The Last of Us – Through the Valley – Review: The Storm Hits

Where the premiere episode of The Last of Us’ sophomore season was the calm before the storm, this episode is the storm itself, with both a literal storm, a horde of zombies and the culmination of Abby’s revenge all colliding. It makes for a tense hour of television that flies by and doesn’t pull any of its punches.

While the action was largely focused on the fortification of Jackson as the horde descendants, the emotion of the episode is concentrated on Abby’s anger and pain as she stumbles by chance upon Joel and Dina as she’s escaping a horde sleeping just below the surface of the snow. It was a suitably chilling sequence to see the snow starting to shift and move like an ocean as the infected began to stir.

I liked that a lot of the focus of this episode was on the Salt Lake Crew. Seeing how we’re probably not going to see much of them until Season 3, it was good to get a stronger idea of their characters in this episode, especially for viewers who haven’t played the game. During the scene where Abby confronts Joel, Spencer Lord and Ariela Barer do a great job of conveying worry and horror respectively as Owen and Mel, while Danny Ramirez and Tati Gabrielle as Manny and Nora seem a lot more grim as they watch Abby unleash her pain.

The star of the episode however was Kaitlyn Dever who is proving she’s a master of emotions. It’s almost frustrating that we probably won’t get to see in this season the toll torturing Joel takes on her. But it makes sense for the viewer that while we’re following Ellie’s part of the journey, all we do remember is the image of Abby pummeling Joel uncontrollably. Joel is a beloved character both to fans of the show and fans of the game so having that emotional connection to Ellie through his loss will make the conflicts of later episodes sing before we start to peel back Abby’s layers later on.

There were a couple of choices that I didn’t really think should have been in this episode though, and probably should have been saved for later. The first is the dream sequence. There seems to have been a concerted effort to flesh out Abby’s dreams, as they were a weaker part of the game but it still felt hollow, out of place, and a little on the nose.

The second was Abby’s monologue. It seems to have been put in to give viewers a clearer idea of Abby’s motivations but I think the reveal of the doctor Joel shot being her dad should have been kept back as a mystery for the third season. Her just saying it in the middle of a monologue meant it felt like it lost some of its emotional weight and resonance.
It also means we’re being told a lot about Abby instead of having it shown to the viewer naturally.

There was also an interesting choice to swap around all the Jackson Crew pairings in this episode. Dina gets placed with Joel in a move that shows Joel’s paternalistic side as he goes along with Abby in order to protect her. It also gives Dina more personal reasons to accompany Ellie to Seattle. Not only has Dina directly learnt about the W.L.F patches, she has also heard their names which helps to fill a potential plot hole created by the removal of game character Leah who had named photos of the Salt Lake Crew.

The shake-up also means Tommy got left behind at Jackson to deal with the infected threat. He has a tense showdown with a Bloater and the destruction of Jackson means a lot of rebuilding work will need to be carried out to help protect the civilians from future threats. By not having him present for Joel’s torture or death, there is potential for him feeling guilt for not being there to save him which could add new dimensions to his storyline and his relationship with other characters like Ellie and Maria.

Finally, while Ellie didn’t have much to do this episode save for riding on patrol with Jesse during the storm, Bella Ramsey put in the performance of a lifetime as she found Joel broken and bleeding on the floor. Her screams were visceral and I’m really glad they kept the moment from the game where everything turns muffled and you can only hear the high-pitched ringing like a bomb’s gone off. And for Ellie, it has.

That moment where she drags herself inch by inch to Joel’s dead body and hugs it was one of the most heart-wrenching and well done game-to-show changes they’ve done so far. It physically hurt to watch, especially with the transition into Ashley Johnson’s (the voice of Ellie in the games) cover of ‘Through the Valley’. For game fans, it’s a deliberate and subtle choice that drives home the devastation and leaves us waiting apprehensively for the next cycle in this story of violence.

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

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The Last of Us – Through the Valley – Review: The Storm Hits

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