After an intense and fateful second episode of Season 2, the mood pendulum swings back the other way for episode 3: “The Path.” With the tragedy that we left sobbing on the couch last week comes the grief that we have to deal with in this one. From grieving to purpose, and from purpose to justice, “The Path” takes us down the road from healing and rebuilding and straight into uncharted territory with new terrain, new factions, and a new pair to experience it with.
The episode keeps the core brand of the game(sans Tommy’s placement), but expands in ways that the game could not. The episode opens with Tommy tending to Joel’s body in an emotional scene with no dialogue. Described by Tommy’s actor, Gabriel Luna, as “A one-man wake”, Tommy preps Joel for burial with seemingly a million thoughts running through his head as we the viewer get to fill in the blanks with. It’s a calming way to start the episode and gives us our first experience in grieving the loss of Joel.
The rest of the episode zooms its focus in on Ellie, how she deals with her grief, and her motivation to get to Seattle to track down Abby. Ellie wakes up in the hospital, reliving the sequence of Joel’s death, and after her “therapy” session with Gail, the show stands out with one of its more brilliant shots. Ellie leaves the hospital room and heads down the hall with a smile on her face that turns into a vengeful scowl, setting the tone for her real motivations. It’s an amazing ten seconds that gives us a window into what’s to come and really shows off Bella Ramsey’s range as an actor.
The show and the game meet up for Ellie’s emotional walkthrough of Joel’s abandoned house. Keeping mostly shot-for-shot with the game, Bella once again shines without saying a word. Slowly moving through his home, with audio-relevance to every creak in the floor, Ellie finds the infamous red box with Joel’s watch and pistol and, the most moving, his jacket that not just Ellie is attached to. Fans of the game feel deserving of this inclusion, and as a theme of the episode, gives we the viewers time to grieve along with the characters.
This is where we begin to set destination: Dina. Since the show put Dina on-site for Joel’s death, she has the information on the names and whereabouts of Abby and the Washington Liberation Front. This scene sets the course for Ellie’s revenge, and we also get a sombering line from Dina, “I loved him too, ya know.”, where we begin to see Dina’s motivational alignment with Ellie.
In another scenario where the show expands upon the game, Ellie has to prepare her case for going after Abby and the W.L.F. with the assistance of some of the best-equipped townspeople in front of the town council. We get two very distinct reasons on whether or not to go from the citizens, with the support to send a group to Seattle coming from Seth, the cook and bartender that berates Ellie and Dina in front of the town at the New Year’s barn party. This support seemed to imply an “oh wow, really? Him?” kind of reaction, but came off as more of an on-the-nose choice to support Ellie’s wishes. Bella Ramsey delivers a heart-felt speech to the town to present her case, one that tosses personal vengeance to the side in support of protecting the town as a whole. This isn’t the usual reactionary response that we see from Ellie, and during the speech you can feel that she really starts to believe it.
After the council votes down the action to send a party to Seattle, Ellie packs up equipment to head out on her own. The Last of Us has always been about a pair taking out on a path, and from the moment Dina knocks on Ellie’s door, a new pair has been solidified. Without any hesitation, Dina presents everything they will need to set out on the journey together. We already get to see the balance between the two, as Ellie is quick to throw things together, overlooking key supplies with her reactionary nature, Dina has thought of everything. Lists, routes, supplies, and Shimmer, Dina brings a thoughtfulness and care yang to Ellie’s ying.
An interesting visual that we get to see as Ellie and Dina quietly escape Jackson aided by Seth, is a visual that we’re used to seeing. Our two main characters on a horse. Except this time, Ellie isn’t on the back, she’s on the front. A change in somewhat of a leadership role, our new adventure is set with this shot.
In yet another moment that the show’s adaptation chose to expand upon, we get to visit Joel’s grave along with Ellie. The scene lingers in all the right ways, putting us in the moment, and giving us some time to say goodbye to Joel as well. The cinematography here is outstanding, and the lingering close-up on Ellie as she hovers over the grave is extremely satisfying.
A montage of travel follows as they travel northwest, and they stop for the night. In what we believe replaces the marijuana scene from the game, where Dina asks Ellie to rate the kiss, the two have their first hint of a real relationship beginning to form. Dina is obscure about her feelings, but leaves Ellie with something to think about as they go to sleep. It’s a pretty big character developing scene for them, and one that we were glad that they included.
The biggest reveal of the episode comes in the form of our first look at a new group, the Seraphites. Also known as Scars in the game, and most likely to be called as such in upcoming episodes of the show, the Seraphites make their first appearance as more of a religious cult. A prophet is mentioned, and we get to see their evocative whistle communication that we know so well from the game. A short introduction through a teaching moment between a father and his daughter gives us a quick glimpse into who they are and that they are fleeing war. Unfortunately, Ellie and Dina’s path crosses the entire group massacred, children and all. It’s a revealing plot point that shows that violence and conflict is everywhere, and that our characters are not familiar with them.
The episode wraps with Ellie and Dina coming up on Seattle’s overgrown skyline. Our first look at Seattle is calm and quiet. And large. The showrunners manage to create a creepy visual in the middle of the day though their presentation here, because you know who is in there and the vengeance that awaits. We zoom in to see the W.L.F. being both organized and incredibly well-equipped. Soldiers and tanks move out in patrol, and we know that we’re dealing with even more than we had imagined when we saw the skyline.
The Birdict:
The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 3: “The Path” succeeds in its effort to expand and linger in the moments of grief in ways that the game couldn’t do. The development of the relationship between Ellie and Dina begins with care and purpose, and we get our first look at a new city and new faction. In what seems like a lot of moving parts for one episode, “The Path” sets up multiple satisfying new curiosities, and does exactly what the name implies. Destination set.
The Barn 