I love all of the small but important bonding moments we get in the show. We get multiple significant bonding moments every episode—I got you baby girl, it wasn’t time that did it, you deserve a choice, diarrhea is hereditary, etc.—but also so many tiny little things that make me so 😭❤️
Ellie asking Joel if they’re gonna be okay. Joel answering her questions about the outbreak. Joking together about music. Helping Ellie up when she falls. Ellie laying on him on the horse and in the basement. Joel asking for puns because he knows it makes Ellie happy. Letting her get some rest in the car. Telling her he knows it’s scary on the wooden plank. Chef Boyardee. So, so many more.
It’s one of those things that makes TLOU so good, and something that is missing in so many other shows. The fact that we have multiple times an episode where we slow down and get to see our characters talk and bond and grow just a bit closer. The show would work without it, but it adds so much to their relationship and makes us fall in love with the characters in a really rare and special way.