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.

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Infected is the Episode 2 of Season 1 of HBO’s new Zombie Apocalypse series.

There are spoilers in the review below.

Jakarta, Indonesia 2003

Infected opens on a diner. Ibu Ratna is eating her lunch. Two uniformed men enter. Ibu Ratner has no choice but to go with them. The soldiers driver her to a base and show her a pathology slide taken from a human subject.

Ibu Ratna calmly explains that what she is seeing does not make any sense. Cordyceps cannot survive in humans. After questioning the three star general Ibu gives the soldiers some chilling advice. If they want to control the infect that is about to be unleashed they should start bombing.

Boston, Current Day

Ellie wakes up in a square of sunlight. Joel and Tess are sitting nearby watching her. Ellie’s positive test has Joel spooked.

Tess interrogates Ellie, forcing the girl to tell them her secret. The Fireflies are convinced that Ellie has the cure to the infection. Joel doesn’t believe it but Tess doesn’t care. She is more pragmatic. If the Fireflies are willing to pay for transporting Ellie, Tess is willing to do whatever needs to get done in order to get paid.

Tess forces Joel to think of the payday. It is time to head west. The first challenge is getting through Boston. The original route has been damaged by collapsing buildings, forcing the small group to cut through a hotel.

This gives us one of the first really cool visuals of the episode. Once they make it onto a terrace they see that the infected have swarmed out into the open. Ellie notices how the infected move in unison and Tess uses it as a chance to educate the young lady on how the Cordyceps can communicate across large distances.

With their original plan blocked by infected, they fall back to take a route through The Museum.

The Museum, Current Day

Joel examines the Cordyceps veins outside The Museum, hopeful that the dried up tendrils mean the building is clear of the infected. At first all seems well. At least until Ellie finds a fresh body. Joel and Tess are anxious. Clearly they know that they are in danger. With little options, they continue through The Museum.

They make it up a few flights of stairs before the way behind them caves in, drawing the attention of the infected. In the distance we hear clicks and cries. The infected are coming. The three travels hide as the infected stumble into the room. The infected can’t see them, but it can hear them if they make any noise. Joel cautions her to be quiet but she can’t help but gasp in fear.

The survivors are separated briefly as the infected attack.

This leads to some awesome combat scenes. The Cordyceps are hard to kill, although head shots seem to be the most effective.

Ellie ends up bitten again while Tess has rolled her ankle. The trio makes it to the roof and then down through the collapsed buildings to the street.

The Street, Current Day

Once through The Museum the trio reaches a large transport vehicle. Whoever Joel was expecting to be there isn’t. There is however a body on the ground and a blood trail leading inside a nearby building.

Tess rushes in. The band of survivors they were hoping to find has been destroyed. Joel looks at the bodies. One of the band must have been bitten, which resulted in a battle that destroyed the group. Joel wants to keep moving but Tess tells them they are going to need to leave her behind.

Tess has been bitten. As the new reality sits in, one of the bodies on the floor moves and Joel quickly dispatches it with a head shot.

Tess shows Joel Ellie’s wound. Tess is going to turn, but Ellie isn’t. Joel has to get Ellie to Bill and Frank’s. They can take Ellie west if he can get her to them. As Tess is begging Joel to agree we see the hand near the infected Joel just killed. There is a tendril of Cordyceps nearby.

The infected are coming.

Tess grabs a rifle and uses it to spill barrels of fuel. She is going to keep the Cordyceps from following Joel and Ellie at all costs. As the door breaks down Tess is flicking her lighter, struggling to get a spark as hordes of infected run up the stairs.

One of the infected pauses in front of Tess, giving her a Cordyceps kiss as she desperately tries to flick her lighter. Just as she is being fully taken the lighter ignites and first floor of the building goes up.

Joel and Ellie hear the explosion and turn to see fire envelop the building.

Scoring

There were so many things I love about Infected. Ellie is sassy, funny, and adds a bit of humor to what could otherwise become too heavy. On the other side, Joel and Tess exude anxiety and fear when they are moving through the infected territory, making me sit on the edge of my seat with tension.

Infected earned every point of its perfect 100/100 score.

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When You’re Lost in the Darkness

When You’re Lost in the Darkness is the season premiere of HBO’s new Zombie Apocalypse series.

There are spoilers in the review below.

1968

When You’re Lost in the Darkness opens with two epidemiologists discussing microorganisms and how they could cause a global pandemic. One of the epidemiologist explains how some fungi take control of their hosts and force them to do the fungi’s will. What is that will? To spread, to take over. This segment was a great way to explain what is about to start.

2003

Sarah Miller, played by Nico Parker, wakes up in her pink bedroom adorned with posters, school awards, and pictures of her friends and family. She immediately runs to make sure her father, Joel Miller, played by Pedro Pascal is awake.

It is Joel’s birthday. He seems gruff, but clearly his daughter loves him. The two have immediate onscreen chemistry. As Joel’s brother comes in we find out that there are money problems. Joel is going to work a double on his birthday.

Sarah runs upstairs to take a watch and money from her father’s nightstand. After hearing about their money issues, it seems like a crappy thing to do.

Nana

As the Miller’s are leaving, we are introduced to their next door neighbors. The neighbors ask Sarah to come over later, laying on a guilt trip. Sarah reluctantly agreess to go over after school.

After school Sarah heads to a watch repair shop. We find out that she isn’t a thief after all. She took the money and the watch to fix it as a birthday present for her father. The shopkeeper fixes the watch just in time before his wife demands he shuts the store. Sarah leaves the store is shutdown for the day.

It has started. Once Sarah gets back to her neighbors, it isn’t long before we see Nana turn.

The scene is a masterpiece. It was subtle, and I found myself tensing up as I watched how the dog reacted to Nana Zombie. Just like Terminators, Dogs know when your not really human!

Sarah may not fully understand what is going on yet, but she is on edge. After she falls asleep on Joel’s lap his brother Tommy calls him. Tommy took a swing at an attacker in a bar fight and begs Joel to come bail him out. This of course leaves Sarah home alone.

The sounds of helicopters and flashing lights wakes Sarah up. The news is playing an emergency broadcast warning. Mercy, the neighbors dog is at her door. Sarah tries to take Mercy home, but Mercy wants nothing to do with it.

This leads us to our first Zombie Attack. It has a slow build, which left me more tense than if it was a jump scare.

Escape

Joel and Tommy show up just in time to save Sarah. The trio jump into Tommy’s truck and try to find a way out of town. As they drive away we see another concerned neighbor come out, thinking she just saw Tommy drive over people. The concerned neighbor rushes to help. The infected attack her as the trio escape.

The trio head to the highway to find the military isn’t allowing anyone to leave. Planes fall out of the sky as the three attempt to flee through town. Another driver rams their car, flipping it over. The accident separates the group. Tommy tells them he will meet them at the river. Joel picks up his injured daughter and runs.

The infected are everywhere. Joel makes it to the river only to be stopped by the military. The soldier has orders to shoot anyone leaving the town.

The scene is sad. It hurt to watch.

Twenty Years Later

A child is walking along an overgrown path. He comes through the brush to reveal a world no longer dominated by mankind.

The child is captured, tested, and quickly euthanized after testing positive. The rules of this world are cruel but clear. The infected are not people. The infected must be killed.

The world has changed. The survivors use paper chits as money. Joel is desperate to make enough money to buy a car battery. He has to get out west to find him brother who has gone silent. Joel will do anything to get the money he needs. This includes selling drugs and acting as an enforcer.

Ellie Williams

Ellie is played by Bella Ramsey of Game of Thrones fame. The partisan group “The Fireflies” has Ellie in chains. They are watching her, making sure she is still human.

Joel & Ellie Meet

The Fireflies try to buy the same battery that Joel is after. Blood is shed and the leader of the local Fireflies is wounded. Her own plans to take Ellie west are shot. She offers Joel a vehicle and supplies if he will take Ellie. Joel reluctantly agrees.

Joel, Tess, and Ellie escape the compound only to be caught be the corrupt guard Joel was selling drugs to earlier. The guard follows protocol and tests each of them. Ellie’s status as infected is confirmed.

Is Ellie the savior? Is whatever allows her to test positive but resist the infections control what the world needs to survive?

I can’t wait for episode 2!

Scoring

When You’re Lost in the Darkness not only has amazing actors with great chemistry but excellent writing. The story is the main focus, and it is a story that grips you and holds on until the end of the episode. Because of this When You’re Lost in the Darkness earned a 100/100, making it Worth Your Time.

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