First Things First…
Apparently a lot of people called last week’s episode filler. I didn’t feel that way—I thought seeing Ellie’s last night with Riley gave us valuable insight into her behavior. But it was another diversion, and I did give it the lowest score of any episode this season. So I’m glad to get back to the main story now.
If Joel’s wound doesn’t kill him, infection from Ellie’s stitch job might. But either way, I’m anxious to see how we get through this rough patch for our guy. And hopefully he spends more of this episode conscious.
4 Things I Like
4. Joel’s Rampage
Part of me feels like I should put this in the “Mixed” category. After all, how realistic is it for Joel, who’s still probably not far from death, to recover enough to take out all these goons?
But it’s here for a few reasons…
- It’s clear how much he’s still suffering, despite his violence…
- I’m happy to chalk up his sudden recovery to the fact that he knows Ellie is in danger…
- And it’s awesome to see him not just as we’ve seen him already, but at least for a few moments—like when he sticks his knife in the guy’s knee and threatens to pop his kneecap off—closer to what old-school Joel must’ve been like.
3. Evil Incarnate
“You see a lot. So do I. And you know what I see when I look at you? Me. You remind me of me. You’re a natural leader, you’re smart, loyal. Violent… You have a violent heart. And I should know. I’ve always had a violent heart. And I struggled with it for a long time. But then the world ended and I was shown the truth.”
David
David is the evilest person we’ve met this season.
I mean, he’s truly vile.
Although it’s unclear at first, you can tell something is “off” about him all along. Like when the girl asks when they can bury her father, and he exchanges a meaningful glance with James before saying it’s too cold to dig, and they’ll have to wait until spring. (I didn’t realize until my rewatch that the hesitation and awkwardness is because they probably all just ate her dad.)
Or when that creepy smile breaks out over his face when he reveals to Ellie that it was someone from his group who Joel killed at the college…
And then at the big group dinner, David sure doesn’t seem like he’s on rations, even if the rest of the town is. When they start eating, all you hear is the clanking and clanking (and clanking) of silverware on dishes as everyone else scarfs down as fast as possible, while he enjoys a heaping serving.
But it’s his fascination with Ellie that drives home how sinister he is.
Their conversation when she’s locked in the cage is so icky. He sees in her an equal… a kindred spirit… and from the looks of it, a wife, or a mate. He says to her…
“I’m a shepherd surrounded by sheep, and all I want is an equal. A friend.”
This is grooming, plain and simple.
When he slapped the other girl in the face and then referenced that he’s still a father to her who she must respect, I wondered whether he’s having sex with her. At the time, I didn’t think they were actually going there. But this scene with Ellie indicates to me that it’s very possible.
On top of that, of course—cannibalism. Which most of his “flock” doesn’t know they’re partaking in and had no say in.
So this isn’t a nuanced villain like Kathleen, who overthrew an oppressive government but also had an entire room of informants executed without trial.
There’s no room for interpretation with David. But not every villain has to have shades of grey. Especially because, no matter how awful he is, HE still believes he’s the good guy.
Plus, we can’t ignore the insight he gives us. When he recognizes Ellie’s “violent heart,” he’s spot-on.
Wrap all that up in a fantastic performance, from a guy who looks mild mannered enough to have been a middle-school math teacher but who has incredible evil lurking within, and now has the power to let it out, and he’s not just the best villain of the season…
He’s one of the most memorable villains on TV in a long time.
2. “Baby Girl”
There’s officially no turning back with Joel and Ellie’s relationship now that he’s called her “baby girl,” the same thing he called his daughter.
Even before that, though, there’s a tender moment from Ellie when she’s trying to take care of Joel. She wets her fingers with water and presses them to his lips to try to get him to drink.
She also curls up with him after giving him his first dose of penicillin, even though he’s still unconscious.
But this final scene after she kills David and bursts outside all bloodied is a beautiful moment in the snow. He hugs her tight, calls her “baby girl,” tells her everything is okay, and then gives her his jacket since she lost hers, even though he’s the one who’s close to death.
The episode closes with them walking off together to God-knows-where, supporting one another.
I love this for them.
1. Cub Becomes Wolf
I never expected Joel to come in and make the save for Ellie.
I believed all along she’d get herself out of this situation.
And I couldn’t be happier I was right.
This may break her—having to escape attempted murder, attempted rape, and being chopped into little pieces and eaten by other humans or taken as this monster’s child bride by committing multiple VIOLENT murders herself.
When she kills David, she hits him with the cleaver once to get him off of her, then lets loose a VOLCANIC outburst of violence. She gets on top of him and takes the cleaver to him 21 TIMES!
But if this doesn’t break her, Ellie will have developed more mettle than just about anyone alive.
Joel still gets his moments to shine, but it’s only in saving himself from David’s goons. And even that’s only possible because Ellie saved him first by getting and administering his medicine, and taking care of his wound.
She’s quite the warrior.
0 Things I’m Mixed On
1 Thing I Don’t Like
1. Losing Faith
At the start of the episode, David comments to James, his right-hand man, that James is losing faith in him. James denies it, but it seems true.
This never pays off, though.
Sure, James questions David about capturing Ellie rather than killing her. As he says, she’ll just be another mouth to feed.
But there could’ve been so much there in terms of James not being on board with their cannibalism, no matter how necessary it is to keep people alive.
Or, I don’t know, James could’ve had a problem with David bedding children.
Instead we get none of that. James never does anything to indicate there’s goodness inside him. And he gets a cleaver in the neck without ever advancing this as a plotline.
Tim Matassa
