Episode Grade: (8.1/10)
As Ellie desperately tries to keep Joel alive, she looks back to the events leading up to the night she was bitten.
Plot (39/50)
This was another episode that featured a contained story in what is becoming a pattern for this show, but more on that in a bit. In terms of the main plot, Joel obviously survived, but there was no explanation given as to how Ellie managed to get him and their horse into an abandoned house. Given the freezing weather, the seriousness of the wound, and the way Joel collapsed, this feels cheap. Joel could’ve just as easily collapsed a few feet away from the house, and that would’ve made this all make sense. They made it seem like they were in the middle of nowhere with that final wide shot in the previous episode. Ultimately, it’s not that big of a deal, but there’s no need for these sorts of gaps. In any case, Joel is in bad shape and wants Ellie to leave him to die, but she’s not going to give up on him before of what happened to Riley, her best friend and teenage love. She rummages the house until she finds a needle and a spool of thread to stitch up Joel’s wound. The rest of the episode takes us back to events that occurred roughly three weeks before the show’s pilot. We get a glimpse of what Ellie’s life was like in the Boston QZ shortly before she was infected, but most of the time was spent on the events that led to her being bitten. The flashback effectively filled in most of the gaps in Ellie’s backstory which helps viewers understand what motivates her (more on that in the next section). With that said, there were several moments where the episode felt stagnant. Had they repurposed one of the scenes in the flashback into a deep, serious conversation between Ellie and Joel, that would’ve probably been a better use of the time. Even so, this was a perfectly acceptable episode that was enhanced by how well the suspense was executed despite prior knowledge that Ellie would be attacked by an infected at some point.
Character Development (12/15)
The trauma that caused Ellie’s survivor guilt and her fear of being left alone was revealed to be the loss of Riley. This was particularly devastating for Ellie because she had just found the courage to express her true feelings for Riley. Her happiness from knowing the feelings are mutual was short-lived as a result of her and Riley’s infections. Since then, she’s been tormented by the fact that she’s somehow managed to survive while Riley didn’t. Having experienced so much in her young life, she finds herself disillusioned and lost. She clings onto this quest to reach the Fireflies because it gives her purpose. Maybe she things that if she aids in the development of a vaccine, that would right the wrongs that she thinks she’s responsible for. I wonder if they’ll show us what happens next. We know that Marlene and her crew will end up finding Ellie, but between now and then, what happened? If Ellie had to kill Riley or watch her die, that would add a whole other dimension to her trauma. Either way, she’s suffered loss and doesn’t want to have to experience that trauma again, hence why she’s so committed to sticking with Joel.
Theme/Messages (4/5)
- Labels play a critical role in perpetuating narratives; for example: anarchists and freedom fighters are often used to describe the same group of people.
- Civilized people can fundamentally disagree on life while still maintaining positive relationships with eachother.
Acting (13/15)
The chemistry between Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Storm Reid (Riley) enhanced their charged performances in a way that helped the audience connect with the story being told.
Cinematography (13/15)
- Cool shot of Ellie standing in amazement as the abandoned mall lights up (22:25)
- “Take on Me” by a-ha plays as Ellie and Riley explore the mall. 80s music means trouble, so this was a nice bit of foreshadowing.
- Ironic shot of the “Back in 5 min” sign that was still up on the box office booth (24:26)
- Good shot of Ellie and Riley sitting next to each other on the floor of a shop (43:50)
- Etta James’ cover of “I Got You” by Sonny & Cher plays as Ellie and Riley dance around. This was an interesting choice since this is a song from the 60s, and 60s music is code for nothing. I suppose nothing else mattered to Ellie and Riley in this moment of pure happiness, even though they would be attacked moments later.