TLOU 104 Review: The Best of Us?
“Please Hold to My Hand” still isn’t a great adaptation, but it’s a passable episode of television.
I don’t have much to say on this episode, which was not bad enough to be comedic or infuriating the way the first three were, but also not good enough to gush over. But for consistency’s sake, I thought I’d put out some of my thoughts on episode 4 in advance of tonight’s new episode. So without further ado, here’s a (rather disjointed) compilation of some thoughts on “Please Hold to My Hand!”
If I was going to compare Joel and Ellie’s trajectory in this episode to the way it plays out in the game, like I did in my first two reviews, I would have very little new to say. Compared to the game, this episode is not particularly strong. However, it’s definitely the least egregious of the four episodes that have been released so far, with the strongest visual direction, some genuinely charming moments, a decently-executed setup for a future villain, and Pedro and Bella’s best performances so far.
Once again, this episode has no opening prologue, a stark deviation from the first two episodes of the season. This is something I feel comfortable critiquing without over-relying on comparison with the source material to make my point. Given that the show opened its very first two episodes of its very first seasons with two very thematically similar “prologues” discussing the same central concept to the show (the specifics of the Cordyceps virus) it feels like an expectation was set and then abandoned. Having both the premiere and second episode follow this format signalled to me, at least, that there would continue to be prologues of this sort throughout the rest of the series, perhaps serving as a way to connect the personal stories of Joel and Ellie to the larger story of the virus. The deviation in episode 3 was understandable, given how much that episode deviates from Joel and Ellie’s story in general, but now that we’re back on the pair of them the lack of Cordyceps prologue makes it a bit confusing as to what the point of the first two were (outside of pure exposition). Maybe the prologues will make a reappearance near the end of the season, as Joel and Ellie get closer to their destination.
We open on Ellie and Joel at an abandoned gas station, refilling the truck and setting back out. We get some jokes and dialogue between Ellie and Joel lifted straight from the game, and then a quick montage of them travelling cross-country in the truck. The direction and cinematography in the first half of this episode is the strongest so far; there’s a real sense of scale as we watch Joel and Ellie cross abandoned highways and pass desolate theme parks, trailer parks, malls and warehouses. In particular, there’s a sequence of Joel pulling off the highway to drive through an open field that is both very atmospheric on its own and (finally!) uses Santaolalla’s excellent score to full effect. It’s very brief, but that works in its favour; as is, even though it’s the most effectively the show has communicated atmosphere to us so far, it also runs the risk of teetering into Pickup Truck Commercial Territory.
The following few scenes of Joel and Ellie camping out in the forest are pretty as well, though it does beg the question as to what it says about the show that it suddenly got a million times prettier as soon as the action moved away from designed sets and into natural landscapes.
Joel and Ellie continue their travels; Pedro and Bella have the best chemistry in this episode that they’ve had so far, Bella’s performance in particular being a massive step up in terms of natural delivery. Joel fills us in on Tommy; before the outbreak, he joined the army, wanting to feel like a hero, wanting to join something important; after the outbreak, he convinced Joel to join a group travelling to Boston that included Tess. Later, Marlene convinced him to leave and join the Fireflies, and since then he’s left the Fireflies as well.
Joel compares the Fireflies’ current mission to restore democracy and freedom to the QZs to Operation Desert Storm, calling both groups “delusional.” Whether the show intends to unpack the heavy political implications this statement has for both Joel’s character and the Fireflies or not is unclear. Personally, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Ellie asks Joel how he knows he’ll find Tommy. “I will,” Joel says. “But how?” Ellie insists. “I’m persistent,” Joel replies. This is actually a pretty solid exchange, given how we know the story will end.
Ellie asks Joel why he keeps going if he doesn’t think there’s hope for the world, to which Joel replies, “for family.” “I’m not family?” Ellie asks, a line that makes very little sense considering the two have known each other for maybe a week total and have barely started being civil with each other. “No,” Joel replies, “you’re cargo.”
Once we return to the sets, it all starts to feel a little too staged again. There’s a shootout sequence whose lack of score and relatively static filming angles don’t quite communicate the feeling of being closed-in that would be appropriate for the scene. In a video game, you wouldn’t need score and camera angles to produce that effect, since the player would literally be closed in and able to feel their space restrict; but in the show, the fact that this scene is shot the exact same way as most of the other sequences is a missed opportunity to get across some real tension. Why not shoot some shots from below to show us how cornered Joel is? Why not have some music to build tension?
Ellie shoots and injures a man attacking Joel to protect him, and Joel finishes him off. While it’s nice that they’re finally letting Joel KILL AND MAIM, I do wish they’d showed us the actual murder; it would help develop the exact nature of Joel’s relationship with violence, which so far has been hard to understand. While we’re repeatedly told he’s terrifying, we’ve only seen him actually get violent with zombies and when his PTSD was triggered in episode 1. Instead, we cut to Ellie as the shot goes off.
The rest of the episode is a little bit of a drag. Melanie Lynskey appears and doesn’t do a great job, though I’m told by reliable sources that she’s actually an excellent actress who was probably struggling with a bad script or direction. Joel and Ellie wander around a deserted town and talk about their feelings, which isn’t unbearable to watch. Melanie Lynskey’s character, Kathleen, an addition original to the show, is revealed to have some kind of vendetta against Henry, who she says caused the death of her brother. Joel and Ellie’s sleeping arrangements don’t make sense and make them look stupid. If you’re camping overnight in a building in a town where you’re actively being hunted, why wouldn’t you take turns so someone could keep watch? Seems like a pretty basic strategy that would have helped them avoid getting caught at the end of the episode by Sam and Henry.
Overall, this episode was unremarkable, being mostly filler. The first half had some passably pretty visual moments, though nothing particularly original or interesting, Pedro and Bella did well with what they were given, and we’ve been set up for Sam-Henry conflict next episode. I will say that the pacing in The Last of Us as a whole is really struggling at this point, since the last time we got a remotely memorable or interesting action sequence was the clickers in episode 2.
Rating: 2.5/5.
I want to thank you for all your reviews of tlou hbo! It's truly a breath of fresh air amongst all "it's so great and brilliant I'm pissing my pants" posts on reddit and other platforms. And it's well written and argumented too :)
I can't say I agree absolutely on everything, but I'd say that 80% of what you're saying express my feelings about the show just right.
Really eager to read yout thoughts on episodes 5 and 6 :)
I'm now following all of your reviews and generally agree with all of your commentary so far too. I honestly can't wait to hear what you thought of episode 5 as it's the first one I've even remotely enjoyed. Looking forward to your thoughts!