The calm after the storm earlier than the storm

There’s an comprehensible and plain pall hanging over The Final of Us after final week’s shocker. And it’s the calm earlier than the storm that’ll make up the remainder of the season: Ellie and Dina’s journey to Seattle to trace down Joel’s killers. However amid the unhappiness of that loss and the frustration of Ellie not getting the help of the city in her revenge plan is absolutely the delight of seeing extra of Ellie and Dina collectively.

They had been in all probability the spotlight of the primary episode — their chemistry didn’t instantly hit Joel and Ellie ranges, however Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced had been doing nice work collectively proper off the bat. Right here, we get to see much more of them collectively, and Dina’s mixture of playfulness and planning is a strong counter to Ellie’s dry humor and impulsive nature.

An amazing instance is their journey to Seattle on horseback, as Dina challenges Ellie to call the perfect band she will be able to consider for each letter of the alphabet, one thing Ellie finally has fairly sufficient of. Dina says she will be able to give you one other recreation, and Ellie instantly quips they may simply journey in silence, one thing Dina ignores and makes Ellie inform her in regards to the first particular person she needed to kill. Simply the form of lighthearted street journey companion Ellie wants proper now.

Dina is at her finest on this episode when she barges in on Ellie planning for a midnight escape from the town to deliver Abby to justice on her personal. Earlier within the episode, the Jackson city council votes down her proposal to assemble a big crew to go after the WLF group — primarily as a result of the city was so ravaged by the Contaminated horde the identical day Joel was killed that they will’t spare the folks. Naturally, Ellie is able to go rogue and go on her personal, however she’s not likely prepared. Dina reveals up at her place, teases her for not planning to deliver something however weapons, and lays out precisely what they want and what they don’t. Oh, and she or he already has all of it able to go. It’s a bit of too imply to say Ellie will not be the brains of the operation, however she’d nearly actually be in hassle with out Dina.

Past her sensible expertise, Dina flirts with Ellie continually all through the episode, asking Ellie to fee their kiss on the New 12 months’s Eve dance, teasing her about desirous to put on her Converse on a prolonged journey, whispering in Ellie’s ear that she is a badass after Ellie makes a dorky, motion movie-style proclamation. However maybe essentially the most telling remark she makes is after they very briefly focus on that NYE kiss — Ellie says Dina was excessive, Dina says Ellie was drunk, they usually each agree it didn’t actually imply something. They then flip off the sunshine of their tent, and Dina can’t assist however say she wasn’t that excessive. Ramsey and Merced’s model of “will they, received’t they” brings some much-needed levity to their state of affairs.

And to be clear, levity is far wanted. Although there isn’t a lot actual motion, the fallout from Joel’s demise and the Contaminated siege is throughout this episode. It begins with Tommy slowly cleansing Joel’s physique earlier than the digital camera pulls out and reveals an entire room of our bodies coated with sheets. That’s adopted by Ellie awakening in a hospital with a tube popping out of her chest; she then screams bloody homicide at remembering what occurred to her. That’s to not point out the dawn go to to Joel’s grave the place Ellie briefly smiles as she places some espresso beans by his facet, or her stroll by means of his empty home the place she finds his signature watch, revolver and jacket. Hold the tissues useful.

Whereas Ramsey’s Ellie is at her finest when partnered with Dina, she additionally does some nice work on her personal — the aforementioned hospital scene is chilling, however my favourite Ellie moments on this episode are when she’s attempting (and failing) to persuade folks she’s okay. Her speech to the city meeting encouraging them to go after the WLF will not be the off-the-cuff anger that Jesse inspired her to keep away from, however you’ll be able to inform Ellie is simply attempting to placate the lots as an alternative of claiming what she actually needs. The identical goes for her dialog with Gail the therapist when she leaves the hospital, although Ellie doesn’t even attempt to conceal her remedy platitudes behind a veneer of perception.

Oddly sufficient, it’s Seth (the bigot who received greatly surprised by Joel in episode one) who says what Ellie is de facto feeling, interrupting the assembly when somebody objects to the plan to go to Seattle. Seth is enraged by what occurred to a member of his group and thinks they need to pursue justice at any price. It’s removed from essentially the most measured take, nevertheless it actually seems like essentially the most sincere.

Thus it’s not an enormous shock when he’s prepared to assist Ellie and Dina as they slip out of city, providing them a load of provides and insisting Ellie take his higher rifle. He says he’d go together with them aside from catching some pleasant hearth throughout the Contaminated battle, to which Ellie replies “are you certain it was pleasant?” She’s clearly not able to forgive him for his phrases, however a greater gun, some provides and a shared want for revenge will get her shut sufficient. She shakes his supplied hand as they journey out of city.

Contaminated Rating: 0/10

The showrunners say season two may have extra Contaminated than season one — let’s see in the event that they’re sticking to their phrase.

No Contaminated to be seen right here, other than some charred corpses round Jackson. That’s simply fantastic with me after final week’s showdown.