After one emotional tale of brothers last week, we move onto another in Episode 6 of The Last of Us, as Joel finds Tommy at long last.
Following the early release of the previous installment, The Last of Us returns to its normal weekly spot on Sunday night this week. Even though Episode 6 features the reuniting of family, things might not be all that warm and fuzzy as Joel and Ellie traverse new territory. Now that they’ve reached their destination, what’s next? Who will bring Ellie to the Fireflies facility out west?
Ahead, you’ll find everything you need to know heading into The Last of Us Episode 6, including its release date, premiere time, plot, trailer, and more.
When is the release date for The Last of Us Episode 6?
Episode 6 of The Last of Us lands on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, February 19, 2023.
What is the release time for The Last of Us Episode 6?
The Last of Us airs at 9 p.m. Eastern on HBO and HBO Max each week on Sunday.
How many episodes are left in The Last of Us?
The Last of Us Season 1 features nine episodes in total, which means we’re closing in on the finale, with only three episodes left in the season after this week.
What is the plot of The Last of Us Episode 6?
Episode 6 of The Last of Us, titled “Kin,” will see Joel and Ellie trek through the wilderness on foot to finally reach the location of Joel’s brother, Tommy, who has been living in a settlement of fellow survivors in Wyoming. This installment will span several months in the show’s timeline, so there will be lots of ground to cover along the way.
The runtime for this episode is slated to be 59 minutes long.
Who is in the cast for The Last of Us?
The Last of Us stars Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal as Ellie and Joel. Alongside the show’s central duo, the series also features Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Graham Greene as Marlon, Elain Miles as Florence, Rutina Wesley as Maria, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Jeffery Pierce as Perry, Nick Offerman as Bill, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, and Storm Reid as Riley.
Is there a trailer for The Last of Us Episode 6?
Yes, HBO released a preview for The Last of Us Episode 6, and it teases the moment that Joel finally sees and gets to embrace his brother. The promo begins with Ellie explaining to Joel that she tried to save Sam from becoming an Infected with her blood, but Joel tells her it’s probably a lot more complicated than that.
We then see Joel and Ellie arrive on horseback to a town of survivors in a snowy landscape — it’s there that Joel spots Tommy. Reunited, the brothers have a lot to catch up on, including what seems to be reckoning with the bad deeds they’ve done in their past. From there, things get dicey, as people on horseback ambush Joel and Ellie. At the end of the preview, Ellie is shooting her handgun at people behind her, while riding away on a horse with Joel.
What happened in The Last of Us Episode 5?
Episode 5 of The Last of Us, titled “Endure and Survive,” begins with a prologue set just 10 days prior, when the Kansas City QZ insurrection has successfully overthrown FEDRA. We then see a corpse stabbed with knives being dragged through the streets passing by Henry and Sam, who are hiding from Kathleen’s forces. Henry tells his younger brother to look away, communicating with him through ASL since Sam is deaf, and they run off to find shelter.
Meanwhile, Kathleen, the leader of the violent civilian militia, has a group of informants captive in a former FEDRA cell. She asks them for the whereabouts of Henry — who Kathleen holds responsible for the demise of her brother — in return for their safety. Eventually, someone spills that Edelstein (the man that Kathleen murdered last episode) is secretly providing refuge for Henry and Sam. Kathleen then orders Perry and his men to search the city for Edelstein and his hiding spot, but not before executing all of the informants.
Elsewhere in the city, Edelstein brings Henry and Sam to an attic they can hide in with just over a week’s worth of food. Henry gives Sam a bag of crayons to decorate the walls, where he draws pictures of superheroes. After 10 days, they realize Edelstein is not coming back for them, they have no more food, and they must leave. Before setting off, Henry draws a red superhero mask on Sam’s face. Then, they hear gunfire outside of the window. Henry looks out to see the fight that went down between Joel, Ellie, and Kathleen’s men in Episode 4, and he decides there is a change of plan.
The episode then picks up right where Episode 4 left off, with Sam and Henry pointing guns at Joel and Ellie in their makeshift resting place. In exchange for not shooting them, Henry and Joel work out a provisional alliance. In the morning, Henry tells them he knows Kansas City like the back of his hand and can lead them to safety. The secret is the tunnels below the city, which Henry — a former FEDRA informant — knows to have been cleared out of Infected years ago. Henry tells Joel that he has never murdered anyone (the guns he and Sam were pointing earlier were empty), so he could use Joel’s help traversing the potentially dangerous path ahead, and together the four of them can escape the city and be on their separate ways. Joel is reluctant, but there is no other choice, so he agrees.
Down in the tunnels, the group discovers what looks to be the former setting of a group of survivors. The space includes a makeshift nursery school and community playground, filled with toys and books. Fans of the video game will recognize that this location and the drawing on the wall of people named Danny and “Ish” is an Easter egg. Ellie and Sam read a comic book they both like together. The superhero’s tagline is “endure and survive,” which Sam teaches Ellie how to sign. With the kids having fun together and laughing in the back, Henry explains to Joel that he gave up the location of Kathleen’s brother to FEDRA in exchange for the medication Sam needed for his leukemia. Joel sympathizes with Henry for doing whatever it takes to protect family. Joel then tells everyone it’s time to get a move on.
Meanwhile, Perry finds Kathleen in her old childhood bedroom, which she once shared with her slain brother, Michael. Near tears, she recalls the way Michael used to comfort her during storms and says how he would be disgusted with the ruthless, hardened person she is now. Perry reminds her that while he brother was a great person, it wasn’t him that led them to victory against FEDRA. It was her.
Joel, Ellie, Henry, and Sam are now up on the surface after nightfall. Now they just need to cross this residential area and get to the bridge in the distance. No one appears to be around until someone starts shooting at them from the top floor of a house in the distance. Joel tells them to stay put while he goes around the back to take the shooter out. Once he reluctantly shoots the sniper, he is horrified to hear that the man was communicating with Kathleen over a walkie-talkie — and she and her forces are seconds away.
Kathleen’s militant forces descend on Sam, Henry, and Ellie with giant armored vehicles. The trio run and just as a bulldozer is about to crush them, Joel shoots the driver, sending the vehicle off-road and into a house, where it explodes. Surrounded by Kathleen and her troops and hiding behind a car with Sam and Ellie, Henry decides to give himself up. He tells her to take him and let the children go, but she says no. Pointing a pistol at him, Kathleen tells Henry that he should have just let Sam perish and not messed with fate. Suddenly, the ground in front of where the bulldozer crashed and exploded caves in, and after a brief moment of silence, outpours waves of Infected.
Everything has descended into chaos, with Runners and Clickers attacking everyone and Kathleen’s troops trying to stop the Infected. From above, Joel is using a rifle to clear a path for Ellie, Sam, and Henry. Ellie squeezes through an open window to hide in a car, but a young-girl-turned-Clicker follows her in, to Joel’s horror. Luckily, Ellie quickly escapes through the passenger side door. Then, a terrifyingly massive, fungi-covered monster — known as a Bloater — rises from the sinkhole, knocking people out as it stomps its way over to Perry, whose head it rips apart.
Ellie runs to Henry and Sam’s aid, as they are trapped beneath a car, trying to kick away an Infected at their feet, which Ellie stabs. Kathleen catches up to Henry, Sam, and Ellie as they run away. Amid all of the chaos, she is still hellbent on her vendetta. Before she can finish her rant, though, an Infected jumps on her from behind. Reunited, Joel, Ellie, Sam, and Henry flee toward the bridge.
The group makes it safely to an empty motel, where they will rest for the night. Joel invites Henry to come along with them to Wyoming. Alone in a room together, Sam shows Ellie that he has been bitten on his leg. Ellie cuts her hand with a knife and smears her blood on the bite, telling Sam that her blood can cure the infection. Ellie promises Sam she will stay up and make sure nothing happens to him, but she falls asleep in the chair. Waking up in the morning, Ellie sees Sam sitting up on the other side of the bed. She puts her hand on his shoulder, but Sam then turns around, screeches like an Infected, and begins to attack her.
Joel and Henry are alerted by screaming and the kids burst through the door, with Ellie trying to hold off Sam. Joel moves to go help and Henry points a pistol at him. He then turns and shoots Sam. He asks himself, “What did I do?” as Sam’s blood pools on the floor. Joel tries to convince Henry to give him the weapon, but Henry shoots himself in the head.
Joel and Ellie bury Sam and Henry, and Ellie leaves a note on Sam’s grave, writing, “I’m sorry.” Joel follows Ellie as they head off toward their next destination: Wyoming.
Will there be a The Last of Us Season 2?
Yes, The Last of Us has been officially confirmed by HBO for a second season, given the show’s continued popularity week after week. And with the original video games, The Last of Us Part I and Part II (and even a Part III in the near future), there is plenty of plot left to explore in the future of the series.
