In the big scheme of things the opening of 106 is meaningless. Joel and Ellie meet a Native couple and learn where to go.
But I adore that scene, on so many different levels.
First of all, the scene has a pretty simple point: Ellie and Joel get information. But then the question is, how do make that interesting? And the answer is, give them a conflict that they have to solve. Which is both about making them earn that next bit of progress, and also distracting us from the fact that this is a This is Where Our Characters Get Information scene. In fact I had to go back and rewatch the scene to be sure they learn anything at all, because in the moment my focus was on the threat that Ellie posed to them.
Which is a whole other interesting thing about the episode. As in the previous episodes, we enter back into the story through the point of view of totally new characters. And even though from a plot point of view the scene that follows is all about Joel and Ellie trying to get information, it really does proceed out of the Native couple's point of view. If you were going to sum it up, you'd say something like Marlon and Florence deal with intruders. (The actors, by the way, are the fantastic Graham Greene and Elaine Miles.)
And the fact we're seeing especially Ellie from this external point of view has an impact. We know her as this tough, whipsmart kid. But from the outside in this moment she seems wilder. Marlon calls her a "little psychopath." That speaks to what's happened to her in the intervening three months (which I'm going to talk about more tomorrow). But also, in seeing her from the outside, we see new things. It's a brilliant innovation on the series' "In our show the characters we meet get their own stories" ethos.
The last thing is, and it's my favorite, is the way that the scene unfolds. We've all seen a million hostage situation beats in TV and movies, and probably this could have just been another one of those and it would have been. But Mazin instead decides to come up with a take that is specific and original. Marlon and Florence have clearly been together a long time, and know each so well that with just a glance Florence is able to tell Marlon what's going on. (They also know each other so well that we get those hilarious bickering moments about Florence not shooting Joe and making him soup, whether or not she is lying to Marlon, their past decision to move here and be away from everyone.)
They're also indigenous, which just as with the choice to make Sam deaf is not just a random detail, but rather gives the scene texture and nuance. The playfulness of their interaction, the way they mess with Ellie, the underlying stillness of their interaction—that's drawn from all of the deep down specifics of these characters. And it makes the scene unique and special.
No one is going to win any awards for the first 3 minutes of THE LAST OF US episode 106. But as someone who wants to be a great scene writer, I'm going to go back to that scene over and over.
