After barely making it alive through Kansas City (and a close encounter with the Bloater) in Episode 5, the next episode of HBO's second-most-watched series of all time takes Joel and Ellie to Wyoming for a much-needed, if only temporary, emotionally charged respite.
Pedro Pascal's Joel has proven that he'll stop at nothing to protect his loved ones (and "cargo") at all costs. Unfortunately, the people closest to him don't always see him as a protector, at least in a positive light. Six episodes in, Joel finally reunites with his little brother, Tommy, who's played by Gabriel Luna. The last we saw of Tommy, he went from being someone who Joel always had to get out of trouble to splitting away from him following the first night of the Cordyceps outbreak.
It isn't clear if the night that Joel's daughter, Sarah, died was the last Joel and Tommy saw of each other or if the two stuck it out together first before going their separate ways, but it's clear that Joel still cares a lot about Tommy. However, there seems to be some unresolved tension between the two, which The Last of Us Episode 6 will likely explore.
The Last of Us Episode 6 will change Tommy and Ellie's journey through Wyoming. Rutina Wesley's Maria, the leader of the Jackson, Wyoming settlement, is straight out of the source material but the Tipsy Bison is not something we saw until The Last of Us Part II. This could just be a fun Easter Egg Neil Druckmann cooked up for a show full of blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments. However, Druckmann could also use it to plant a seed for the next season as well.