The Last of Us – The Path – Review: A Time of Mourning

After the high tension and explosive action of last week, this episode of The Last of Us slows things down for an introspective episode that zeroes in on Ellie’s emotional journey as she balances her anger with her grief and tries to drum up support to hunt down the people responsible for Joel’s death.

The characters and the audience are both grieving the loss of Joel, and even though he’s dead, his presence is still felt throughout the episode. One particular touching scene sees Ellie walking around his house, crying over one of his shirts and all the memories this home holds. On the bed is a box with his broken watch and his revolver inside. Her choosing to take the gun feels very symbolic of her picking rage over peace and moving on, setting the tone for the path Ellie’s determined to go down.

I was very proud of her speech scene during the Council as she tries to convince Jackson to send sixteen of their best to Seattle after Abby and her friends. Seth is a surprising and passionate ally but even keeping her cool and being reasonable didn’t get Ellie the support she needs. After all, Jackson is still recovering from the horde attack and many of the townspeople fear being completely unprotected if another threat hits.

Gabriel Luna also does a great job as Tommy processes his grief over Joel’s death. He wants to try and be there for Ellie in the same way that Joel was, trying to protect her from getting hurt but it feels like he’s already resigned to failure when it comes to keeping her safe. Perhaps his heart isn’t really in it because he wants to see Abby pay just as much. Tommy is a very gentle and protective character, so it will be interesting to see how Joel’s death begins to change and affect him when the Seattle action kicks off.

Speaking of Seattle, our first introduction is through the Seraphites. We see a group of people with hatchets and bows walking along a forest trail as a man imparts some of their Prophet’s wisdom to a little girl before they are forced to hide from an oncoming threat. Outside of key characters, the Seraphites in the game had a bit of a one-note sort of portrayal, so I’m looking forward to seeing how their culture and religion is delved into and explored.

This band of Seraphites is also Ellie and Dina’s first introduction to Seattle when they come across them massacred in the forest, a gruesome and cruel showing of unnecessary violence. It hammers home for the girls that this is a dangerous and volatile city they’re walking into, acting as just a hint of the horrors that are yet to come.

We also get some lovely bit of relationship development for Ellie and Dina on their travels. They flirtatiously discuss the kiss from the premiere, talking around their feelings in a cute and fun remix of an iconic scene from the game. For me, this season is just as much a romance as it is a tragedy.

Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced have so much chemistry that I could watch them play off each other for hours and never get bored. In fact, Bella Ramsey is proving that she has unmatched chemistry with all of her co-stars, bringing each of Ellie’s relationships to life, a talent that is greatly appreciated considering Pedro Pascal won’t be her primary scene partner anymore.

My only problem with this episode is another example of telling not showing. I love Catherine O’Hara, and I think she’s doing some fantastic acting, but I don’t think the character of Gail really adds anything to the show except as a way to tell us all how Joel – and now Ellie – are feeling when we can simply watch the episode and see Ellie’s emotions for ourselves. Her conversations with Ellie and Tommy – while they make sense from a realistic point of view – take away from the drama and feel unnecessary and just a tad bit forced and out of place.

What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments below!var authorcode=’CC’;

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The Last of Us – The Path – Review: A Time of Mourning

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