JJ Reviews : The Last Of Us - Please Hold My Hand

 This week's episode was a breather from all the darkness and heartbreak to establish the beginning of the relationship between Joel and Ellie. This connection will be key for the rest of the darkness and heartbreak to come for the rest of the season. 

This episode gave us a lot of scenes that came directly from the game. Ellie looking at the porn magazine in the truck is shot for shot the same. Joel is frozen in fear when she asks "Why are the pages stuck together" this was a great moment of levity. Bella Ramsey continues to crush it as Ellie. Bella has locked into this character and it is a pleasure to see her continue developing her own spin while honoring Ashley Johnson's take in the games.

Just cause the episode was a breather, doesn't mean it didn't have any action. Another scene from the game is when the truck crashes into the laundromat. One change is Ellie saves Joel from the last hunter instead of him killing each one. I'm curious what the payoff will be with Ellie revealing she had killed someone before she met Joel because that is a huge deviation from the source material and it has me intrigued.

We also meet a brand-new character called Kathleen, played by Melanie Lynskey. You might recognize her from shows Two And a Half Men and more recently Yellowjackets. She was joined by another new character named Perry played by Jeffery Pierce, who voiced Tommy in the video game. Can't wait to see how this storyline plays out because I think they are tied to video game characters Henry and Sam, who we meet at the end of the episode.

9/10