In ‘The Last Of Us,’ episode ‘Kin,’ brings about a family reunion between the Miller brothers. Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, and Tommy, essayed by Gabriel Luna, reconnect, for better or worse. With his mental state suffering, Joel drops Ellie off with Tommy. ‘Kin‘ explores the reunion of brothers and acknowledges the ones who got left behind.
Joel has realized that families are constantly being left behind when it comes to him. He finally lets himself love Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as he did his daughter Sarah, making his decision to leave her more painful. Keep reading to know what happened in the episode and learn about how the character of Tommy differs from the video game.
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‘The Last Of Us’: Family Always Comes First
‘Kin‘ makes the cruel decision for its audience to relive the nightmare of Henry and Sam’s deaths. But it’s not for us, as we later learn in the show. Three months after their last stop, Joel and Ellie hold an old couple hostage for information and supplies. Despite being warned of the River of Death, Joel is determined to find his brother and bring him home.
Tommy is the only home he’s got with the departure of Tess, and he intends to make things right. But homecoming can be tricky, especially if the home is doing just fine without you. When they have a moment alone, both men catch up and reminisce. But there’s no big blow-up of masculine egos. Joel and Tommy take this opportunity to talk about fears and misconceptions.
Joel finally comes undone, confessing his strength is leaving his body. The best thing for Ellie would be to ride with Tommy, as Joel is beginning to struggle with himself with death and its haunting images he can never unsee. Fearing his time is neat, he wants Ellie to pass to more capable hands. All this happens while Tommy’s pregnant wife Maria (Rutina Wesley) shows Ellie and Joel around the community.
After a change of clothes, Ellie is taken to the movies. ‘The Goodbye Girl‘ is playing. It’s not surprising how we keep hearing off-screen bits from the film, which is the mirror image of the relationship between Joel and Ellie.
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‘The Last Of Us’ Character Arcs Differ From Video Games
Tommy Miller (played by Gabriel Luna) is Joel’s younger brother. He is another character from the videogames that makes it to the HBO adaptation. When we first hear about him in the pilot episode, he was last seen with Fireflies. But having ditched the Fireflies, he now lives in Wyoming with a secret civilization. Tommy is now married to Maria and is expecting a child.
In the video games, Joel and Ellie find Tommy at a hydroelectric plant, which his group uses to power their settlement. The reunion is disrupted by hostile gunfire. Ellie realizes that Joel will hand her off to Tommy. She steals a horse and flees. Joel and Tommy chase her, ending their pursuit in an abandoned house. This is where they have a difficult conversation about the degree of loss and pain in their lives.
Meeting Tommy plays out differently in the HBO adaptation. A group of men takes Joel and Ellie to a remote community. Joel recognizes his brother from a distance, now a family man. Joel tells Tommy about Ellie’s immunity in confidence, asking her to take her away. There are no abandoned warehouses this time. Joel walks into Ellie’s room to break the news, and their heartbreaking conversation is similar to those in video games.
Realizing he needs to see this through, Joel takes off with Ellie. They ride in the direction referred by Tommy, straight to the Fireflies base at the University of Colorado. Soon, Joel gets hit by a raider. Ellie and Joel escape, but the latter collapses. It is now on Ellie to save them both.
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