The Last of Us S1:E6 “Kin” Review

By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)

This review is spoiler-free.

Now that the tears have dried up, from last week’s emotional episode finale, we are back on the road and heading into the wilderness!

As always, the episode blends plenty of original content with scenes, story and dialogue from the game, creating something familiar, yet new, that will please the entirety of the viewing audience. We see the dam, and the Jackson settlement and meet more characters from the video game. It still amazes me that they hit that sweet spot each and every week in that regard, a true testament to the quality of the writing. I can’t see them dropping the ball with this, they are keeping everyone happy!

The title, “Kin”, fits nicely into the theme of the episode, with a real focus on Dominic Toretto’s favourite thing – family! Be it, Joel and Tommy, Joel and Ellie or Tommy and Marie – the family narrative surrounds all of the characters, with some crossover that complicates matters. This felt like the first episode where Joel really stepped into that father role, which is ironic, as soon it will be Ellie’s turn to step up as his faux daughter. The bonds of family are strained and tested but remain unbroken, and in many ways, stronger than ever.

We get to experience a new settlement, but one unlike what we have seen so far in the show. Out of everywhere so far, this would definitely be the place I would want to end up at! The snow-covered environment, in which the settlement was located, felt so vast and isolated. The visual representation of the cold elements really came across well on screen. Sometimes you can watch a series or film, set in the snow, and you don’t really “feel it”. This was not the case here – I could feel the freezing temperatures through my TV!

There were some incredible performances throughout the episode, Pedron Pascal (Joel) gave his best emotive performance so far and he was not to be outdone by Bella Ramsay (Ellie), who juggled her fragility and strength with tremendous success. We also got reunited with Gabriel Luna (Tommy), who proves yet again that he was well cast in the role – I cannot wait for more! Rutina Wesley (Maria) makes her series debut and you already feel like Maria will be getting a lot more backstory and involvement with the story than she did in the game. There is also a lot of noise online, from fans and stans, about “Staring Girl”, with the speculation this was a Series 2 tease. This character is played by Paolina van Kleef and they may or may not be THAT character, from The Last of Us II. And finally, I want to give special mention to Graham Greene (Marlon) and Elaine Miles (Florence) who were featured in the opening of the episode. I need to know more about these two! What an iconic pair!

The episode ends with a significant moment that will, most likely, see Episode 7 be a big Ellie-centric episode, which I imagine will, finally, include that long-awaited flashback – so note to self, bring tissues! Joel spent a lot of the episode teaching her things and Ellie even demonstrated some of the new knowledge that she acquired during the time jumps. These are needed now more than ever, with the protectee becoming the protector! Next week’s episode already feels like a big one, and it cannot come soon enough!

What did you think of the latest episode of The Last of Us? Let us know in the comments or find us on social media.