
Warning: spoilers ahead for The Last of Us episode 4.
Following last week’s breathtakingly poignant episode of The Last of Us, episode 4 returns viewers to the bleak reality of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they are faced by new, deadly forces on their trip in the shape of Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) and her companions.
After leaving Bill’s (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlett) secure-protected house last week with as many supplies as they can scrounge, the two drive away in Bill’s vehicle on their journey to Wyoming in search of Joel’s brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna).
They are forced to drive through the city after being unable to proceed via a tunnel owing to a hindrance in their path. This is when they are attacked by a bunch of strangers.
Joel kills the guys that assaulted them to protect himself and Ellie, with Ellie shooting one of them down as he was about to strangle her buddy to death.
While the protagonists survive, their actions may have major consequences once Kathleen discovers what they did.
Who is Kathleen in The Last of Us and who plays her?
Melanie Lynskey, from Yellowjackets and Don’t Look Up, plays Kathleen in The Last of Us.
Kathleen is the head of a revolutionary organisation in Kansas City that appears to be ruling the roost when Joel and Ellie notice that the city’s QZ (Quarantine Zone), which would have been governed by the militarised governing body Fedra, is no longer in operation.
Melanie has appeared in a number of films throughout the course of her career, including Heavenly Creatures, Coyote Ugly, Sweet Home Alabama, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Ever After, and Flags of Our Fathers.
She appeared as Rose in the comedy Two and a Half Men and has won several award nominations and wins throughout her career, including a Critics’ Choice Award for her portrayal as Shauna in Yellowjackets.
Was Kathleen in the video game?
Kathleen was not in the video game as that precise character, but her role is inspired by characters from the original source material.

In the computer game The Last of Us, Joel and Ellie encounter a gang of people known as hunters on their journey.
Hunters are frequently made up of people who formerly lived in QZs but overwhelmed the authorities to take control.
They are very cruel, murdering anybody who crosses them by entering their domain or stealing their resources.
What does Kathleen want with Joel and Ellie?
When Kathleen discovers the remains of the men Joel has murdered, she quickly thinks that he and Ellie (who she has never met) are working with a man named Henry (Lamar Johnson), whom she is now pursuing.
While viewers wait to find out why Henry and his brother Sam (Keivonn Montreal Woodard) are being pursued, Kathleen authorises a search for all of them.
The episode concludes with Henry and Sam holding pistols over Joel and Ellie, having all escaped arrest and death at Kathleen’s hands.
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW, with new episodes released on Mondays.