HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Episode 6 Review - Daddy Issues

How can something be both admirable and exhausting? But this is exactly what the sixth episode of The Last of Us Season 2 turned out to be. It begins with much promise. We follow Joel and Ellie in a series of flashbacks that (mostly) unfold during the latter's birthday every year. At first, it's all happiness and sunshine. Joel restores a guitar, takes Ellie to a museum, gets a tape of the Apollo 15 launch, and "shoots her off" to space. With a helmet on her head, Ellie looks like a bobblehead. "I do okay?" Joel asks Ellie, who clearly looks delighted. "Are you kidding me?" comes the reply, filling Joel with a sense of satisfaction. He really appreciates this approving comment, and we know why because we have seen those opening moments where Joel's father tells him that he hopes Joel will prove himself to be a better father than he was. Unlike his dad, Joel never raises his hand on Ellie, but he ends up hurting her anyway. He breaks a promise, thus hurting Ellie on an emotional level. Episode 6 reveals the exact reason behind Ellie's bitterness towards Joel at the beginning of the second season. Turns out, it was not just a case of "teenage hormones."

We also learn that Joel used to dream about moths. Gail doesn't believe in dreams and their interpretations but informs Joel that moths stand for death. Great, so Joel, or at least some subconscious part of him, knew that he would die soon. Moreover, he tells Ellie that he will pay the price for saving her. Yes, yes, we get it. You don't need to bombard us with such emotional touches. But that's precisely what the creators do in this episode. They convert drama into melodrama and attempt to tightly squeeze our tear ducts. It's not enough that a character sees a heaven-like view before his death. We also see birds flying in the distance. The loud emotional pitch makes Episode 6 schmaltzy and enervating. We are not allowed to react to the scenes; all the "feeling" and "reacting" are done by the scenes themselves. All we can do is passively watch what's happening in front of us. The good news is that the show is filled with talented actors. Without names like Bella Ramsey, Catherine O'Hara, and Pedro Pascal, Episode 6 would have come across as irredeemable. Yet, this is ultimately one of the weakest episodes. We feel sad, all right, but for all the wrong reasons.

Final Score- [4/10]