The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4 introduces a new character, Kathleen, while also introducing a video game fan favorite.
Kathleen (played by Melanie Lynskey) is a newcomer to The Last Of Us series. She is the ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City, Missouri. While this character does not appear in The Last Of Us video games, the situation is similar with characters that could have easily been her, the story was just never gone into as much depth.
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4, which clocks in at just 43 minutes, introduces her, but also includes a fan favorite character at the very end. Here is our The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4 recap and review, but be warned, there are massive spoilers ahead.
Warning: Spoilers for The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4 Ahead
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4 starts with Ellie checking out her new gun that she got from Bill and Frank’s house in the previous episode. Joel is getting gas out of abandoned cars but before you mention how bad that gasoline would be by then, the series is sure to address it. Joel mentions that it’s getting almost useless and is like water now. This is when fans of the video games will likely start jumping up and down and rejoicing — because Ellie breaks out the pun book! Of course, Joel is rolling his eyes at these jokes, but long time TLOU fans will be thrilled for this to be a part of the show.
After a day of traveling, Joel and Ellie make camp. As they are getting ready to sleep, Ellie asks Joel if she can ask him a serious question. Then, in true Ellie fashion, she asks him what the Scarecrow got an award for (he was outstanding in his field, if you are curious). This is classic Ellie and Joel, and it is fun to see them joking around together in such a dire situation.
Ellie becomes worried that people will find them after Joel says they can’t build a fire because of this. He warns it isn’t the infected in this area, but the people they need to be cautious of. He then decides to guard the camp instead of sleeping, in order to keep her safe.
In the morning we learn they are heading to a radio tower. Joel tells the story of how he and Tommy met Tess, and how then Tommy met Marlene and he joined fireflies. Last Joel heard, he had quit the fireflies too. Joel thinks his brother is all alone out there, and he has to go get him.
They arrive at a tunnel that is blocked by cars — which is very similar to several set pieces in the game. They don’t go inside, however, as Joel tries to drive around to go to the next exit on ramp. While looking for a way onto the interstate, they drive near a quarantine zone that is clearly abandoned. This seems to spook them both.
Kathleen Is Introduced
It is here in The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4 they get attacked by a gang. They tried to trick them by having one man appear injured and ask for help, but Joel does not fall for it. They end up having to hide in a garage, and Ellie climbs into a hole in the wall to get inside a room. This is exactly like the game. Ellie saves Joel by shooting a teenager who was strangling him. The boy starts crying about his mom, saying he is a friend now and she can help them.
Joel takes the gun from Ellie and the teen then hands over his knife. Joel tells Ellie to go back behind the wall so she doesn’t have to witness what comes next — and he kills the boy. Joel then can’t get in the room because the hole is too small, so Ellie goes around and unblocks door. This is another thing that is taken from the games.
We then flash to a man being questioned by a woman we soon learn is Kathleen. She says she wonders if this is the cell that her brother was beaten to death in and it is clear she is not messing around. She says she is looking for Henry because she needs to get revenge for her brother’s death. Henry, and his little brother Sam, are in the TLOU video games, so this is an interesting tie in.
All of a sudden car horns start honking, which is a signal for her to come outside and meet with everyone. The boy that was nearly killed by Joel is revealed to be her son. The people explain that they found truck loaded up with supplies, and perhaps it is mercenaries. She asks if the boy will survive, even if she has a doctor, which we know the man she was interrogating to be, and they say no. That is when she goes back to the cell and shoots the doctor. The boy then dies.
She thinks it’s Henry who called in the hit on her son, and now Joel and Ellie have climbed to the near top of her list. We see Ellie and Joel hiding out in a store. Joel tells her he knows what it’s like the first time you hurt someone, and he’s sorry she experienced it. He adds that she shouldn’t have had to do that. Ellie says it wasn’t her first time, but doesn’t want to talk about it. Joel then gives her a gun, and shows her how to hold it right. He tells her to keep it in her backpack.
As we follow Kathleen, who is working to hunt down Henry, she checks a room filled with superhero drawings. She says there is not a lot of food left and Henry will not let Sam starve. Joel and Ellie find a building to hide out in, entering through the garage. They go up as high as they can so they can look out over the city and see what they are dealing with.
Ellie asks how Joel knew that was an ambush earlier, and he explains he has been on both sides of it before. That he had to do what he had to do to survive when the outbreak hit.
The two set up a bed on the 33rd floor. Ellie tells another joke from her pun book and the two laugh themselves to sleep. Suddenly Ellie is screaming for Joel. He wakes up and sees that she is being held at gunpoint by a young boy with a superhero mask painted on his face. We assume this is Sam and The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4 ends.
Overall Thoughts
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 4 is another great episode, with lots of intel being given to viewers. Kathleen is a new character that fans will not be used to, but she fits into the plot perfectly. The episode as a whole is quite short. Of course there is some backstory here, and more set pieces that look very similar to the games, but it sometimes feels like a waste of an episode. More set up for what is to come than giving us substance.
Still, we get hints of both Ellie and Joel’s past, and a first look at Sam, making it very exciting for those who know what comes next.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
NEXT: The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 3 Recap and Review
About The Last Of Us
THE LAST OF US story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
The Last Of Us season 1 episode 4 is now streaming on HBO Max.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.