A chill runs along my spine as the crisp, wintry aura surrounds what used to be my twin-size bed. Icy whistles blanket the hum of the house as the sounds of the latest episode of “The Last of Us” envelop my noise-canceling earbuds. Everything in this episode was cold, from the actual bitter winter, to the desperate nature of the characters to survive and save the ones they love.
During the episode, Ellie focused on keeping Joel safe while being caught up in a sketchy, cult-like community. Through the screen, Ellie’s frantic passion for saving others is apparent and lets the audience feel for her. Ironically, Ellie used skills that Joel taught her to provide for the both of them.
True evil comes out during dire times. Using faith to manipulate impressionable people grieving from the terrible and cruel world out there might be more vile than the undead creatures themselves, and it created a disturbingly convincing antagonist. David’s community is the true opposite of the town of Jackson a few episodes earlier. Props to the sound design because I was genuinely disturbed while the awkward silence showed the unsettling truth of the eerie community.
The slow development of David’s character unveils his haunting intentions near the latter half of the episode. Hunting deer was a perfect metaphor for how some prey upon weak and young victims to mold them to do their bidding. Furthermore, Ellie’s experiences helped wrap up her current arc, though negatively, and left room for more development that happens in “The Last of Us Part II.”
Some fans were critical of Ellie’s inner fight between letting her violent nature take over without consequences in the sequel game because there was no implicit evidence of her struggling with it in the original. Showrunners have explicitly shown the themes of losing innocence, violence and destructive behavior. All of these examples help ease into the upcoming season that is already in the works.
With one more episode to go, I lose more and more motivation to watch these episodes because the content will run dry. For some reason, the characters keep room for the audience to grow and adore the story. I feel engulfed in the plot: every environment, new face and feat accomplished keeps my eyes glued to the screen. It will take years until the next season comes out, and I will wait patiently for the next journey.