‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Episode 6 Recap: Memories, Regret, and the Long Goodbye

Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us.

Time, in Jackson, isn’t measured by calendars or seasons. It’s marked by birthdays, old guitars, and broken promises. Episode 6 of The Last of Us Season 2, titled The Price, doesn’t inch the story forward, it plunges us into the emotional bedrock that shaped Ellie and Joel’s bond, one birthday at a time.

The episode begins not in Jackson, but in a Texas memory. A young Joel takes a hit for his brother, Tommy, a foreshadowing of the sacrifices to come. When their father—himself a cop—catches wind of the trouble, what should be a standard reprimand unravels into a quiet confession. “I’m doing a little better than my father did,” he says, choking on the guilt. That sentiment doesn’t vanish in adulthood. Joel has always tried to be better, even when he fails catastrophically.

Fast-forward to Jackson. It’s Ellie’s 15th birthday, and Joel is in full dad-mode. He scrapes together toys, barters for cake, and painstakingly crafts a guitar, carving a moth design into the neck. The instrument is both a gift and a symbol, of memory, connection, and hope. The moment he finally strums “Future Days” by Pearl Jam, her eyes soften, his voice cracks, and for once, the apocalypse fades.

But even in moments of peace, the rot creeps in. Over the next few years, we jump forward on Ellie’s birthdays. At 16, she’s dragged through the woods blind to Joel’s surprise—until she sees it: a dinosaur. Not just any dinosaur, but one flanked by a forgotten science museum. Inside, the old world lingers, solar systems still spin, moon landers creak, and a Walkman plays the Apollo 11 launch. Ellie, helmet on, eyes shut, blasts off to a time before the fall. Joel watches, tears catching on his cheeks, struck by a joy so big it hurts.

That memory should’ve stayed pristine. But Jackson isn’t a time capsule, it’s a pressure cooker. By 17, Ellie’s world is more complicated. Joel finds her high, tattooed, and flirting with Kat. He’s angry, but mostly terrified. She’s growing up. She’s moving on. Later, his awkward olive branch, a slightly supportive comment about her tattoo, grants him one more chance to stay close.

Joel starts asking questions about moths. Gail, played with perfect vinegar by Catherine O’Hara, dismisses the creature as “a symbol of death,” unless you buy into that “symbolism crap.” Ellie, though, has scribbled her own meaning into her drawings: “You have a greater purpose.” The girl still believes in something. Maybe she has to.

By 19, Ellie is finally allowed to patrol outside the walls. Her first outing with Joel ends in horror. They respond to a distress call, only to find Eugene—Gail’s husband—bitten. The man pleads to see his wife one last time. Joel says they’ll go. But once Ellie’s gone to fetch the horses, Joel does what he always does when backed into a corner: he ends it. A gunshot, we don’t hear it but, Birds flee and Joel returns alone.

He tells Gail that Eugene died brave, on his own terms. Ellie, having grown out of her naivety, tells the truth. “Eugene was scared. Eugene begged. And Joel shot him in the head.” The fallout is instant—Gail slaps Joel, Ellie cuts him with a quieter, sharper line: “You swore.”

Nine months later, the emotional debris still lingers. Joel, hollowed and worn, watches Ellie and Dina slow-dance through the town’s New Year’s party. Maria tries to remind him he’s part of the community. But Joel knows better. He’s part of Ellie’s story, and her story is unraveling. The night ends where it always had to—on the porch, under dim lights, Ellie asking the questions she’s held inside too long. About Eugene. About Salt Lake City. About the lie Joel built their bond on.

This time, he tells her the truth. There were no raiders. There was a cure. He stopped it. He took her future because he couldn’t bear to lose her. Ellie doesn’t scream. She cries. “You took my purpose,” she tells him, and Joel, without flinching, accepts it. “Yes,” he says. “And I’ll pay the price.” In the end, The Last of Us isn’t a story of endurance—it’s a reckoning. Every connection forged in this world carries a price, and every act of love risks becoming a wound. Joel made his choice.

Catch a glimpse of what’s coming next on The Last of Us below.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook Instagram Twitter(X) YouTube TikTok