The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 6 “Kin” has completely reshaped how I think about Season 2. I was so sure that I understood the situation between Joel and Ellie. I was also sure that I understood Ellie’s pain or her journey.
This episode proved me wrong.
And I’m equal parts shocked, delighted, and thrown off with how this episode changes things. Because I knew that Joel died in The Last of Us II. I’ve known for years. And it was the reason why I could never finish the game. But I think this was the push, to get me back in and for me to finish what I started as Ellie starts on her own journey to finish what Abby did in Season 2.
Joel and His Daughter Ellie
If there’s anything that I really disliked when it comes to The Last of Us Season 2, and maybe Season 1, is that they never directly addressed that Joel is Ellie’s dad.
And I know we don’t have to say the words for them to be true. But words matter as much as action. And at every turn Joel showed that he would move the Earth, Moon, and stars for Ellie to give her the childhood she deserved. And it wasn’t even for Sarah. Sarah had passed and that time in Joel’s life was over. Joel was giving Ellie the childhood she deserved because he loved her. He is her dad.
The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 6 giving us such tender moments between Joel and Ellie was also cruel but so heartwarming. I found myself struggling with appreciating the memory of Joel and knowing that he was gone. In a way, it’s the show’s way of exploring how our memories keep our loved ones alive. And some of those memories are happy adventures going to see a dinosaur and visiting a museum. But sometimes those memories are twisted and angry because we know that our loved one did us or others wrong.
At the end of the day, you can’t go back. You can’t change the past. The only thing you could do is move forward with those memories. This is what this episode was about. Joel gave Ellie some beautiful memories outside of the life that she had with FEDRA. He encouraged her to explore this world and dream of reaching the stars. But with those memories comes the reality of who Joel was and how he lied to her. But again, Ellie is Joel’s daughter. And there’s nothing a parent wouldn’t do to protect their child.
Ellie Went Back
The most devastating revelation of The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 6 was that Ellie went back and talked to Joel. We have spent the entirety of the season thinking that she never got to mend what was broken between her and Joel. We carried that with us. But that wasn’t true. Ellie went back and talked with Joel at the end of The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 “Future Days.”
And as we have watched Ellie choose revenge over letting things go, it’s shocking to know that she chose to rebuild. She, as this hot-headed angry young woman, chose to move on and forgive Joel. And then Abby came around and shattered what could have been between Ellie and Joel.
As a viewer, I love when shows make me recontextualize or rethink what I’ve seen. Because right now I’m taking every single thing that I have learned in The Last of Us Season 2, all the little puzzle pieces I’ve been putting together, and now I’m reforming it in a different shape. And that shape is unfortunately not giving Abby any more grace. And it’s not born out of me changing my mind that Joel was the monster in Abby’s story. That’ll never change.
The end of my grace when it comes to Abby comes in the form of me being angry that Abby destroyed what future Joel and Ellie could have had together. It’s messy. And it’s admittedly unfair because there are no winners here when it comes to revenge, only losers. But I guess that’s life for you. And if Ellie giving that cold I know in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 5 “Feel Her Love” is any indication, she’s going to rain down pain on Abby the likes that will make her regret ever coming near Jackson.
Ellie’s Coming Out… I Didn’t Love It
If there’s one thing that bothered me about The Last of Us Season 2, is Ellie’s coming out to Joel. Firstly, it wasn’t her choice. It was an accident. I understand those things happen, so I’m just a little bothered by this choice and always will be when it’s an accident. Then there’s Joel’s response. And this is coming from someone who loves Joel. But in loving him I have to be honest with myself that his reaction to finding Ellie with another girl, it hurt me.
Joel was without a doubt out of his debt when it came to finding out that Ellie liked girls. And sometimes when we are out of our depth, we say things we might regret. That’s what I see that Joel did. Still, it hurt how he reacted and a tiny part of me was like, “Is he trying to brush it off because it’s a girl or he just doesn’t know how to talk to Ellie?” It ended up being the latter. But I don’t like that I had that doubt within myself at what made Joel not say anything.
At the end, Joel came through, basically approving of Ellie and Dina. But still, ughhh. I wish we didn’t have to do these storylines anymore. But even at the end of the world, homophobia and that fear that our parents won’t accept us is real. And it’s real in The Last of Us for Ellie and for the viewers at home who might’ve gone through a similar situation with their parents.
The Last of Us airs new episodes every Sunday.
