The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 reunites Joel and Tommy, while also giving fans a look at one of the most important set pieces come to life.
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 gives fans a look at the University brought to life from the video games. There is a lot happening in this episode, which propels the story forward quite quickly. With the finale just a few episodes away, the stakes are high with this one — and it ends on a massive cliffhanger.
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 clocks in at just under one hour (59 minutes). Here’s our recap and review, with massive spoilers, so be warned.
Warning: Spoilers for The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 Ahead
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 starts with Henry’s suicide again, reminding viewers of the last few moments of the previous episode, before jumping forward to three months later. This is a smart way to move the story forward to where it needs to be.
There is snow covering the ground, indicating that Joel and Ellie are well on their way to finding Tommy in Wyoming. The camera is following an older man who is hunting rabbits. We see him arrive at his cozy cottage and he opens the door to find Joel holding a gun on his wife. He puts his gun down and sits, ready to hear what Joel has to say.
Joel points to a map, asking where they are, and tells the man that his answer better the the same as his wife’s. It must be because Joel then lowers his gun. During a hilarious exchange, we learn that the woman fed Joel (and Ellie) some soup since it is cold outside. Joel explains to the man that he is looking for his brother, and asks what is the best way to go west. Ellie comes running down the stairs just in time to hear all about what she later calls the river of death.
The man and his wife explain that if Tommy is west of the river, he is gone. There are often bodies they see there, and not just infected ones. As they leave, Joel starts to move slower and then holds his hand over his heart. Ellie asks if he’s dying, while eloquently adding that if he dies she’s fucked. Joel ends up being ok, but we are certain this issue is going to arise again.
She says this will be easy, all they have to do is cross the river of death. When they get to a river, Joel says it is too close to dark so they will set up camp before continuing. They set up camp in a cave where Ellie asks Joel what he will do if the fireflies successfully make a cure from her blood. He thinks for a moment and then says he would like to run a sheep ranch because they are quiet and do what they are told. This becomes a running joke through the episode, and really works writing wise.
Ellie then tells Joel about how she tried to rub some of her blood in Sam’s bite, but it didn’t work. Joel can tell she is worried that they will not be able to make a cure, and she says if Marlene said they can do it, they can do it. He then tells Ellie that he will take both watches so she can rest, but then he falls asleep. When he wakes up Ellie is taking watch. She explains she woke up early and did everything he has taught her to in order to make sure they are safe.
They go to the river and shoot, to see if any infected or people come out, but they do not, so Ellie and Joel cross the bridge. They pass a water mill and dam, and that is where Ellie says wait, maybe this river is the river of death. Almost immediately after that, people ride up on horses and surround them.
They release a dog to smell them and see if they are infected. The dog is fine with Joel but both he and Ellie are nervous about if it sense anything in her. It doesn’t. Joel explains to the people that he is looking for his brother. A woman asks what his name is, and when he says Joel, they bring them back to their big settlement.
A Brotherly Reunion
Joel sees Tommy when he enters the settlement and yells for him. They run up to each other and hug — what a lovely family reunion. When Tommy asks Joel what he is doing there, Joel admits he came to save him, which seems silly now considering how amazing the place Tommy lives is. The two laugh.
Joel and Ellie are fed a full meal, that they are absolutely loving, and say they are grateful for the hospitality. Joel asks if they can have a moment just for family to which Tommy replies that Maria (the woman who found Joel and Ellie at the river) is family and they hold hands. Ellie says congrats then has to tell Joel to say congrats, who is quite befuddled by the news.
Tommy gives them tour while explaining that they started the settlement 7 years ago. They have a school, laundrymat, bank that works as jail (but they don’t need it), power from dam, and even some sheep. No one person is in charge there. Instead there is a council that is democratically elected to lead the 300 people, including children, that live there. It is a collective ownership — a commune.
Maria suggests they put them up in the house across from them. She takes Ellie to house so Joel and Tommy can talk. They go to a bar and it almost feels like the old days. When Tommy asks how Tess is, Joel doesn’t tell him the truth. Instead he says she is good.
Joel asks his brother about where the fireflies are and Tommy says it’s about a week long ride south, but it is a hard trip with infected and Raiders. Tommy says he can’t go with Joel when he asks. They are protective of the community and he’s going to be a father now. He adds he is scared, but thinks he would be a good dad, to which Joel responds I guess we will find out. This causes the two to fight, and Joel storms off and says he will leave in the morning. He also has another heart episode once outside.
Ellie comes out of shower to clothes, a note from Maria, and a diva cup with instructions. When she enters Maria and Tommy’s home, she sees candles and a chalkboard with the names Sarah and Kevin as well as birth and death dates. Maria gets scissors and tells Ellie she will give her a haircut. As she talks about how she always liked cutting hair, she says maybe it was a mom thing. The two talk about the memorial and Ellie learns that Sarah was Joel’s daughter, and Kevin was Maria’s son.
Maria says to Ellie that she doesn’t know a lot about Joel and should be careful. Perhaps she should not hang around him as much. Ellie snaps back that she knows he used to kill people and so did Tommy, and how does Maria feel about that? Maria explains she just wants her to be smart and safe. Then tells her to get ready because they are going to the movies. Which is a barn with a projector set up, so that the community can watch films.
Continuing The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6, Tommy goes and finds his brother so he can apologize to him for how things happened. Joel asks if the run to the university is a suicide mission and then explains everything. About how Ellie is immune and Tess died. He says that Ellie had to save him, then Henry killed Sam, and then he sat there with the dog smelling Ellie and did nothing. Joel says he’s weak now and that fear comes over him and his heart feels like it stops often.
He’s failing over and over and is sure he will just get Ellie killed if he takes her to the fireflies. He then asks Tommy to do it. He knows that Tommy left him in an effort to make up what they did, and he tells him this is his chance. He can bring his kid into a better world. Joel adds that he can’t tell anyone because they’ll kill Ellie and promises this is the last thing he will ever ask.
Tommy goes to the movie night and Joel goes back to the house where he learns Ellie overheard part of what he said to Tommy. She tells Joel if he is going to leave, to just do it already. She says she isn’t his daughter, Sarah, to which Joel says exactly. She isn’t and he isn’t her dad. Ellie says that everybody who she ever cared about has died or left her — except Joel. She explains that she isn’t better off without him, because she would just be more scared. However, Joel says they will go their separate ways in the morning.
The University
In the morning we see Ellie packed and ready to go in her room. Tommy gets there and they head to the stables where Joel is waiting. He says he was gonna steal a horse and leave but then decided to let Ellie decide who to go so with. He thinks she would be better with Tommy, though. She picks Joel right away, of course. Joel and Tommy say their goodbyes and Tommy tells him there is a place for them there.
Joel and Ellie ride off on a horse and we get a montage of the next few days. He teaches her how to shoot, explains football to her, and she asks if Jackson (the commune where Tommy and Maria live) is like how it used to be. Joel explains that no, the world was too big for that.
When they hit the city limits, they mention that it took them just five easy days to get there. This feels like she in jinxing them. One they get to the University — which looks exactly like the game — they start to think something is up because it is so quiet there.
Joel tells Ellie that he has changed his mind about the sheep farm. If he can do anything, he wants to be a singer. Ellie laughs at him, but says she wants him to sing for her one day.
They notice there are guard stations but no guards, and Ellie gets her gun to prepare for what they might come across. They notice firefly symbols on buildings and signs but no signs of any people. Inside they find medical equipment and notes, including a packing list. Ellie can’t believe they just left, and then they hear a noise. They go to the room it is coming from and find monkeys — Ellie’s first time seeing them.
Joel and Ellie then see a map with pins all leading to salt lake city, assuming that must be where the fireflies were going. Suddenly, they hear people outside. The two run to their horse but a man comes up on them and attacks. Joel snaps his neck, killing him, but gets stabbed in the process. Three more men come after them and Ellie shoots them from the back of the horse as they ride off.
The final moments of The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 are a major cliffhanger. Joel is not doing well and ends up falling off the horse and passing out. Ellie kneels over him saying she doesn’t know what to do or where to go without him, and the episode ends.
Overall Thoughts
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 moves very quickly through Joel and Ellie’s time in Jackson. It is nice to catch up with Tommy, and learn about his life with Maria, as well as see the brothers reunite. Viewers getting a few more hints at both Joel and Ellie’s pasts. Their fight is short lived, but that is so that things can keep moving along.
The biggest issue with The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 is that it does feel rushed at times. However with a cliffhanger like that, everyone will be on edge waiting for the next episode!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
NEXT: The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 5 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 6 is now streaming on HBO Max.
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Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.