The Last of Us 2.6: Father and Daughter Flashbacks

A superb, emotionally wrenching flashback episode 2.6 of The Last of Us on Max tonight -- actually a series of flashbacks -- in which we learn why Ellie and Joel were so estranged in the opening episode of this second season.

[And I suppose there are spoilers ahead ... ]

The reason, in a nutshell, is that Joel swears to Ellie that he won't kill Eugene, who was bitten, but Ellie estimates has enough time see his beloved wife, Claire (played by Catherine O'Hara), the town's psychologist, but Joel kills Eugene anyway, then lies to Claire, saying Eugene killed himself, in front of a horrified Ellie.

Before this, we see Joel and Ellie at some of Ellie's earlier birthdays, as the two grow closer and closer together as father and daughter.   Flashbacks, if done well, can really make a series soar, as was demonstrated so brilliantly in Lost.  And this a standout episode in the second season of The Last of Us, where we already have seen the seen the immediate future to this father-and-daughter narrative:  after the two sort of reconcile as the last flashback in 2.6, Joel is tortured and killed in 2.1 by Abby, and her gang and a worse-than-horrified (too weak a word) Ellie, unable to do anything, look on.

Pedro Pascal puts in a masterful performance as Joel, as does Bella Ramsey as Ellie.  It was also great to see Joe Pantoliano back on the screen as Eugene, and Claire reading George R. Stewart's Earth Abides (made into a TV series that's pretty high up on my list of science fiction series to see).  And I really liked Ellie in the space exploration museum in the flashback that preceded the one in which Joel kills Eugene.  Getting out beyond this planet is arguably the greatest accomplishment of our species.  And it was potent indeed to see this astonishing accomplishment laid low by the fungus that has wiped most of our species.

And on that pessimistic note, I'll try to lighten the atmosphere by wishing Ellie a happy birthday.  I have a daughter, but I'm no expert on father-daughter relationships, because every one is different, not to mention that Ellie has been celebrating her birthdays in an apocalyptic nightmare of a world.  Ours certainly is no bargain these days, but we're nonetheless a lot better off on the other side of the screen than are Ellie and her cohorts.

See also The Last of Us 2.1-2.2: The Killing Cold

And see also The Last of Us 1.1-1.2: The Fungus Among Us ... 1.3: Bill and Frank ... 1.4: Gun and Pun ... 1.5: Tunnels ... 1.6: Joel ... 1.7: Riley's Wise Advice ... 1.8: Ellie vs. the Resort ... 1.9: The Limits of Utilitarianism

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The Last of Us 1.1-1.2: The Fungus Among Us

So why would I watch yet another post-apocalyptic series -- apocalypse caused by some biological agent?  I mean, aren't Station Eleven, Y, not to mention our real COVID-19 pandemic enough?  And for that matter, the endless Walking Deads, which I stopped watching a while before COVID hit?  Well, yes.  But something moved me to watch the first two episodes of The Last of Us on HBO Max, and here I am reviewing them, and telling you I'm going to watch the rest of the episodes of this inaugural season.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

I mean, this new series, based on a game I've never played, doesn't fool around.  Joel, one of the lead characters, sees his daughter shot to death in the first attempts of our military to stop the spread of the fungus that turns anyone who's bitten in a violent monster.  That was at the beginning of the first episode.  And tonight, at the end of the second episode, we see Anna Torv's character apparently killing herself because she was bitten and needs to stop of hoard of fungus heads.  She's an icon of science fiction, having burst on the scene and distinguished herself in Fringe.  Well, maybe she's not dead, given my principle that if you don't see someone blown to bits they could still be alive.  Or, maybe we'll see more of Torv in flashbacks.

Meanwhile, Joel, portrayed by Pedro Pascal who was so good in Narcos, is alive and kicking, as he and the spunky, wisecracking young Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are maybe heading West.  Ellie at this point looks to be carrying the cure to this fungus, which so far has resisted all medications and vaccines.  She has been bitten and so far has not gotten sick or fungus-head homicidal.  Joel is beginning to appreciate this.

I do have a question about Ella, though. She said she was what, 14?  But the fungus hit some 10 years ago.  So, how did she get what seems to be such good knowledge of history and culture -- which presumably began crumbling pretty quickly after the fungus took hold.  Could a four-year old have been that precocious?

We'll just have to see.  And I'll be back here with more reviews after I see more of this series.

See also  1.3: Bill and Frank ... 1.4: Gun and Pun ... 1.5: Tunnels ... 1.6: Joel ... 1.7: Riley's Wise Advice ... 1.8: Ellie vs. the Resort ... 1.9 The Limits of Utilitarianism 

I talk about The Last of Us, beginning at 40mins 40secs