Please Hold to My Hand

HBOs The Last of Us continues to present itself in an organic nature. A lot of what happens in this episode doesn't happen in the game- and that is great. In the video game there's just not enough wiggle room for sidecontent, as it's more streamlined and would otherwise take away from the gameplay.

I'm the game, Joel just goes on a killing spree by murdering tons and tons of people that stand in his way. Here, each kill feels more impactful because they're reduced. That way Joel definitely gets more room to reflect on his actions.

Also I like the chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. They really sold it for me.

I like Melanie Lynskey in the other movies she starred in. Unfortunately, Melanie didn't feel convincing & threatening enough to be a vindictive rebel leader. IMO, if someone else like Anna Torv (as Tess) switched roles with Melanie Lynskey, it probably would have been a better fit for Anna Torv to be playing as the rebel leader and Melanie playing as Tess; it feels a lot more convincing. However, Anna was great as Tess too because she was able to convey a soft & tough exterior -- the qualities to pull-off the character of Tess!

I think it's Melanie's soft-spoken voice & the fact that I've seen her acted in more timid-like characters, which is the reason why I think she failed to convince me that she was right for the role as a rebel leader. Maybe I need to watch more future TLOU episodes for Melanie Lynskey to prove that she has the rebelliousness & leadership qualities that are required to play the role of a vindictive rebel leader, to get me to change my mind.

Besides the miscasting, I have enjoyed all the episodes thus far!

A fairly solid episode ... (SPOILER FREE) Featuring guest performances from Melanie Lynskey and Jeffrey Pierce ( who played Tommy in part 1 and part 2 of the games), we are introduced to a solid, and far more riveting episode compared to the more emotional and sombre tone seen in the last. I heavily enjoyed this episode as it provided both complex and mature themes as well as showing some much deserved (and possibly needed) character development for both Ellie and Joel, who didn't receive much development in Long, Long Time (episode 3) due to heavy focus on both Bill and Frank instead.

While there was heavy criticism for the narrative choices and differences in the previous episode, I am glad that the creators chose to make original characters for this episode as it affects the events that occur. Both Jeffrey Pierce and Melanie Lynskey gave great performances for this episode and are contenders for best guest drama actor/actress at the Emmy's along with Anna Torv (Tess), Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett (Bill and Frank).

9/10.

Please Hold to My Hand spends the majority of its shorter run time setting up things for later episodes and there's nothing wrong with that, delivering an episode that continues the show's impeccable balance between line for line fidelity and creating completely new characters and scenes that brings so much more depth to the world.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey really shine here once again, their chemistry is really starting to come to the surface and it comes to a really emotionally satisfying conclusion within the episode. Melanie Lynskey is great as a completely new character with a soft spoken nature that contrasts her burning anger.

Jeremy Webb's direction is excellent, it maintains the reliance on handheld camera whilst also showing suitable skill with the most action since the pilot. The music by Gustavo Santaolalla has been a constant standout and it remains the same here, beautiful, bleak and haunting.

This episode is exactly why I have been excited about this series. We see the humanity and the relationship between Joel and Ellie throughout this episode which is exactly what The Last of Us is about. Sure, it is about clickers and killing infected and getting ambushed by enemies, but at its core it is the story of Joel and Ellie's relationship.

This episode is the first one so far in this series that really feels like the story has gotten going and we are learning everything we already knew about Joel and Ellie (but in the way Pedro and Bella portray them) but we're getting something deeper.

This episode is true to the characters, true to the story, but it goes deeper in a way that was impossible in the game.