We saw the dreaded moment we’ve been worried about, and it was a tearjerker. The shock was how fast it happened this season. Abby finally got her revenge, and Jackson was taken over by infected.
Revenge:
Abby was more determined than ever to get her revenge this episode. The only problem was she didn’t realize how big the Jackson community really was. Luckily, she ran into Joel at just the right moment. The infected were hiding beneath the snow and, right as Abby slid down the mountain, they appeared. It seemed unlikely she could outrun all of them without getting hurt, but somehow she escaped. Joel ended up helping her, and that’s when the real game began. You could see Abby planning how to get Joel into a vulnerable spot. Once she convinced Joel and Dina to go to the lodge, I knew everything was about to fall apart. Her crew was waiting for her—though Owen was going to persuade her to turn back—and things looked grim. They knocked Dina out first, then Abby went after Joel. Her team seemed a little hesitant about killing Joel. However, like Abby said, they were raised to follow a code, but in this moment, they broke it. I yelled when I saw Joel get shot in the leg because it sent him flying backward. It was hard to watch. Abby finally told Joel that he had killed her father, and he understood her reason for fighting. Things got worse when she picked up the golf club. Though we didn’t see her actually beating Joel, it broke the moment. There was silence, only the shot of Abby punching him. It would have been more powerful to see Joel’s face or even a glance of him looking at Dina. Joel surprisingly never fought back. He’d been careful and tough through everything else, but here he just accepted what was happening. It felt out of place. Maybe he believed that therapy helped him accept his past and his mistakes. Ellie found Joel at the lodge, and it hit hard. The beaten, barely moving state he was in made it even more painful. When Ellie told him to get up, he tried, but it was no use. Seeing her father figure die like that was brutal. Abby stabbed him with the broken golf club, and Ellie’s sadness was clear. She crawled to him and that moment broke my heart. Their friendship was fractured before Joel died, making it even sadder. If I were Ellie, I’d feel guilty for not making peace with Joel. Even though he is gone, there are likely going to be flashbacks to keep their moments alive. I don’t love this idea because I wish we’d see everything fully played out. Still, it may give Ellie time to realize Joel only wanted to protect her and give her a good life. Ellie finds Jesse, and together they drag Joel’s body and Dina back home. Everyone will have a hard time when they see Joel is gone. Tommy especially will have a tough reaction to the news.
Infected Takeover:
The worst fear came true as the infected finally crawled out from beneath the snow. Before everything exploded, we learned more about the town. Eugene had been growing weed inside the 7/11, and he was part of the Fireflies. We also found out that Joel killed Eugene because he had become infected. Back at the town, the weather worsened, and the infected started rushing toward the barriers. Tommy and his group were well-prepared, using barrels of gasoline to blow up and burn many of them. They managed to kill most, but not all. The infected managed to break through the defenses, and Tommy faced off against the bloater. The bloater is a tough enemy, but Tommy was no match for its strength. Luckily, the bloater died just when Tommy thought he was doomed. After defeating this wave, it isn’t clear if it’s the last. One worker saw cortyceps growing inside the pipes but didn’t report it. That’s worrying because the fungi could easily spread unnoticed. They might take over the town without anyone realizing. The town will have to start rebuilding all over again. They were already in bad shape, and now it’s worse.
The episode breezed by and was full of action and drama. It also left me with a strange feeling. Why did the showrunners kill off Joel so early? I wish we could have seen more of Joel and Ellie’s bond develop. Now it looks like we’ll have to see their relationship only in flashbacks. I get that Ellie’s quest for revenge is next, but couldn’t that storyline have aired in season 3? To me, this felt more like a finale, even if there’s more to come. It seems like a new chapter is just beginning now.
