That was an interesting finale. I did not look at the episode length, but it could not have been longer than some of the other episodes, particularly three or maybe even seven. It worked well enough, I mean I wish we had more time of Joel & Ellie together, or maybe a little bit more about Ellie’s mom. Overall though, it was a great episode, and it really leaves some questions as to where things go from here.
-Ashley Johnson played Ellie’s mom. I have always liked her. I thought she was great in Richard Linklater’s Fast Food Nation. She was also in Avengers, if I remember correctly she was going to be Cap’s love interest, but they decided to cut out that story. Anyways, I guess she played Ellie for the game (I am confused, I thought Elliot Page played Ellie in the game, but reading about it now, it appears that is not the case).
-Ellie’s immunity is fairly simple. Her mom was infected during birth. She is basically Blade, but for fungal zombies.
-Ellie went through something extremely traumatic last episode, and I like how the show dealt with the fallout. She is not herself. Joel tries to talk to her, but she is distracted. Then they see some giraffes, and Joel tells her about how he got the scar. He tried to kill himself. It is a pretty emotional moment, two people coming together. Joel finding the daughter he lost, Ellie finding the parents she never had.
-Then comes the insanity. Joel and Ellie are captured by the Fireflies. Marlene made it to Salt Lake City before them and she explains to Joel that Ellie is about to have surgery. The doctor thinks he can harvest a cure, but Ellie will die. It was obvious how this would go, as Joel goes down the steps, you knew he would attack his guards. The episode did such a great job of making it feel like a video game. He just casually walks through the hospital killing everyone. He rescues Ellie, kills Marlene, and they make their way back to Jackson.
-Ellie asks Joel what happened and he tells a lie. As they come to Jackson, she asks if he was being honest about what happened in Salt Lake City. He says yes. I am guessing she will eventually find out, which will cause some issues in their relationship. I look forward to next season!
