We are nearing the end of The Last of Us' first season.
Without further ado, let’s crack on.
THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE SHOW AND THE GAME SERIES IT IS BASED ON.
yo READ ON AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
David leads a group of survivors, doing what they can in this post-cordyceps world.
Not that we see this side of David at first.
When we first meet him, he comes across as a caring and well meaning leader.
If you have played the game, you will have noticed the lie in David’s words.
His character here is also present in the game, though not as fleshed out.
David then questions James' loyalty to him, stating he noticed doubt and a loss of faith.
James assures David he is with him, and the two prepare to go hunting.
The scene then cuts to Ellie and Joel.
Joel is still recovering from the injury he sustained at the university in episode six.
This spurs Ellie to take Joel’s rifle and head out into the wilderness in search of sustenance.
As in the game, Ellie comes across a white rabbit.
She then notices a deer, and shoots it (although she does not kill it).
Ellie then pursues the injured deer, and here she comes across David and James.
As in the game, Ellie agrees she will split the share of deer meat for medicine.
She needs those antibiotics for Joel.
David and Ellie then retire to a nearby building for shelter and warmth while they await James' return.
Here, however, things take a darker turn.
He also mentions leaving the Pittsburgh QZ (a little Easter egg for fans of the game).
Remember that wake earlier?
Once again, The Last of Us makes us question who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’.
David stops James from shooting Ellie, and allows her to leave with the antibiotics.
She flees into the woods and returns to Joel, where she administers the medication.
We then cut back to David’s followers.
They are preparing a meal for their group, and are told the meat they are eating is venison.
It is a far cry from the energised and bright community of Jackson a couple of episodes ago.
Spoiler, it is not animal meat but human meat.
This scene also gives us the first look at David’s more sadistic side.
The cracks are showing.
Now, this next bit confused me a bit in both the game and the show.
Either way, I still found this an odd change in pace for David.
Joel, meanwhile, has become lucid enough to hide from David’s men.
He manages to stab and kill one, before incapacitating two others.
It is a pretty brutal scene, as it is in the game.
This shows the lengths he will now go to to protect Ellie.
As for Ellie, she comes to inside a cell (or cage, as she calls it).
He calls it a “last resort”, and that he feels shame for his actions.
He then talks to Ellie about survival and how she reminds him of himself.
She is a natural leader, smart, loyal… and violent.
“You have a violent heart, and I should know.
I’ve always had a violent heart and I struggled with it for a long time.
But then the world ended as I was shown the truth,” David says to Ellie.
Something else that David says here stood out to me.
“It feeds and protects its children and it secures its future with violence if it must.
It loves,” David says.
This feels like another instance of this, although it also adds to David’s unhinged grasp on life.
David believes Ellie can “handle this” information like the others can’t.
They need God and heaven.
Ellie appears to soften to David’s words, and holds his hands (as in the game).
Up until this point, she had not let David know her name.
David, angered, implies he will now kill and eat her.
Ellie bites David and tells him she is infected, and so he now is as well.
Bye bye, Troy!
She throws a burning stick at David when he pursues her, causing the diner to catch alight.
The two then continue their game of ‘cat and mouse’ around the tables.
“No one infected fights this hard to stay alive,” David calls to Ellie.
Ellie eventually manages to get a non-fatal stab in, but is overpowered by David.
It is an uncomfortable watch.
Joel, meanwhile, has made his way to the resort where David’s followers have been staying.
He finally finds Ellie, who has managed to make her way out of the burning diner.
She is in shock after what has happened (understandably).
I got you".
I also wish Joel had found Ellie inside the diner, and seen the damage she had done.
Maybe I am starting to feel some of the impact from the show has gone.
We have come to expect death, now.
I also have to wonder about what will happen to the rest of David’s followers now.
I know this is not our concern, as we are following the story of Joel and Ellie.
I will be more than happy to be proved wrong, however.
