This is the main reason I love TV series releasing one episode per week, it gives some extra joy and purpose to wait for the weekend, Episode 3 drop yesterday and must have been a really though episode for the writers after the massive bomb they drop on Episode 2, trying to follow up after the chaos and heartbreak that sets the bar high. Episode 2 is something you keep in your pocket for a season finale, killing the main character of Season 1 on top of a massive battle with Jackson under siege, that is the kind of episode that makes you think "..and the hell is left to watch?" and that its not possible they can keep this pace moving forward. As expected episode 3 doesn't have the same energy and is more of a drama battle scenario. Instead it slows down everything, still been tied to the what happen, give us a chance to process what just happened.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3581920/
- Platform: PRIME VIDEO
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I would like better if they had given more context on how Jackson is doing and rebuilding, I know the town is not in ruins but it looked pretty good after all the chaos that was the last battle, they only move forward three months after Joel's death. The opening is quiet but at the same time almost painful, with Tommy cleaning Joel's body and asking him to give Sarah his love, Joel's daughter. That scene was heavy, with all the silence around and on top the scene of Jason hospital packed with people hurt from the attack, doctors in a rush, baby crying, it looked like madness. Finally Ellie wakes up and just scream loud as she start having flashbacks of Joel's murder that she had to be put to sleep. The series jumps three months forward, I'm not so sure about if that's a good thing because then we miss how they reconstruct after all the damage both physical and emotional, but still they make it work out just fine.
One of the most powerful sequences is Ellie returning to her house with Joel, as I expected she moved from her some what girly room to the garage and turn it into an armory. The fence of the house was full of flowers and cards, the kind of gestures that are supposed to tell others you are sorry but all I could think about is who is going to clean up all that?. She finds Joel’s old watch and gun inside a box left on top of his bed, honestly I was just waiting for the moment she breaks down, it was when she hugg his jacket that tears finally came out, it’s the first time we really see her let her guard down. Bella Ramsey absolutely nails the character once again, making Ellie’s pain feel raw and real without a single word similar to when she wakes up at the hospital. It’s a tough scene that I'm sure it was not an easy one to film, I still think about who decides if its good or not? even if this are not the events from the game I think the series nail it.
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Its not only Ellie who is dealing with Joel's death and the attack by infected, the entire Jackson is on this too, some like Tommy decides just to blurry himself in work, grieving in his own way, but its clear he still haunted by what happened. Not only Ellie and Tommy are hurting about Joel's death, there is Dina too who is willing to go to the end of the world with Ellie, its funny how she comes in to the house and offers Ellie cookies for what she is about to tell her, a treat before making her mad, this is when Dina tells almost everything they need to know about the W.L.F and the Fireflies she knew, that only make Ellie mad as expected because she felt Dina did it on purpose to hold her back although it was the smart move, Dina knew Ellie would enjoy more to get them herself.
Ellie goes to Tommy for his approval and join her to locate the ones who killed Joel, but he suggest to get Jackson on their side they need to take this to the Town Council. There’s a council meeting where Ellie explain her reasons and points to ask for a group to go after Abby and her crew, not only for revenge but for justice, honestly I never expected this was going to be approve at least not at first, the main reason because they have lost too much already and they’re not willing to risk more lives for revenge to put things simple. It was 8 votes who said NO against 3 who said yes, lot of people also gave out their opinion on how its too risky to send 16 of their best to hunt down Joel's murder when it would be more beneficial for the town to recover in the short term, they key point here is that everyone though it was a random murder and not hat Joel was the specific target, not even Ellie knows this for sure because she got late to the party.
Ellie will go no matter what the council decided, question was who would be with her?? in the end it was only Dina and a guy who they had problems in New Years Eve dance, the scene of Ellie and Dina leaving Jackson riding through the countryside are something else in terms of how vivid the landscape looks, its here were Ellie also visit Joel's grave 10 miles away from Jackson. There’s a sense of calm, almost too much as they continue traveling on horse, on a post apocalyptic world you would expected them to get jump in any moment.
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I went into this episode not expecting much in terms of action or big reveals, after the intensity of Episode 2, it was clear this was an episode to regrouping than moving forward, eventually they did and are on their way to Seattle, yes this episode is way slow and many could consider it boring, its more of an introspective hour episode that might be disappointing for many looking at non stop drama, I still believe it was the right move from the show.
The ending of Episode 3 felt more like a transition, the show is shifting from Jackson to Seattle and splitting things, not so sure if this is going to work out that well. As they travel the episode gives us a bit of downtime with Ellie and Dina, we going to get to know them way better although the trip felt very very short. They talk about the past, about their kiss at the New Year’s Eve party and about the people they’ve lost, it’s awkward and sweet and a little sad, the kind of conversation you have when you’re trying to distract yourself from what’s coming. The rain, the campfire, the nervous jokes, like two people trying to find comfort and trying to avoid the main topic but they just can't as much as they try.
The calm doesn’t last as they get closer to Seattle, they stumble upon a group of Seraphites, members of a religious cult and they have been slaughtered, including a child. From the marks on their faces and how they get tied so much to a weapon like a hammer I knew it has to be some sort of cult although I don't know much about the Seraphites, they do use techniques to travel efficiently in groups and watch for each other but when they sound the alarm I remember a girl asking his father "daemons?" to what he answers back " ...wolfs" , so are this in fact the same W.L.F Ellie and Dina are after?
The show doesn’t spell out who did it, not much evidence but that's just my speculation, WLF stands for Washington Liberation Front, Abby’s group and there are fingers pointing at the like responsible for the killing. They also have a massive presence it Seattle, I would say they own the city and that includes no infected probably, with the man power and ammo they got its a lot, unless they have rival in town, Ellie and Dina have not clue what they about to go to war with.
The show has to take a breath after all the craziness of episode 2 and I find this the perfect soft landing, but will Ellie be capable of carrying the series into the next seasons? I dont know about game stories but on TV there is always a main character with a side kick, Ellie and Joel were a team, as the younger one Ellie was Joel's side kick so is the series going to put her in the center of the story? it is true that Joel felt like he was not doing much on season 2 but come on they guy only had 2 episodes, go back season 1 and you will see who is saving Ellie ass every here and then, even though her a lot of the things she know and their journey was way longer than how much it took Ellie and Dina to get to Seattle.
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