Episodes like these feel like they encapsulate how and why negative criticism of media is probably so much more common and "attractive" online. Tearing something apart is relatively easy, whereas trying to convey why something is great can seem more intimidating in some ways. I kind of just want to say "it was really, really great," and be done with the review. Because this episode indeed was once again both awesome and heartbreaking, but I'm not sure that just writing a post about all the things I liked is that interesting.
However, I do consider myself a fairly capable writer, so I will try my best to get a bit more in-depth instead of going the path of least resistance.
The best place to start would probably be to talk about the added perspective of the unnamed freedom fighter faction lead by Melanie Lynskey's Kathleen. I personally enjoyed how the show decided to take the opportunity to show a slightly different enemy faction from the one in the game. In the game, the "Hunters" as they are called, are a fairly one dimensional group of absolutely horrible people that mercilessly hunt people to scavenge their bodies for anything usable, such as a pair of shoes. They shoot every outsider on sight without questions, so the game does not really make you feel bad for killing any of them in return. Of course, you can find letters and other evidence around the city that explore their slow descent into their brutal lifestyle. However, you never get to really know a named character from their ranks, so they still just register as enemies to be killed or avoided.
The show obviously once again has the advantage of being able to jump around and showcase different perspectives, which is where Kathleen comes in. I do not think I'm alone in saying that initially she comes off as someone you would not necessarily expect to be in charge of something close to a heavily armed paramilitary group. She is not physically imposing, she does not have a very commanding voice and I think I heard someone put it quite well when they said she radiates "neighborhood watch energy." Which is a hard contrast to someone like her right-hand man Perry (played by Jeffrey Pierce, who plays Tommy in the game), who seems like a more battle-hardened man.
Apparently Craig Mazin was very much aware of this during production, judging by his comments on the subject on the official The Last of Us podcast. His reply was simply "Just keep watching the show." And I think this episode was why that is. Kathleen was the sister of the original leader of the resistance, who very much sounds like a person that would inspire people to follow him. An all around brave, good man, who cares for the well-being of the people around him, and actually wants to make a positive change. However, in the world of the Last of Us, it's one thing to inspire people to follow you, and another to have the guts to tell them to do seemingly awful things to achieve your goals. Like Perry said, the rebels loved Kathleen's brother, but he lacked the will for violence necessary for change. His death instead made him the perfect martyr to fuel the rebellion. Kathleen might seem harmless at first, but it's clear that she has no qualms about doing ugly things to reach her goals.
Instead of weakness, Kathleen's undoing instead was her obsession with revenge, a theme that will very much come back later in future seasons. She ignored the real threat, the infected underground, to pursue pointless vengeance against Henry for selling out her brother to FEDRA. The idea of the hidden and suppressed problems surfacing once they can no longer be ignored is not very subtle, but it is effective and fitting. Her story is also fittingly capped off with her getting surprised by the creepy child-Clicker because she keeps trying to kill Henry, even with a much more pressing problem on her hands.
That being said, while I enjoyed seeing more humanity and characters that muddle the distinction of good and bad people, it is still very clear which side the show wants us to root more for. That being the side with not only our protagonists but also the side that clearly cares more for children. Kathleen not showing an ounce of sympathy for Sam felt like an obvious judgement of her character. To top it off, her comment about "the world not revolving around a single child" also beautifully showcased her own hypocrisy, as everything for her was about her brother and her selfish need for revenge.
Guess this is as good as time as any to focus on the highlight of the episode, that being Henry and Sam. It still amazes me how effectively the show is able to get us to care about two characters in such a short period of time. Just like with Frank and Bill, we only really have one episode truly featuring these two brothers, but the performances and writing is so good that I was absolutely gutted by the end, despite having a good idea where their story was most likely going.
Both Lamar Johnson as Henry and Keivonn Woodard as Sam did really well as their characters. Especially Johnson, who perfectly gave off the energy of someone who is constantly slightly out of his element but still trying to keep up appearances for his little brother. The change to make Sam deaf was also an interesting one, but I'm not necessarily sure what it brings narratively to the story other than him perhaps being even more dependent on Henry for survival. I have yet to listen to the official podcast about this episode, mostly get my own, raw perspective out first, but I am interested to her Neil and Craig's view on the subject. Regardless, it is also just nice to see more deaf representation in media, so I'm not complaining either. The show still manages to make Ellie and Sam bond believably despite their obstacles in communication.
Which brings me to the last few scenes and why I think they were incredibly well done. In many ways the events at the house went very similarly to the game, but the changes somehow made it hurt even more. The biggest change is Ellie learning about the bite before Sam turns, as in the game Sam hides it and his last scene with Ellie ends with a colder tone. Here instead, in a heartwarming way Sam trusts Ellie enough to show her the bite, but as Ellie is still a kid, she tries to use her own blood to make him immune and save him. Then like an older sister with a sick brother, she stays the night by his side for comfort, which also means that Sam got to spend his last moments with someone who cares about him.
Because of how much they had changed Frank and Bill's story from the game, this episode managed to constantly keep me on edge and wondering whether or not Henry and Sam would suffer the same fate as their game counterparts. Before the reveal of the bite, I was constantly thinking what surprising twist they could do to subvert my expectations. Then when Ellie smears her blood on Sam's wound, despite me knowing that that is not how the immunity would most likely work, there is a very slight hope that just maybe it could. Of course, it doesn't, which was not surprising but still heartbreaking.
Here we come back to Bella Ramsey once again continuing to prove herself as an actor, as when she's yelling for Joel to help her, she really does sound like a scared child. Not a woman, but a child, which makes the scene so much more gut-wrenching. And then when Henry decides to shoot himself, the closeup on Ellie's face and her reaction was unbelievably effective in conveying the horror and tragedy of the situation. The decision to not really show either Sam or Henry's dead bodies is also a welcome one, since that would be unnecessary.
There is the possibility of criticizing the show for introducing two black characters only to immediately kill them off, which is definitely something I have heard about the game. Especially when Sarah in the show was also one of the few black characters, and we all know how her story ended. However, that discussion is not for me to really have as a white guy, so I will leave that to others to talk about. I am purely acknowledging it being a thing, but don't really have much worthwhile to say about it.
I just want to quickly talk about the more technical things I enjoyed, which were the music and the last action scene. I personally have really enjoyed the original score for the show thus far, which is mixed in with recognizable tracks from the game. The soundtrack to the show strikes a good balance of using the old material Gustavo Santaolalla composed for the game, as well as new music that still very much fits the world. The music does not feel like it is just lazily reusing stuff but it still honors the game, which feels like it should be way more common in adaptations but sadly isn't. Particularly the scene in this episode of Henry explaining his plan to Joel and Ellie felt elevated because of the music accompanying it. Each action scene has also had a really effective soundtrack to it that really conveys the necessary tension and oppressive feeling of danger.
And finally, I just really appreciated the scene with the sniper and the following horde set piece. The big "Bloater" killing Perry in the same way they can kill you in the game was a fun, gruesome nod that was really fun in a twisted way.
All in all, I would say this episode was probably among the strongest ones yet, although I still really cherish Episode 3 because of how deeply it affected me and how bravely it made changes to the story. But this one definitely delivered both in terms of a emotionally effective story but also exciting and tense action.
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