The Midtwestern city been taken over by a militant group led by the vengeful Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey from Yellowjackets). Her brother Michael was killed by FEDRA (the Federal Disaster Response Agency), which runs quarantine zones with the remnants of the US military and represents one of the last remaining bits of the government.
jumping back to Ellie and Joel (Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal) after their sleep was rudely interrupted by two guys wielding guns. The encounter came as the smuggler and his teen buddy tried to escape Kansas City.
This is also an interruption to our heroes' real quest -- getting Ellie to the Fireflies, a rebel group that wants to replicate her immunity to the fungal infection that's turned billions of people into monsters.
The pair holding Ellie and Joel at gunpoint will be familiar to anyone who's played the PlayStation game that inspired the show, but fans might be surprised by how much the adaptation adds to their backstory. Time for SPOILERS as we dive into the dark episode 5.
Episode five of HBO’s The Last of Us marks the midpoint of our nine-episode journey. That’s right, we’re halfway there, and Ellie and Joel are definitely living on a prayer. Look, I’m sorry for the bad Bon Jovi reference but man, this episode is The Last of Us at its most relentlessly bleak. I needed to do something to lighten the mood for myself, and unlike Ellie, I don’t have a book of awful jokes handy. At least this episode also features what I consider the most effective subtle nod to the game in the entire season. We’ll get to that in a bit.
At first glance, this episode’s beginning seems like one of pure jubilation. Chants of “freedom!” are heard rising from a crowd that’s celebrating in the streets. But almost immediately, we’re shown the grim side of this happy occasion, with FEDRA officers being executed at point-blank or publicly hoisted into the air by the neck as they twitch with their final struggles for life. An armored vehicle the people have reclaimed roams the streets blasting the message, “Collaborators, surrender now and you will receive a fair trial.” Hmm, yes, somehow I don’t believe you. Maybe it’s the fact that you’re dragging a body behind you that’s stuffed with so many blades it looks like a pincushion, I’m not sure.Watch video