The Last of Us episode 8 doesn't feel like the end game, but it is almost there. Our grizzled protagonists enter this episode in rough times, with Joel injured and still recovering, and Ellie with not much in the way of resources.
After sewing Joel up, and thinking about the flashback events of episode 7 where Riley showed off the last mall in the Boston QZ, Ellie now needs to find means to survive. The race to the doctors who can help her make the cure for the global nightmare is now on pause, as one of the best HBO Max shows ever continues.
The below contains a detailed recap of The Last of Us episode 8, so there are spoilers.
The Last of Us episode 8's new group isn't exactly what it seems
We start off in winter, in a new community. A man whose name we will learn is David (Scott Shepherd) is reading from the book of Revelation. Speaking of "a new heaven and a new earth." A crying girl, Hannah (Sonia Maria Chirila) interrupts, she wants to know when they're going to bury "him."
David explains that the ground is too cold to dig (this is likely a lie for reasons we'll see later), and that the body will be buried in the spring. The man is Hannah's father.
Later, in another room, we meet James (played by Troy Baker, who did voice and motion capture work for Joel in the game), who tells David that their people saw deer in another area.
David explains that he's sensed dissent, but not from the group. From James. But that's for another time. Now, it's time to go hunting.
Back at the temporary home base
Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is still tending to Joel (Pedro Pascal), trying to care for his still-not-healed wounds, asking if he's thirsty. She's got the tiniest scraps of food, of which she eats a little and leaves the rest for Joel eats a portion of her scraps. Ellie sees a shotgun and tells Joel (who probably can't hear her) that she'll be back.
Out in the snow, Ellie's chasing prey, but falling in the snow. Once she sees a deer, she applies the riflery lessons Joel taught her about breathing, and nails the deer with a shot. It runs away, she follows and we see that David and James beat her to it. They're happy to find the deer, as their people are very hungry.
But Ellie gets the drop on them, demands they drop their rifles. They soon work out a trade, as David and James say their people are very hungry, and the deer is too heavy for Ellie to bring on its own. As Ellie's barking orders, they get to a deal: half of the deer for medicine.
But David and James don't have that medicine on them. Howard does. David tells James to go ask for the penicillin, two bottles and a syringe. Making small talk with Ellie, David asks if it's hr dad's gun. And since it's going to be a while before James comes back, he offers to start a fire at nearby shelter.
As the two huddle over fire, David says Ellie shouldn't be out here on her own. Ellie gives him the "same for you" treatment, holding her gun steady, and refusing to tell him her name. David continues to try and win Ellie over, offering her space with their group — which Ellie dismisses as a "hunger club."
He says he's a decent man (we know better), trying to take care of the people who rely on him, but Ellie gives him questions about the cult he's running. He admits he's a preacher, but he was originally a teacher. After Ellie asks if he did that because they rhyme, David says he he actually found god after the apocalypse. David's path started at the Pittsburgh QZ, and he's been picking up people along the way.
Then, he gets more creepy when he says he doesn't believe in luck. Things happen, David says, for a reason. Recently, they sent 4 people out, and only 3 came back. One was murdered by a crazy man, who was traveling with a little girl. And suddenly James is standing there with a gun. He also brought the medicine back, though. And David says give her the medicine. Ellie grabs it and runs, as David calmly and eerily says he knows she won't survive for long.
James asks David about why he just let her get away, and back at the house, Ellie's confused about how to use the penicillin, and just injects it into the wound. And after Ellie takes a nap on Joel, he moves towards her, almost instinctually.
Back at the cult, they're running out of food. And a man brings carved up meat, which he calls venison, in. David finds the group in the lodge, and announces that the rumors are true. They've found the girl with the man who took Alec from them, and they're going to hunt him down. Alec's daughter, Hannah, shouts "You should kill him, you should kill both of them."
And then we see the creepiest side of David yet, as she slaps Hannah in the face before saying she will always have a father. Of course, he's talking about himself as he says "you will show him respect when he's speaking." David then leads the room in saying grace before they dine together.
Back at the house, Ellie watches over a recovering Joel. His wounds don't look great, so Ellie injects more penicillin into the wounds. The garage door opens, and we see Ellie with the horse. Ellie moves out, but gets cautious as she sees a pack of birds flying in the distance, guessing that they were disturbed.
From the shadows, Ellie sees that David's pack is hunting. We cut to David telling the group that they'll bring Ellie back with them. James, though, doesn't want another mouth to feed, and suggests that maybe Ellie starving to death would be God's will. This feels like an interesting callback to Kathleen wondering if Sam was meant to die. David looks at him, and moves on. At the house, Ellie tries to rouse Joel, who opens an eye. Ellie gives him a knife, and begs him to not fall asleep before she leaves.
On horseback, Ellie fires a gun at the hunters and — hilariously — calls them motherfuckers. But James, who knows the territory better, takes a back route to trap Ellie, and shoots the horse down, knocking her off. Ellie, dazed, lies there as one of the pack tells James to kill her. He loads his fun, but David shows up before he can pull the trigger. David checks her pulse, tells two to go with him, and sends the rest out to get their bloodlust sated by vengeance against Joel.
Ellie's trying to break out, but David returns with a plate of food. Before Ellie can eat it, she freaks out over seeing an ear — yes a human ear — in the corner of the room. David promises that he's giving her dear meat, while Ellie yells about worried about being chopped up into little pieces.
James finds the house we know Joel's in, but he walks so hard that he wakes Joel downstairs. James eventually figures out that the bookcase is blocking the door, but he's too late as he sees a bare mattress when he gets downstairs. Joel pops out from the shadows, strangles James and knifes him in the throat.
Back at the compound, Ellie wakes up in a cage, which David says is because she's dangerous. He tries to say that she needs him, by explaining the others want to kill her. Ellie curses at him, and he's trying to tell her that she's not gonna survive on her own. And while Ellie says she's not on her own, David asks how her friend is and claims that Ellie's about to be on her own.
As one guy is trying to find a "Timothy," Joel emerges to land a knockout blow. Back at the house, Joel's beating the hell out of one of these guys, and tortures him to show to their group's location on the map, with a knife in his mouth. He swears that's where they are, and Joel just kills him. The guy that Joel had just knocked out claims that he won't confirm the location on the map. It doesn't matter, as Joel believes him, and kills him.
Ellie's trying to break out, but David returns with a plate of food. Before Ellie can eat it, she freaks out over something we can't see. We then realize it's an ear — yes a human ear — in the corner of the room. David promises that he's giving her deer meat, while Ellie yells about worried about being chopped up into little pieces. David admits they're cannibals, says not everyone knows they're cannibals. He says it was a last resort. What were they going to do?
David shows his true self
Speaking of which, Ellie says Joel was defending himself when David's men attacked. David disagrees, saying he was defending Ellie. David sees himself in Ellie, he knows that Ellie is violent, and he too has always had a violent heart, especially before the world ended. David shows more of his lunacy when he says "Cordyceps isn't evil."
Cordyceps, Davis claims, showed him the way: "it loves." David says the others need religion, god, heaven and a father. He's a shepherd surrounded by sheep who wants an equal. Who would be Ellie. David says he can tell the guys to stop hunting for Joel ... they follow him. David tells Ellie "They would follow us. Lord knows I could use the help." Speaking as if he's the Cordyceps itself, David says "We'd make this place perfect: grow and spread out. Imagine the life we could give them."
Remember the "venison?" We do.
Then, David puts his hand on Ellie's, and they almost hold hands through the cell bars, but she breaks his fingers. David bashes her against the jail cell door, leaving Ellie bloodied. Finally, Ellie gives him her name, tells him to tell the people she's the one who broke his fingers. And he just implies she'll be eaten.
Joel finds blood outside of a house, goes in to find a dead horse — the one James shot. Then, he sees some nice canoes, and he also finds some hanging human bodies. Remember the "venison?" We do.
David and James get Ellie on a butcher block. But just David's about to slice her, Ellie yells she's infected — and now they are too! David realizes the timeframe doesn't match up for her infection, but Ellie grabs a butcher knife and slices it into James' head. Then, Ellie starts the endgame by finding a piece of burning wood from the fire, and chucks it to start a house fire.
David says Ellie needs a father, and he's going to teach her. This is even more disgusting as it sounds, as we learn after Ellie tackles him.
In the main room of the burning lodge, David shouts as he's hunting Ellie down. The building's locked, he claims, and he has the keys. David doesn't believe Ellie's actually infected, and tries to get her to explain how she managed to not become infected — as he continues to monologue, demanding answers, claiming he's good and announcing neither of them dies today.
Harkening back to what he told Hannah, David says Ellie needs a father, and he's going to teach her. This is even more disgusting as it sounds, as we learn after Ellie tackles him. David uses her momentum to throw her, kick and mount her. After Ellie spits at him, David growls "I thought you already knew, that biting is the part I like the most, don't be afraid, there's no fear in love."
And that's enough of that, as Ellie finds a knife on the floor, and proves David right: she is violent. Ellie stabs David to death, and keeps stabbing him out of rage.
Leaving the building, Ellie freaks out when Joel walks up behind her. Blood on her face, and almost in shock. She is speechless and hugs him. Joel says "it's OK baby girl, I got you" and hugs her. The two walk off.
The Last of Us episode 8 review: Ellie's final boss?
This episode arguably feels like a little bit of a detour. That said, David's cult helps flesh out the terrible state of humanity, showing another example of how leadership is still rotten in the world.
As you may know, we only have one episode left this season. People who haven't seen how this story played out in the game may have no idea how things will go for Joel and Ellie. Those who have, well, we shouldn't spoil it. So, after next week, the wait for The Last of Us season two begins. Maybe check out The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II in the off-season.
And now we're three short weeks away from Succession season 4, the final season of HBO's other best series.
