Name: The Last of Us season 1 episode 4
Director: Jeremy Webb
Released: 2023-02-06T08:30:00

The fourth episode of The Last of Us sees Joel and Ellie bond during their trip to Wyoming, but soon an obstacle threatens their lives. The episode is now streaming on HBO Max.

Recap

Ellie plays with the gun she stole from Bill and Frank’s house in a bathroom. She joins Joel on the road. He has been stealing fuel from other cars. He stops every hour to siphon gas for the truck from other vehicles.

They get back on the road and listen to some songs by Hank Williams on the way. Ellie continues to trouble Joel. Sometimes with jokes, which she has borrowed from a book, and sometimes by finding something she shouldn’t see.

As the day closes in, Joel drives their truck into the woods. Joel cooks 20-year-old Chef Boyardee ravioli for them. Ellie eats like she hasn’t had food for days.

Joel tells Ellie his plan to sleep tonight and drive them to Wyoming all day and all night tomorrow. Ellie wonders if they can light a fire for the night. Joel insists that they shouldn’t.

Joel is concerned that a fire will attract other humans, who are far more dangerous than infected people. At night, while Ellie is fast asleep, Joel stays alert and keeps watch, though he had planned to sleep.

The duo gets back on the road the next day. Joel makes coffee for himself and tells Ellie about his brother, Tommy, who always wanted to be a hero and save the world. That’s why Tommy had joined the Fireflies in the first place, only to later realize that it was a mistake.

Since he is on his own now after leaving the Fireflies, Joel needs to go back and get him. Joel certainly doesn’t believe in Tommy and the Fireflies’ dream, but he intends to keep going for the family.

Ellie then says that she is not family. Joel agrees; she is cargo. He made a promise to Tess, and she was family. Ellie dozes off for a while, and when she wakes up, they arrive at Kansas City. The place is blocked by cars and trucks. Joel plans to go back on the road.

They miss dozens of bodies as they travel through the city. They soon come across an abandoned QZ and wonder what happened to FEDRA. A man comes in front of their car asking for help.

Joel suspects that this man is playing around. Joel drives through him. Soon another individual throws a cement block at them from above. Joel and Ellie drive through the spike strip.

With popped tires, Joel and Ellie crash into a shop. Joel commands Ellie to hide inside a small hole in front of them. He fights these people off. A young member of the opposing group sneaks behind Joel.

He gets the best of Joel, but Ellie comes from behind and shoots that person down with the gun she had borrowed. Joel takes that gun away and then asks Ellie to go back inside the hole. He proceeds to kill the young man, despite the fact that he pleaded not to.

Meanwhile, a woman named Kathleen is interrogating a doctor inside a lockup. She is asking him the location of a number of people, especially the whereabouts of a man named Henry.

During the conversation, it’s revealed that Kathleen lost her brother in this same lockup. The doctor agrees that Kathleen was wronged, but this needs to stop.

Kathleen believes that it’s convenient for him to say this now that he is the one who is not safe anymore. When she hears a commotion outside, she leaves to see what’s going on.

She sees some of her soldiers taken down by Joel. She asks if a doctor can save them. The moment she hears that it’s not possible, she goes back to the cell and wastes no time killing the doctor she was interrogating.

Kathleen orders her group to look for the outsiders. They call these outsiders ‘mercs’ and assume that Henry has called them to help.

Joel and Ellie wait for the street to clear and head toward the tall tower in front of them. They get a chance to have a heart-to-heart. They inquire about each other.

Joel is sorry that Ellie had to shoot a person at this age. Ellie confesses that this wasn’t the first time that she shot someone. Joel hands Ellie the gun back and teaches her how to use it accurately.

Kathleen and her group continue to look for Henry. They arrive at a building where they get scared by a moving floor. There is something beneath it. Kathleen says that Henry is running out of food, and he won’t let Sam starve.

Joel and Ellie make it to the 33rd floor of the tall building. Before sleeping, Joel places broken glass pieces all over the floor. If someone comes, he will hear them.

Joel wakes up to the sight of Ellie and him being held at gunpoint by a young man and a kid.

Review

The Last of Us episode 4 is unlike any of the episodes released so far. This episode only pushes the story forward. It doesn’t go back in time for a history lesson or give us an action-packed fight with the infected.
The fourth episode focuses a lot on building a relationship between Joel and Ellie. From their stupid jokes to Ellie giving her all for Joel, it’s clear that they both have started accepting each other.
The introduction of Kathleen isn’t as strong as expected. The show does establish that she is a chilling and threatening figure. Since the audience doesn’t know much about her right now, she comes across as a typical, conceited leader.