Coming off of the skyscraper highs of episode 3 I
think some people may find episode 4 underwhelming in comparison, but it’s still a great overall
package. It may be slow at parts, however, that’s necessary in creating a realistic pace.
The scenes in between this time all felt like they had a purpose and I wouldn’t classify any
of this as filler like I’ve seen people say. A lot of this material relates to Ellie trying
to chip away at Joel’s viewpoint of Ellie being cargo. Hearing him say that was very crushing and
it seems like Ellie wants a better relationship because she first asked Joel if she was family to
him. She’s been trying really hard to bond with him and this resistance he gives off makes their
dialogue scenes really good. It offers a point of conflict within their relationship of whether
or not Joel will open up more in each moment and if Ellie will become Sarah in Joel’s eyes. In
each episode so far there has been a progression. Like in the last episode, Joel and Ellie were
barely on speaking terms, and now that they are, Ellie is trying to further push that line to
Joel liking her company. Even for this episode, their relationship starting point is vastly
different from where it ends. That’s why I think some of these scenes like the car ride dialogue
and the campsite setting were so important because it sets up a point in their relationship that
they then progress from later on. And again, these are really entertaining moments like with
Ellie reading jokes to Joel and trying to make him laugh, and her discovering a porn magazine.
It’s a very human and awkward moment and Ellie using these avenues is a clever way to bond with
Joel. Her attempts at humor are endearing and is a direct contrast to the lifeless nature of the
world and even Joel. She’s essentially slowly re-invigorating him and seeing this process no
matter how slow it may be will always be great to watch. Like I love this moment where she delivers
her first joke and Pedro Pascal has an extremely subtle expression as to him kind of liking it,
but suppressing it. You can see his tense face partially ease up and I think this was a good
first step visually for Joel to relax a bit. This recurring beat for their characters I think acts
as a good checkpoint for us to directly compare their growth throughout the episode. Because we go
from Joel tolerating her jokes to finally giving in and delivering off a warm laugh. So the plot in
this episode may not pop off, but I still love the dialogue and the type of relationship that Joel
and Ellie have in the show. I also find it kind of weird how people are saying this episode isn’t
very good, but yet this features the most of Joel and Ellie together. And I thought that’s what
people wanted so much. Because from a game to show adaption for this episode, it’s almost 1 to
1 besides the inclusion of Kathleen. I think her character felt a bit off because how is this
seemingly non-powerful character in charge of this revolutionary group when she’s surrounded by
these other characters who look visually stronger. Her brief scenes when talking to everyone didn’t
exude a lot of confidence and she didn’t give off strong leader vibes. Also, her introductory
scene didn’t land as hard as it felt like it was intended because of how much missing context
there was surrounding these two characters. The writing here tells you enough to understand
what’s going on, but I don’t think we share a similar emotional connection to what was going
on. Then when she comes back in mid-way through her speech to execute the doctor and then goes
back outside again felt weird pacing-wise. To me, this wasn’t the most compelling introduction for
a new villain character and I think it could have had a slightly better execution. That and the
nature of her character I feel like would have a hard time convincing all of these people with
her lies and manipulation. It makes me want this guy who actually is the voice actor for Tommy
in the game to be the villain. His design is a lot more unique and badass and doesn’t resemble a
karen who probably used to be a soccer mom. This overall group though I think is an interesting
exploration as to if a people-run government is better than the one prior. It illustrates how
selfishly human-driven this group is through Kathleen’s character and is mostly her using
people to accomplish her own goals. It creates a much more personally driven and fleshed-out threat
that surrounds Joel and Ellie in this setting because in the game these were basically unnamed
people who wanted loot. Which we can go from this and talk about the ambush because this was a
horrific scene. This was a perfect re-creation from the game and every detail was replicated
with immense precision. Starting out I love the quick reactions that Bella Ramsey gives off where
she’s shocked and dismayed about how Joel is about to run over this guy asking for help. Then them
crashing into the laundromat was a crazy stunt and it looked very realistic. Like there was obviously
no way for them to cheat this since they literally crashed a car into this building and you can see
the stunt actors in the car taking on that crash. Easy 10 out of 10 stunt. The shootout following
this was equally good and the aspect about this scene in particular that I loved was the sound
design and music. The shots were so loud, you could hear the base of each shot, the bullets
penetrating every single distinct surface making each shot sound unique and realistic, the raiders
mocking and yelling at our characters like the NPC’s from the game, and the music slowly building
the entire time making the eventual confrontation of violence that much better. Then the music eases
off as Joel kills one of the raiders in a release of tension. Just a perfect 1 minute of television
that doesn’t stop here because we now transition into a more suspenseful moment as the raider
enters the building. Seeing this moment from the perspective of Ellie enhances this because it’s
more tense not knowing who has the advantage or who is about to die in the room behind her. Even
when Joel shoots the intruder we still shortly question the fact if Joel was the one who shot or
got shot. Then the scene keeps going when we think everything is fine to then having another raider
surprise us from the back door. From a writing perspective, this entire scene is so genius
because it breaks up the action into three varied parts. We have the initial explosion of action
that is the car crash and the shootout, the more suspense-driven moment of hiding from the raider,
and the twist of thinking we are in the clear to then throwing another dire obstacle at our
protagonists. It creates a good and balanced flow throughout the action scene. Then the last moment
allows Ellie to finally save Joel and she shoots a human being, which on its own is another important
ordeal to explore. This is a masterful scene from writing to execution and the screams and pleading
coming from this poor guy is insanely haunting. Like honestly one of the best performances from
an extra that I’ve seen in a while. Him crying out for his mom really blurred the lines as to if
Joel and Ellie were the bad guys in this scenario because despite them defending themselves, they
are still executing this kid who is no longer a threat. But sadly it’s necessary for them since
he can offer the enemy intel. Having the death of this guy play out through the perspective of
Ellie is a double positive. We can see her rich performance as she deals with this traumatic
experience and by not directly focusing on the death visually it doesn’t make the violence feel
gratuitous. The kind of impact this has on Ellie is very nuanced because emotionally it’s affecting
her, but her practicality overrides that because she knows that they are still in danger and she
needs to function like an adult. This kind of perseverance makes me love Ellie because she’s a
strong character, despite being a child. She’s not immediately becoming incapacitated to emotions
and her instinct of survival is still operating at full capacity. An overall great acting moment
for Bella Ramsey. This whole plot point allows Joel to finally make an attempt to act like a
father. Ellie has done an unthinkable task of shooting someone as a kid, and Joel can’t help but
feel guilty for having put her in that situation, regardless of whether or not it was forced upon
them. This to me is what I would identify as the turning point for their relationship together.
Through this traumatic experience, they are deeply and inherently entangled now and it is inescapable
to not deal with the immense emotional baggage of executing someone. Joel was trying his hardest
to keep his relationship with Ellie at a surface level, but he would be doing a disservice to
himself as a father if he didn’t try to console Ellie. And since this trait has been unlocked
within Joel we now see him give in to Ellie’s humor and before he breaks in a fit of laughter at
the end he makes his own joke towards Ellie here. This natural progression between Joel and Ellie
is painstakingly detailed and every interaction that they have feels important. That’s why I would
never classify their earlier scenes together as filler because it’s necessary build-up to make
this eventual turn even more powerful. Because the second Joel lets loose and finally laughs, is
probably going to be one of my favorite moments in the show. Such a wholesome moment with excellent
long awaited pay-off. Then for the last aspect I loved was the detail of Joel turning over in his
sleep to where his bad ear was the one exposed. Which explains why Henry was able to sneak up
on them. A great writing moment that perfectly explains itself if you paid attention. For
this episode, I have seen a lot of people say that it should have been combined with
the next one because it feels incomplete, but I think Joel and Ellie’s personal journey
offers a good endpoint for episode 4. Plot-wise it does end on a cliffhanger, but we don’t know
how long the next episode will be. For all we know episode 5 could be over an hour long and if they
combined these two episodes it could have been 2 hours long which would be getting ridiculous.
So a slightly under 50-minute episode I think is perfectly acceptable and it does enough within
its time to be satisfying. It may not go as hard as the first 3 episodes, but that’s really tough
competition in of itself from how amazing those ones were. You can’t really have 10 out of 10
episodes constantly and having an 8 every now and then is natural. Especially since this episode
gives our characters a bit of a breather and a big chance to develop. Thank you for watching and
by the way, the next episode airs on Friday since HBO doesn’t want to air episode 5 against
the Superbowl. So Imagine being cowards HBO.
