Biggest moments from The Last of Us Episode 4, “Hold to My Hand”

The Last of Us HBO series continues to deliver absolutely riveting entertainment with solid, new episodes. Episode 4 “Hold to My Hand” picks up shortly after the last one as we see Ellie and Joel brave the harshness of a broken society. The pair now find themselves squarely caught in the middle of what appears to be a vendetta, surrounded by armoured trucks and lots of guns. The episode delivered not just compelling action and brutality – but also some truly moving moments of tenderness between the pair.

The episode truly showcased the HBO series’ careful and deliberate use of violence to drive home the point of the story. The pair run into other survivors out for blood and barely manage to come out unscathed. The Last of Us has now truly picked up steam as the pair of Joel and Ellie now face down the terrible danger that awaits them before Wyoming.

Here, we take a look at some of the most important moments from Episode 4, “Hold to My Hand” and what they mean in the grander scheme of the series.

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No Pun Intended – Volume Too

The episode kicks off with some truly heartwarming moments between the pair and marks the debut of “No Pun Intended – Volume Too by Will Livingston”. The joke book is apparently something Ellie has caught hold of and plans to drive Joel crazy with. Fans of the videogame instantly clocked the moment as having been lifted straight from the game. The joke book makes several appearances in the game at different points to relieve some of the break-neck tension from the action. It seems to have a similar purpose in the series as Ellie goes to the book to break the ice between her and her protector.

The episode and the moment do a great job of relaying a sense of relaxation between the two. While Joel says he still looks at Ellie as just “cargo”, the audience can sense he now looks at her as more than just that. Joel’s aim is currently to deliver her to Tommy so he can finish what he and Tess started, but who’s to say – fate might have different ideas.

Hank Williams and the saga of Joel

Fans of the game have grown accustomed to the fact that the show will also often use music as a reference and callbacks. The use of Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken” is a reference to the exact same moment between Joel and Ellie from the game. The scene in The Last of Us HBO series is lifted straight from the game, line by line, making for a very compelling recreation. The show often deviates from the source material to give alternate versions of similar events from the game, but this one was pretty shot-by-shot.

Ellie stealing a magazine from Bill’s place makes for a hilariously awkward moment between the pair that plays exactly how it did in the game. The song might seem like a pretty innocuous choice, but executive producer and director of The Last of Us game, Neil Druckmann has said that music plays a very pivotal role. The lyrics to the song are a pretty accurate representation of Joel’s personal struggles and plight in life.

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Ellie’s first(?) kill

As the pair reach the outskirts of Kansas City QZ, they run into a pack of hunters decked out in militia gear and equipment. It is here that the two are pitted against the militia in a firefight. While Joel manages to down several of these attackers, he is blindsided by another. It is at this moment Ellie makes use of the gun she smuggled and hid away from Joel and puts a bullet in his attacker. While not a lethal shot, the encounter visibly shakes up Ellie as she is shell-shocked by the horror of it all. Joel orders her away from the spot as he stabs and puts the pleading attacker out of his misery.

Later on in the episode, as Joel tries to comfort Ellie (in his own inefficient way), she reveals that this was not her first kill. While she doesn’t let on who her first kill was, fans of the game might have an inkling as to who this person could be. In an effort to avoid spoilers, we’re going to let this one be a mystery for another episode.

Kathleen, Perry, and the fall of FEDRA

The Kansas QZ seems to now be run by a well-equipped militia group. Kathleen seems to be the unassuming yet terrifying leader of the militia, hunting down former FEDRA soldiers. The group seems to have overthrown FEDRA, but is currently hunting down the remnants of it. Kathleen is on the hunt for Henry Burrel (a character familiar to those who have played the game). She is aided on this quest by her sizeable militia as well as her right-hand man, Perry.

Perry is played by none other than Jeffery Pierce, who played Tommy in The Last of Us videogame. This will be rather interesting to see as a sizeable portion of the audience knows the actor as being Joel’s lethal sniper sibling. More actors from the videogame are expected to show up in the series, including Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who played Joel and Ellie in the show, respectively.

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