The Last Of Us Episode 4 Review - 6 Ups & 2 Downs

4. Joel's Backstory & Character Motivation

On the way to Kansas, we also get a bit more backstory on Joel and how he ended up in Boston.

Similar to the games, he talks about how he and his brother, along with Tess, fell in with a gang of hunters. Later, he shrugs off the question as to whether this meant he killed innocent people.

The conversation works to deliver backstory, but also to establish a key part of Joel’s motivation that will absolutely come into play in later episodes. He says that Tommy is foolish for trying to play the hero, and that the only reason to keep going in a world without hope is for family.

This way of thinking is undoubtedly going to influence his decisions from here on out - and without spoiling anything - decisions all the way into Season 2 as well. Likewise, he refers to Ellie as ‘cargo’ in this scene rather than family, but we know from the episode’s ending that’s not really true.