The Last of Us episode 8 on HBO changes a few things from the video game. The first season of The Last of Us shows how much Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann wanted to stay true to the video game. With only one episode left, fans of the video game are looking forward to the bittersweet ending. Even though The Last of Us could still end on a cliffhanger, it’s likely that season 1 will follow the game.
In The Last of Us episode 8, David, the leader of a commune, is introduced. At first, he seems to want to help Ellie and Joel, but it turns out he has much darker reasons and ways to help the commune survive. Even though HBO’s version has been praised for staying true to the book, episode 8 makes some changes to The Last of Us characters and situations, including David and the commune.
David’s Character is an Illusion
In the game, The Last of Us, where you have to kill zombies, one of the scariest bad guys is a man. In the game, David is a creepy guy that Ellie has to save herself from, but in the series, he gets to show a lot more of his personality. The eighth episode of The Last of Us starts with David preaching to his commune instead of Ellie meeting him. From the scene, it’s clear that David is in charge of the group and that they believe in God.
There aren’t many resources in the commune, and a mother and a young girl are seen crying over a recent death. David tells them that their loved one will be buried in the spring. People who have played The Last of Us would know right away that David’s group eats people, but people who have only watched the show might not know that the young girl’s father won’t be buried but eaten later in the episode.
David is not shown to be a cannibal in the first scene. Instead, he is shown to be a man who is trying to keep his community together. This gives David’s character more depth, and the audience might even think David is being honest.
The Biggest Cycle of Violence Starts With This Episode
In Episode 8, both Ellie and Joel act in a way that viewers haven’t seen them act before. Ellie has been killed before, but she’s never had to face someone like David who hurt her so badly. Ellie has every right to be angry, but when Joel isn’t around to stop her, the audience gets to see how far she’ll go when it’s personal. All of Ellie’s childhood innocence is gone, and she will never be the same again.
Joel is used to acting violently out of anger, but the interrogation scene shows just how good he is at it. His ability to kill and hurt others was probably developed for a good reason. After all, he lives under a fascist government that is often attacked by bomb-wielding dissidents during a fungi-fueled apocalypse. But it also serves as a reminder that violence is the default way for survivors to solve problems, and that’s not likely to change.
David knows this is true and tries to use it to show Ellie that he’s not really a bad person. He says that he is the same as Ellie and that Joel is the same as the men who are looking for him. As much as I hate to say it, the pedophilic cannibal isn’t completely wrong about that last part. During the episode, viewers learn that the man who stabbed Joel in Episode 6 has a daughter about Ellie’s age. If the finale goes as planned, this won’t be the last time he breaks up a family to save Ellie.
In Part I of the video game, when Joel saves Ellie from the Firefly hospital, he kills a surgeon. The surgeon’s daughter, Abby, will kill Joel in Part II to get revenge for her father, which sends Ellie on her own revenge mission. From Abby’s point of view, Joel is a terrible person. Abby is from Ellie’s. From an objective point of view, no one is blameless. This leaves them with two choices: they can keep the cycle of violence going or they can realise that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. In the end, it’s Ellie’s choice.
Check out our article about the cast of The Last of Us, so you can find out who plays your favourite characters like Riley, Tess, and as well as new favourites like Kathleen.
