Secrets, Sacrifice, and Soul-Baring Moments in The Last of Us
Nobody’s pacing the living room tonight—Episode 6 of Season 2, “The Price,” just dropped, and fans of The Last of Us are still catching their breath. Buckle up because this episode did not fool around. It swung for the fences and rattled every single cage while unearthing ghosts, delivering heartbreak, and throwing moral curveballs like nobody’s business.
Opening Old Wounds: The Joel and Tommy Years
The show kicks off differently this time. Before we’re thrust back into Jackson’s chilly stability, we get yanked straight into 1983. It’s Texas, and a teenage Joel is doing his best to survive a world that’s harsh long before any cordyceps ever sprouted. His father, Javier, wears a badge and swings a belt, leaving scars on his two sons: Joel and Tommy. These scenes are tough to watch—a not-so-gentle reminder that, in this world, pain isn’t new. Neil Druckmann’s camera doesn’t linger for sympathy, though; it just wants us to understand. Joel’s haunted eyes as a boy say plenty.
This isn’t just world-building. It’s context. Seeing that fraught relationship with their dad, you suddenly realize why Joel and Tommy are both so stubborn, so wary, so utterly incapable of leaving certain things alone. Childhoods echo forever. And with a lesser actor, this moment might have fallen flat, but Young Joel (Dylan O’Brien delivers a gritty cameo here) nails the rawness you’d expect.
Birthdays, Bonds, and Fossils: Jackson’s Sweet Slice
Fast forward decades and a pandemic later: Ellie turns fifteen under the warm blankets of Jackson. Now, in this town of hope and homemade bread, life’s still hard, but moments of softness sneak in. Joel gifts Ellie a guitar—handmade and painstakingly carved. Ellie’s laugh rings out as he fumbles through “Future Days” by Pearl Jam. For a minute, if you squint, you could believe these two actually belong in a world where birthday cakes exist. Even Seth, torn-apron and all, bakes up something sweet for Ellie.
But things don’t stay cozy. No one should be surprised—this is The Last of Us, after all. Ellie’s sixteenth birthday lands her and Joel on a field trip to the Wyoming Museum of Science and History. Dinosaurs! Rockets! Ellie’s smile could power the grid, but the day is heavy with memories and some awkward distance. Joel lingers at the edges, watching her, anxious. He’s cautious—maybe too cautious—as if he knows joy can’t last.
The next birthday, seventeen candles, and the mood shifts again. Joel finds his not-so-little girl tangled up with Kat. It’s awkward because, of course it is—he’s balancing between overprotective father and terrified survivor. Their spat is sharp and sparks with buried anxiety. But beneath the words, you can see what it’s really about: fear and love, both gnawing at Joel’s insides.
Duty, Loss, and The Man Joel Has Become
Let’s cut to the chase. This episode doesn’t steer clear of moral minefields. On her nineteenth, Ellie and Joel are back on patrol. Just another day in a not-so-idyllic paradise—until they stumble onto Eugene. He’s infected, desperate, and asks Ellie to let him see his wife, Gail, before infection wins. Joel’s seen too much loss to risk sentiment. He makes a call Ellie can’t forgive.
Here’s the catch: Joel lies. And it stings. He finds Gail and chooses deception, telling her Eugene died peacefully and with dignity. The camera holds on Ellie’s face; it’s heartbreak and anger and the beginnings of a rift. Just when you think the show can’t push this pair further apart, it does.
Truth Hurts: The Showdown We Knew Was Coming
You probably saw this one brewing for a while now—Ellie needs answers, and Joel has plenty of big secrets. She doesn’t tiptoe around anything anymore. She has scars hidden under a moth tattoo and too many questions. Joel, weathered and wary, finally relents. The confession is rough.
He tells her about the Fireflies. He admits that he killed them to save her—every last one. Joel admits he loves her too damn much. The moment hangs in the air, thick with regret, longing, and something like hope. You can see, clear as day, that neither will walk away unscathed.
Behind the Curtain: How “The Price” Ramps Up the Series
Neil Druckmann’s double-duty as director pays off. Partnered with Craig Mazin and Halley Gross, the writing slices deep but doesn’t wallow. It’s a bold play, especially when they pull in game-lore but give it fresh life. This week’s surprise MVP: Joe Pantoliano as Eugene. His appearance gives us a rare glimpse into the lives off the main highway—the unnamed souls whose tragedies fill this world.
And about performances? It’s not just Pascal and Ramsey carrying the weight. Supporting cast—Rutina Wesley as Maria, Gabriel Luna as Tommy—keep Jackson from feeling like a backdrop. Every side character holds wounds that add weight to the town’s daily struggle.
Critical and Popular Waves: The Buzz After Air
Let’s not mince words—people are raving. Fans on Reddit call “The Price” the “emotional core of the season.” Twitter tipped into spoiler meltdown less than an hour after it aired. Even the pros are smitten.
The Times wrote, “This is a knockout hour of television.” Kathryn VanArendonk from Vulture pegged it as the best of season two. Over on Collider, Ross Bonaime didn’t hesitate to rank it as, “maybe the best episode since the series began.” That’s not just hype; it’s well-earned praise thanks to layered storytelling and performances that grab your heart and twist it.
The real kicker? The community isn’t uniform in their feelings. People love Joel, sure, but “The Price” splits the fandom wide open. Some folks side with him—love demands sacrifice, they say. Others? They’re furious at the choices he keeps making. And that split is where The Last of Us does its finest work, turning every episode into water-cooler debate fodder.
Moments That Stick
To give you the feel of this episode, here are the moments everyone’s talking about:
- The opening with young Joel and Tommy—setting the emotional groundwork for Joel’s decisions.
- That guitar scene. No dry eyes. None.
- The explosion between Ellie and Joel after the ruined birthday—every line shredded the air.
- Eugene’s tragic last moments, revealing the cost of Joel’s pragmatic world view.
- The final confession: Joel’s voice cracks and so do we.
And you can bet every frame got dissected on TikTok and Discord servers. The fan art is already trickling out, with moth tattoos making a real-world comeback. Cosplayers are even piecing together Eugene’s battered patrol jacket as we speak.
What This All Means Going Forward
If “The Price” teaches us anything, it’s that the show isn’t afraid to dig deep into the emotional dirt. We’re six episodes in, but this one plants seeds for the future. The fractures between Joel and Ellie can’t be uncracked. Trust isn’t cheap anymore.
And Joel? He’s not just brutal for brutal’s sake—watching his flashbacks, you see how pain breeds more pain, how one bad decision leads to another. If there’s hope left, it’s sitting somewhere between those guitar strings and the lies he finally lets unravel.
So, where does this leave us? Waiting. Wondering if Ellie will ever see her surrogate dad the same way again. Hoping the next episode delivers answers—or, at least, more of the gut-punch honesty that makes this show tick.
Fans, don’t miss this episode. “The Price” isn’t just another pitstop in the story. It’s the moment the series slows down, breathes deep, and stares down the cost of love and survival. That’s a reckoning we’ll be talking about so long as the lights stay on in Jackson.
