie, so I can believe this rectification enough.
The theme of family is important here, especially after we saw Sam and Henry and their tragic outcome. What is Ellie to Joel by this point? Not a daughter, it seems, since Joel cannot shake off his late child, Sarah, from his heart (not that he ever should). We think it’s because Joel doesn’t like Ellie. Really, this is because Joel doesn’t want to assume responsibility for the life of another again, particularly a daughter figure (should she also die under his watch). It’s a complicated dynamic that gets replicated really well in this hour. As much as I’ve enjoyed The Last of Us so far, an episode of this nature was crucial by now, and it came at the perfect time. We learn more about the two protagonists, who they are to one another, and what they will mean to the bigger picture as the series continues. Anyone that has played the game knows what to expect from here. First timers may wonder: is Joel actually dead? We’ve seen characters come and go every single episode, whether they’re established enough (Tess, Sam, Henry, Kathleen), or are gone in the very episode we meet them in (Bill, Frank, Sarah). Joel could very well be dead, and this episode teases this possibility nicely. It also eases the suddenness of the deaths that come before this very moment: this really could happen to anyone. Even Joel. I know that winter is here, and the next episode is sure to be a heavy-hitting hour of pure tension. Colour me excited.
Final Grade: 4/5
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.