The death of Joel happened, and some fans are probably still reeling from it. However, no one is hurting more than Ellie. Not even Tommy is feeling it as badly as she is. The time they spent together going across the country, combined with everything they went through along the way, gave them a bond that very few would develop. Ellie may have been mad at Joel, but death has a way of making people forgive past transgressions.
As the team on The Last of Us Season 2 Podcast mentioned, episode 2 is where the show truly began. The premiere introduced the characters and showed where things are, but the follow-up is when everything picked up. If that’s the case, call episode 3 the calm before the storm.
The aftermath of Joel's death
Unlike the game, there was more than Joel’s death to get to. A lot of people died in Jackson when the infected tore through their community. Joel was one of their leaders, but his loved ones weren’t the only ones hurting and healing. Plus, the town needed to be fixed. Thankfully, instead of getting right into things after the event, The Last of Us took a season (winter to spring) to show that it takes time to rebuild.
One of the things the program has over the game is being able to tell a larger story. If players spend too much time with dialogue in an action game, they’ll lose interest quickly. Here, the audience needs things explained. That’s why episode 3 shows Jackson fixing up the town in the spring, Ellie being forced to let her injuries heal, and the council voting on sending people after the people who killed Joel. All of this was realistic for everything that’s happening.
After Ellie gets out of the hospital, Dina explains that Abby and her friends are part of a group called the Washington Liberation Front (or WLF). The game shows how there’s a duality to them. Some do what needs to be done to keep their community going. Sadly, the other side of that is the WLFs doing horrendous things to innocent people. So far, HBO's The Last of Us only displays the bad side. That's where the Seraphites come.
This episode of HBO’s The Last of Us did a great job introducing the Seraphites while also showing the WLF's ruthless nature. It should leave the audience with a disdain for the WLFs and their aggressive and military-like nature. They appeared to have killed innocent people (including children) to get what they wanted. Viewers don’t know what that is yet because we haven’t heard both sides. That part should come into play in later episodes. For all we know, the WLFs and Seraphites could be equally wrong. However, I'm against innocent people being murdered for any reason.
The Last of Us season 2 episode 3 review: A+, No notes
Everything about this episode was superb. You get to see a new side of Ellie while her relationship with Dina grows. More people of Jackson are introduced to show how everyone won’t agree despite understanding the circumstances. More importantly, Ellie’s revenge tour begins.
As with every episode, things about their journey will be changed. For example, Dina and Ellie’s romantic relationship is taking longer to develop. That’s if it does at all. The only thing viewers have to go on is Dina saying she wasn’t that high when they kissed, and being “upset” when Ellie only rated it a 6.
There was no Abby in this episode. As you can guess, we haven’t seen the last of her. If it’s like The Last of Us game, people will be shocked at how likable she is and how much she means to her community and the WLF. In a lot of ways, she’s a combination of Joel and Ellie. That will be apparent as the series continues. Because it will take time to get into, it makes sense that she wouldn't have been in episode 3.
Lastly, Seth has to be discussed. In episode 1 of season 2, Seth made a bigoted comment about Ellie and Dina and was punished for it. He tried to apologize (episode 2), but Ellie wasn’t having it. Now, in episode 3, Seth does more than apologize. He steps up for Ellie when she needs it. Not just at the council meeting. When it was time to go after Abby, he provided the supplies needed to get Ellie and Dina on their way. Ellie won’t forget the things he said about her and Dina, but she will also remember that Seth tried to be better when it mattered.
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