Month: February 2023

Kin is Episode 6 of The Last Of Us.

Spoilers Below

I give detailed, blow by blow details as I review. If you want to skip the spoilers jump down to the Scoring!

If you have watched Kin let me know if you agree with my Scoring Below.

The Cabin (3 Months Later)

Joel and Ellie have taken Marlon, played by Graham Greene and his wife captive. They are lost in the woods and were hoping to get some help. Marlon and his wife tell Joel that anyone who goes west of the river doesn’t come back. As Joel leads Ellie outside he has some type of attack. He was about to pass out before he regains his composure.

Joel and Ellie find a secluded place along the river and rest for the night. Ellie sees Joel sipping from his Hip Flask and begs a sip. She still doesn’t like the taste of whiskey. I was so excited to see Joel’s Hip Flask because I have the same one. Its made by Valtcan and is totally awesome.

The River Of Death

For the second time Joel falls asleep and leaves Ellie at Risk. Thankfully this time she stood guard for him and they weren’t ambushed.

Joel and Ellie then watch the river from the high ground. Joel fires off a single shot but they don’t see anything moving. The two of them cross an old bridge as the background music grows ominous. As they walk they come upon an old power generation station. As the two are walking they are quickly surrounded by a group on horseback.

The newcomers have a dog that can smell the infected. Ellie backs away in fear as the dog approaches, at least until it tackles her gently to the ground and licks her face.

River of Death Base Camp

Joel and Ellie are taken to a large settlement. The survivors have a town. They are only a few hundred feet into the town when Joel sees Tommy and screams hi name. The brothers hug in relief as they are re-united.

As Joel and Ellie eat breakfast Tommy breaks some news. Maria MIller is now family. If she looks familiar, she is played by Rutina Wesley of True Blood fame.

Joel asks Tommy to help him get Ellie to the Firefly base but Tommy isn’t having it. Tommy doesn’t want to leave his new community or put it at risk. Maria is pregnant and Tommy doesn’t want to take any risks. Joel angrily tells Tommy that they will collect some supplies and be gone in the morning. As Joel walks outside two things happen. He leans against a post as if he’s lost his strength and then he sees a girl who looks like his dad daughter Sarah in front of him.

We then see Ellie reading about how a Menstrual Cup works. This is the second time we’ve seen Ellie with feminine hygiene products. Is the show just very female friendly or is there something coming up that deals with how her body works?

Afterwards Maria cuts Ellie’s hair as the two chat. Maria tells Ellie about Sarah before warning Ellie that Joel has done some very bad things in the past. Ellie tells her she knows that Joel is a killer – but Maria still warns her to be careful.

New Boots

While Ellie spends time with Maria, Joel tries to fix his boot. At least until Tommy comes in and gives him a new pair of boots. Tommy asks Joel why he’s with Ellie and Joel tells his brother the truth. Ellie is immune. The fear on Tommy’s face is real. He looks outside in the direction where Ellie is with Maria before demanding that Joel gives him the whole story.

Joel pours out his heart. He feels weak and afraid. He relives losing Sarah over and over in his sleep. Joel is afraid that he is going to let Ellie down as well. Joel begs Tommy to take Ellie. Tommy is the only one that Joel trusts.

Tommy promises to take Ellie out at dawn before parting ways with his brother.

Ellie’s Room

As soon as Joel enters Ellie’s room she confronts him. She heard Joel tell Tommy that he has to take her. Ellie tries to tell Joel she’s sorry about Sarah but Joel can barely stand to hear his daughters name. Ellie tells Joel that she’s lost people too. Everyone she’s ever known or trusted has died or let her down. Joel’s face is hard and cold as he tells Ellie that at dawn they are going their separate ways.

Departures

In the morning Tommy comes to collect Ellie. They had to the stables only to find Joel already saddling a horse. He tries to give Ellie a choice and tells her she would be better off with Tommy. Ellie disagrees and immediately picks Joel.

Joel and Ellie ride away into the frozen landscape as Tommy locks the town gate behind them.

We then get a bonding moment between Joel and Ellie as he tries to teach her how to shoot. She kept flinching but Joel puts a round exactly where he wanted to.

As they ride Joel and Ellie discuss what life was like before the outbreak. They are talking about football on day five when we can see the city of Colorado in the distance.

Colorado

Joel and Ellie are riding their horse into the university when they see monkeys playing in the open. It is not long before they see a Firefly logo and follow it into what appears to be an empty building. Inside they find assorted medical gear and a packing list. When they hear noises coming from upstairs they go to investigate. Because that is what people do when there are infected about right?

It’s not long before Joel and Ellie find themselves interrupted by raiders. They run to the horse but a raider sticks Joel with the end of a baseball bat before they can flee.

Man Down

The two escape the college but Joel is bleeding out. He falls off the horse before Ellie can grab him. Ellie cries and tells Joel she can’t do it without him as the camera zooms out.

Kin ends on a cliffhanger. Joel is on the snowy ground, bleeding.

Kin Scoring

Kin has Joel and Tommy re-uniting. What should have been nothing but a happy event get’s clouded by the fact that Tommy really didn’t want Joel to find him.

There is a lot of emotional growth and storytelling going on in Kin but sadly the episode does not have much action. That is going to cost Kin  some points.

Overall it was a good episode that propelled the story along. It had lots of emotional drama but only a little bit of action and scores a 90/100, making it Worth Your Time.

Season	Episode	Episode Name	Score
1	1	When You’re Lost in the Darkness	100
1	2	Infected	100
1	3	Long Long Time	95
1	4	Please Hold on to My Hand	94
1	5	Endure and Survive	100
1	6	Kin	90
1	7	Left Behind	90
1	8	When We Are In Need	100
1	9	Look for the Light	100

See all Zombie Series.

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