The Last of Us' Episode 6

HBO's hit sees Joel and Ellie stumble upon an idyllic community in Jackson, Wyoming, while also facing the biggest threat to their survival yet.

Now he’s the one on the ground with a terrible wound to the midsection, and his surrogate daughter is the one hoping against hope that he can survive. That The Last of Us can do both within the same episode, and have it feel all of a piece, is among its most impressive traits. But Jackson is doing as fine at the end of “Kin” as it was when Joel and Ellie first arrived. Ellie’s conversation with Maria is the first she’s heard of Joel having (and then losing) a daughter. But in the process, his stomach gets impaled by the shard of a baseball bat, and the episode ends with a panicked Ellie tending to his wound and pleading for him to get up. It’s remarkable how easily this show can jump from [Bill and Frank’s love story](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-recaps/the-last-of-us-season-1-episode-3-recap-hbo-nick-offerman-murray-bartlett-gay-love-1234667212/) to the dark Kansas City two-parter to this calm, very [Station Eleven](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/station-eleven-review-1265799/)-esque look at Joel and Ellie’s relationship, and at the possibilities of finding peace even in a post-apocalyptic world. In the melee, Joel briefly appears to be the superman he wants to be for Ellie, snapping the neck of one of his attackers. Instead, the threat is to the relationship of the two leads, as his fear of opening up to her instead makes her think she’s being abandoned by him. Where “Endure and Survive” was full of [mayhem, spectacle, and despair](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-recaps/the-last-of-us-episode-5-recap-hbo-sam-keivonn-woodard-henry-lamar-johnson-melanie-lynskey-death-1234674650/), “Kin” is quiet and contemplative, heavy on character and so light on action until the end that we don’t even see any infected. [Rutina Wesley](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/qa-true-blood-star-rutina-wesley-on-taras-vampire-transformation-243584/) from Queen Sugar and True Blood), and they are expecting a baby. It is the dead of winter, and our heroes have stumbled across an older Native couple — played by the great character actor Graham Greene and Northern Exposure alum Elaine Miles — who have managed to carve out a life for themselves in a cabin in the middle of nowhere that few people or infected ever come across. [The Last of Us](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/the-last-of-us-review-hbo-zombies-neil-druckmann-pedro-pascal-bella-ramsey-1234655768/), which at times is extremely straightforward, but exciting and crafted at a high level.

Recovering from the aftermath of episode 5, Joel and Ellie finally reach Tommy's and have a moment to breathe in episode 6.

The episode provides Joel and Ellie with a chance to breathe a little easier for a bit. Gamers will know these are the henchmen of David, a major antagonist in the game. The episode has plenty of references to the game. We spied Ellie taking a pack of tampons in one of the earlier episodes, and in this episode, Maria gives Ellie a Diva Cup. Now travelling through the snow-covered wilderness, Joel and Ellie encounter Marlon and Florence, an elderly couple living in the woods. The tragic death of Sam and Henry will definitely haunt us, and it certainly does our heroes Joel and Ellie, as we pick up with them 3 months after the events of episode 5.

This week's episode sees Joel and Ellie finally find Tommy, who has been on a side quest for this season, to use a bit of video game-speak. Turns out, while ...

We're already getting to see what we see in the early parts of Part Two of the game. In The Last of Us Part One, Tommy's reintroductionrevolves around a mission to restore power to Jackson. The glimpse of Jackson's way of life is something we see at the beginning of The Last of Us Part Two—as is the reveal that Maria is expecting a child. Turns out, while Joel has been burning the bodies of infected children, Tommy has been living in a wonderfully inhabitable settlement. [The Last of Us ](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a42541771/the-last-of-us-hbo-release-schedule/) [Season One](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a42541771/the-last-of-us-hbo-release-schedule/), people—which means that we're nearing the events of the second game. But Episode Six, which debuted this Sunday night, does give us a taste of two brilliant parts of [The Last of Us](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a42689700/the-last-of-us-hbo-season-2/) ['s future](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a42689700/the-last-of-us-hbo-season-2/): Joel's brother, Tommy Miller (played by Gabriel Luna), and the settlement in Jackson, Wyoming.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are simply terrific as they navigate some of the story's most memorable scenes, all of which sideline action in favour of heated, ...

Children of the Corn, written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, opens in theaters on March 3, 2023, and will be available on Demand and digital on March 21, 2023.](/videos/children-of-the-corn-2023-official-red-band-trailer) Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. Based on the short story by Stephen King, Children of the Corn is a chilling new re-telling for a whole new generation. Check out the launch trailer for another look at Lara Croft in action.Tomb Raider Reloaded allows players to jump back into the boots of groundbreaking adventurer Lara Croft in an action-filled quest to obtain the ancient Scion artifact, clearing ever-changing rooms filled with new and familiar enemies as well as hazardous traps and puzzles. Additionally, the video above will let you see the scenes from both the show and the game in action. But, how close does the show compare to the game?

Episode 6 of The Last of Us deepens the bond between Joel and Ellie, and then leaves viewers with the most agonizing cliffhanger in the series so far.

After Joel and Ellie head off further West to find the Fireflies, the pacing goes haywire. [Episode 5 of The Last of Us](https://gamerant.com/the-last-of-us-episode-5-review/), viewers knew that it was bound to have an impact on Joel and Ellie’s relationship moving forward. Later, he is unable to hear Henry and Sam walk into the room where he and Ellie are hiding, because he has lost his hearing in one ear. While the duo manage to escape their attackers, the episode ends with Joel becoming unconscious as he bleeds out. [The Last of Us adds Clickers and Bloaters](https://gamerant.com/the-last-of-us-makes-infected-scary/) to the mix. Unfortunately, the episode ends with no clue of what the future holds as Joel gets attacked once again, this time leading to him being stabbed. However, this week took viewers back to the first episode of The Last of Us where Joel experiences the fear of losing a loved one. [Episode 4 of The Last of Us](https://gamerant.com/the-last-of-us-episode-4-review/), when Joel and Ellie run into a group of hunters in Kansas City, there have been many moments where the series focused on how Joel is slowly losing grip on the situation. Experiencing another panic attack when he thinks he spotted Sarah in the community, Joel is ready to bare it all. Finding out that Tommy has started a new life, gotten married, and has a child on the way should have been a happy update for Joel, but in that moment all he is reminded of is how he failed to protect his own daughter Sarah. When the unfazed couple they meet in the middle of nowhere tell Joel about the “river of death,” he experiences a panic attack, which makes him seem much more human than he has in the past. In the past six weeks, The Last of Us has established itself as a character-driven story set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Craig Mazin: It's a little, I mean, it's ambiguous. Somebody's staring at Ellie. Neil Druckmann: Yeah. Mazin: I wonder who that could be, theoretically or not.

Speaking about the possibility of Dina being introduced to the world of the television adaptation on [The Last of Us Podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxEHg--3WD8), showrunners [Neil Druckmann](https://collider.com/tag/neil-druckmann/) and [Craig Mazine](https://collider.com/tag/craig-mazin/) played coy about the cameo: [Academy Awards](https://collider.com/tag/academy-awards/) ceremony. [a second season](https://collider.com/the-last-of-us-season-2-renewed/), there is a strong possibility for Dina's story to be explored in upcoming episodes, as the first season is only set to cover events that take place in the first game. In the meantime, Joel and Ellie finding a welcoming, quiet community during the latest episode was certainly different from a [desolate Kansas City](https://collider.com/the-last-of-us-episode-4-recap-please-hold-my-hand/) full of armed groups looking for anyone who might be passing by or having to see their [friends and allies](https://collider.com/last-of-us-episode-5-recap-endure-and-survive/) infected by the cordyceps virus. [Episode 6](https://collider.com/last-of-us-episode-6-recap-kin/) of HBO's adaptation of [The Last of Us](https://collider.com/tag/the-last-of-us/), Ellie ( [Bella Ramsey](https://collider.com/tag/bella-ramsey/)) and Joel ( [Pedro Pascal](https://collider.com/tag/pedro-pascal/)) finally complete their quest of finding Tommy ( [Gabriel Luna](https://collider.com/tag/gabriel-luna/)), the latter's brother. [The Last of Us: Part II](https://collider.com/tag/the-last-of-us-2/).

Joel and Ellie reach the river of death, only to face new dangers. Will he get back on that horse?

At first it looked as if Joel had been quick enough fending off the hunter, but we saw he’d been stabbed in the ruckus, as Ellie watched on helplessly, despite now having a pistol and knowing how to use it. Thankfully “Tommy” is a magic word in these parts, and the duo were ushered to the relative safety of the settlement they’d been looking for all along. But Sarah was always going to be off limits, even if Ellie is starting to fill the gap in his heart left by his daughter. The last time we saw Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Joel together was the night of the outbreak and Sarah’s death. I’m a natural.” And when the episode ends, if she is to nurse Joel back to health, those survival skills will be put to the test. Those with good memories will remember the original version of that song closed the first episode of the series and symbolised bad news on Bill and Frank’s musical code (1980s = trouble). He was uneasy with Ellie looking out for him and taking an extra shift as lookout, but when she explained what she had been doing and how well she had been scanning the surroundings, he couldn’t help but be impressed. Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) were in the home of an elderly couple, Marlon (Graham Greene) and Florence (Elaine Miles). As the episode went on, there was a definite sense that he’s not the protector he might have been even a year ago. If Joel’s failing hearing wasn’t enough of a worry, the way he almost collapsed when he left the hut is another sure sign he’s not in the best health. What comes after she’s given a sample of her blood to the Firefly doctors? We’re well past the halfway point of this nine-part series, and it’s going pretty well so far.

Joel and Tommy explore their traumatic past as they figure out who's gonna bring Ellie the rest of the way.

Both versions end up with Joel badly wounded and Ellie in charge of their fates, but the show gives us a rather excellent cover of Depeche Mode's [Never Let Me Down Again](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snILjFUkk_A) -- the same song that played at the end of episode 1. Joel scuffles with one of them and ultimately breaks his neck, but discovers that he's been stabbed in the stomach with a piece of wood. Tommy ultimately apologizes for his comment, and Joel confesses the depths of his trauma and the agony caused by his attachment to Ellie. After determining that the rebel group is likely in Salt Lake City, they're forced to escape as a group of marauders arrive. Predictably, she chooses Joel and the dream team heads out to I-25. [The Goodbye Girl](https://youtu.be/4wiL-ry9XMI) -- a 1977 movie about a prickly man who bonds with a precocious girl. [Rutina Wesley](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2179180/), whom you might know from True Blood) turns out to be Tommy's wife, Maria, and brings them to their rather lovely settlement for a reunion. Crossing the river, Ellie and Joel encounter a group of people who set a sniffer dog on them to determine if they're infected. Joel is a little weirded out by the fact that his little brother got married without him knowing, but Ellie helps him express his congratulations. Maria is also pregnant, which makes Tommy less inclined to take responsibility for shepherding Ellie to the Fireflies. The pup gives Joel the all-clear, then it seems like Ellie won't be so fortunate -- we know she's bitten, so the dog might tear her to shreds. Joel wants to settle down on a ranch and raise sheep because "they're quiet, do what they're told."

The Last of Us episode 6, titled Kin reunited Pedro Pascal's Joel with his younger brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) as he and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) reach a ...

The Last of Us episode 6, titled Kin reunited Pedro Pascal's Joel with his younger brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) as he and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) reach a community in Jackson, Wyoming. Joel (Pedro Pascal) is running from the ensuing chaos with his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) and friend Tommy (Gabriel Luna). During the filming of an emotional scene between the two brothers, director Jasmila Žbanić disclosed to Variety that Pascal shed tears to assist Luna in getting into character.