“It feels contradiction for the sake of it.”

Yes.

And I’ll add that he shouldn’t write reviews or interpret what an episode means until viewed through the lens of the whole story, or season. He is wildly wrong about why this episode exists or what it is meant to achieve.

That said, Last Of Us has always been great but overrated. It excels in many areas, but he is right that it borrows tropes and plot devices from a long library of zombie and post-apocalyptic medium. I immediately thought of Children of Men back playing the game.

However, it’s strength lies in the Joel and Ellie dynamic. That’s what elevated what might be forgettable zombie fare into something really special. And that’s what he’s missing - because he doesn’t have the whole story.