The Last Of Us Season 2: The Flashback Fans Are Furious About Missing!

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us season 2, episode 6.

In season 2, episode 6 of “The Last of Us,” titled “The Price,” the television adaptation primarily covers the memorable flashbacks between Joel and Ellie as depicted in the video game. However, it omits one particularly significant flashback that was featured in the game, “The Last of Us Part II.” During her quest for vengeance across Seattle, Ellie’s relationship with Joel is gradually shown to have turned sour before his demise. In the game, these flashbacks are scattered throughout, but on the show, they are presented consecutively within a single episode, organized around Ellie’s annual birthday celebrations.

In episode 6 of The Last of Us season 2, many flashback scenes are directly taken from the video game, such as Joel and Ellie’s visit to the science museum and their intimate conversation on Joel’s porch. Some flashbacks are new but serve the same dramatic purpose. The death of Eugene serves to demonstrate to Ellie that Joel is capable of lying, specifically about the Fireflies. However, a notable flashback scene from the game titled “Finding Strings” was omitted in the TV series, which is unfortunate since it’s one of the game’s most impactful sequences.

The Last Of Us Season 2, Episode 6 Skips An Action-Packed Video Game Flashback

In The Game, Joel Slays A Bloater To Save Ellie

In the game, following a run-in with Jesse in Seattle’s suburbs and narrowly avoiding the Wolves, Ellie and Jesse make their escape and return to the theater. Dina is overjoyed at seeing Jesse again, and Ellie steps aside to let them have some privacy. In this moment apart, she reflects on a significant day from two years prior. It began as an ordinary day, with Joel taking Ellie to an abandoned music shop to buy new strings for her guitar. However, it’s immediately noticeable that something is troubling Ellie, and she remains tight-lipped about the matter.

Instead of taking the usual route to the music shop due to flooding, they decided to navigate through a motel. Unbeknownst to them, this motel was teeming with infected. As they carefully made their way through a wall, they were ambushed by a bloater. Despite putting up a valiant struggle, Ellie was seized by the bloater, triggering the typical death-by-bloater sequence in the game. However, just when everything seemed lost, Joel swooped in and decimated the bloater with a machete. It’s hard not to imagine how thrilling it would have been to witness Pedro Pascal’s portrayal of Joel performing that action.

The “Finding Strings” Flashback Highlighted How Protective Joel Is (& Why He Did What He Did To The Fireflies)

Joel Is Capable Of Superhuman Feats To Keep Ellie Safe

In the world of “The Last of Us”, witnessing Joel brutally fend off a bloater with a machete is an impressive sight, yet it underscores his unwavering paternal instincts and extraordinary abilities to safeguard Ellie. Typically, approaching a bloater in this universe spells certain doom. However, when Ellie’s life hangs in the balance, Joel’s rage takes over, prompting him to relentlessly attack until the danger has passed and Ellie is secure. This behavior mirrors his actions when the Fireflies threatened to kill Ellie to develop a cure.

Initially, the sequence seems like standard action gameplay, which is why TV producers might have chosen to overlook it. However, as with many action scenes in The Last of Us, there’s a deeper layer underneath. This part provides insight into Joel’s strong parental feelings, explaining his actions that ended up leading to his tragic demise.

The Last Of Us Season 2, Episode 6 Found Another Way To Show Ellie’s Growing Distrust Of Joel

The Whole Ordeal With Eugene Got The Same Point Across

The primary objective behind the flashback scene titled “Finding Strings” is to illustrate Ellie’s growing skepticism towards Joel as she begins to doubt his account about the Fireflies and the supposed cure. In the game, it was discovering two young Jackson runaways who had died from an infection at the motel that ultimately led Ellie to demand the truth from Joel regarding the cure. However, in the TV series, the entire Eugene sequence serves as a reminder of Joel’s habitual dishonesty, taking Ellie back to the time when he asserted the Fireflies couldn’t manufacture a cure and was subsequently killed by raiders.

In a different phrasing:

The second season of The Last of Us skillfully conveyed the same message through the Eugene storyline, thanks in large part to Joe Pantoliano’s stellar performance. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get to witness Joel and Ellie’s fruitless search for guitar strings. I would have been thrilled to see Pascal’s portrayal of Joel take on a bloater.

2025-05-22 02:18