The last of us episode 4 came to HBO and HBO Max on Sundaywith Eli and Joel (Bela Ramsay and Pedro Pascal) back on track after last week heartbreaking deviation. They are about to connect Ellie with the Fireflies, a rebel group that wants to replicate her immunity to the fungal infection that has turned billions of people into monsters.
This episode also features a major departure from the game, introducing an amazing new villain. Let’s see how that goes by diving into Episode 4 SPOILERS.
Ruthless leader
The Marauders in this episode are just as terrifying as they were in the PlayStation game, with the initial confrontation playing out much like the source material. (Bill is also alive in the game, but splits up with Joel and Ellie before this happens.) The incident takes place in Kansas City, but it happened in Pittsburgh in the game.
The HBO adaptation also gives these marauders a leader — the quietly menacing Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey of Showtime’s incredible Yellow jackets). This new character is on a bloody quest for revenge after her brother was beaten to death by FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency), who ran quarantine zones with the remnants of the US military. It is essentially one of the last vestiges of government, but its power is not absolute – guerrilla groups like Kathleen’s have ousted them in some cities.
After dealing with Phaedra, her group goes after people who collaborated with Phaedra – the names Henry and Sam will probably bring back memories if you’ve played the game. Kathleen is shown an attic they’ve been hiding in, and it’s filled with children’s Superman art. (So does HBO’s parent company Warner Bros Discovery owns DC Comicshooray for brand synergy.)
The horrors created by the cycle of revenge will be familiar to anyone who has played The Last of Us games, and is particularly evident in Part 2. It’s like Kathleen’s storyline was added to the series so revenge is a clearer revenge theme line between this season and the second.
Kathleen Perry’s bearded goon is played by Jeffrey Pearce, who voices Joel’s brother Tommy in the games (he’s played by Gabriel Luna in the show). What to say: He warns her about a hole created by infected under a building, but she just orders him to seal it. Kathleen seems to be letting her discontent distract her from a more pressing problem.
Come get your gun
Joel is wracked with guilt that Ellie was forced to shoot Brian, but she reveals that it wasn’t her first time doing it. Deciding that he has no hope of preserving his teenage daughter’s innocence in this hellish world, he teaches her the proper use of a gun.
This is a mirror game situation in which Joel gives Ellie a gun after she proves her mettle by covering Joel with a shotgun while he kills a group of thugs. It’s a subtly defining moment in their history in this setting, and will likely prove similar on the show.
Blasts from the past
They get some retro pop culture on their trip in the form of a Hank Williams tape. The song is from 1955 Alone and abandonedwhich is used similarly in the game.
As they drive through the streets of Kansas City, we also catch a glimpse of an abandoned movie theater that screened two artifacts of cinema from 2003 – Kate Beckinsale’s vampire and werewolf fantasy Underworld and Nicolas Cage’s black comedy Men With Matchsticks ” – when the epidemic broke out occurred.
The song that plays over the credits is a Lotte Keshner cover of a New Order song from 1987. True faithwhich was featured in The Last of Us Part 2. The musician was not originally credited for this use, but game director Neil Druckmann acknowledged it and apologized in a tweet. Cashner was subsequently credited accordingly, Polygon reported in 2020.
Big book of puns
On a lighter note, Ellie finds a book of puns which she uses to lighten the gloomy mood of their trip. In case you want to break them into your daily routine, here are the jokes she hits Joel with:
- It doesn’t matter how much you push the envelope. It will still be stationary.
- What did the mermaid wear to math class? Seaweed bra.
- I stayed up all night wondering where the sun had gone. And then it dawned on me.
- Why did the scarecrow get a prize? Because he was standing in his field.
- Did you know that diarrhea is hereditary? Run down your jeans.
Joel knows the answer to the one with the scarecrow and laughs at the one with the diarrhea, implying that the two are close. It seems dangerous to become too fond of your “cargo” Joel.
After avoiding Kathleen’s group, they go to sleep in the apparent safety of a room on the 33rd floor of a building. Despite Joel’s safety precautions, they wake up to find guns pointed at their faces – they are discovered by Henry and Sam (Lamar Johnson and Kevon Woodard).
Episode 5 of The Last of Us is on HBO Max next friday 10 feb.
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