Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies.

As the first series comes to an end, seemingly all too soon, we come full circle with a more verbose Joel and an almost mute, distracted, and distanced Ellie.

There’s a small time and location jump as at long last Joel and Ellie reach their west coast destination. It’s clear that the horrific events of the previous episode haunt her and it’s so sad to see the light in her eyes dim.

Gamers will tell you that there’s another iconic scene depicted here, when the road-weary travellers stumble across a giraffe, clearly living its best life in the overgrown city ruins. There’s a moment of that child-like innocence back again and it will warm you from your heart to your toes, followed by yet another call-back to the start of their journey. Oh, how far they’ve come. Surely the worst is behind them now? Ah… not with that much run time of the episode left, I guess, as I squirm in anxious anticipation on my sofa.

The heart and soul of this series, for me, is a small and quiet scene not too far in. Joel shares some memories of the first says after the outbreak, and admits that the ‘guy who shot him and missed’ was him. He didn’t want to live. But he flinched. Time heals? “It wasn’t time that did it,” confesses Joel in a tight voice with shining eyes, looking sideways at his adoptive daughter. That’s it, I’m gone. It’s such a beautiful way to tell a person what they mean to you, and the power of those words runs so deep for them both, you an just feel it.  All the awards for Bella and Pedro please, all of them.

I won’t spoil the end here, suffice to say it is brutal and utterly heart-breaking. You will not leave the episode as you entered it. You may not agree. But you will understand.

Verdict: The most beautiful depiction of the ferociousness of love I have ever seen. 10/10

Claire Smith