The Last of Us
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The residents of Silver Lake live in terror and despair, albeit terror and despair disguised as faith.
And, by the episodes end, its impossible to tell where their fear ends and their belief begins.
It doesnt seem that way at first.
And times arequitedifficult in Silver Lake.
David holds their attention with words of comfort even when comfort is in short supply.
The ground is too cold to bury the body.
It will have to wait until spring.
Whats more, Davids starting to wonder if James has lost faith.
James tries to reassure him thats not the case but can only muster limited enthusiasm.
Before she can track down her prey, others find it: David and James.
She doesnt want to hurt them, but she doesnt trust them, and she wants whats hers.
Maybe they can strike a bargain?
The magic word is medicine.
Ellie needs antibiotics, and David has them back at his place.
Besides, it gives David a chance to talk to Ellie.
Talking is what he does best.
Thanks, before asking David if hes the leader of some weird cult thing.
For starters, Ellie cant believeanyonecan believe in God after the end of the world.
At the very least, shes willing to listen to his story.
Pre-cordyceps, he taught math.
But his followers grew, and David attributes this to divine grace.
And at that moment, Ellie realizes David isnt quite who he seems to be.
It wont be the last such moment before When We Are In Need ends.
Shes seen it in Jackson, and, more immediately, shes felt it with Joel.
But even if good people remain in the world, its now clear David isnt one of them.
Even worse, this revelation is accompanied by the arrival of James, who gets the drop on her.
He even offers, for the second time, to let Ellie join them.
This seems to be an issue of some importance to David.
Ellie wont be taking him up on the offer, at least not right away.
The meat goes into the stew, and the stew goes to Davids followers.
After David takes his seat, everyone eats with gusto.
For James, this is a problem.
Meanwhile, Ellie has no intention of being taken alive or letting them find Joel.
With Ellie in his arms, he tells them if theyre so hungry for vengeance they should deliver it.
Thats easier said than done.
The others are even less lucky.
(In the process, hes learned that it isnt so much a town as a resort.
Its a phony place in more ways than one.)
Hes abandoned his softness but not his gift for crafting an argument.
He, David argues, can protect Ellie, and Joel no longer can.
Its hard to come back when youve been unmasked as a cannibal, but David tries anyway.
He did what he did out of desperation and to feed those who trusted him.
And though she hates it, Ellie can see he has a point.
Maybe she would have done the same if she had to.
Theres no lie there.
Then he goes on.
Cordyceps isnt evil, he tells her, Its fruitful.
It feeds and protects its children.
And it secures its future with violence if it must.
Its a hard truth that he feels Ellie, unlike the others, can handle.
She doesnt need fairy tales like God to get by.
Shes sufficient unto herself.
Its worth pausing here to think about Ellie.
Davids self-portrait starts to diverge from the Ellie we know but maybe not the person Ellie will become.
Whats more, the cordyceps way of thinking doesnt soundthatdifferent from Joels.
That future might even arrive sooner than expected.
(Though the creepy sexual undertones never come to the surface, theyre hard to ignore.)
But when he gets too close, Ellie responds with an act of violence hecantadmire.
David doesnt have much time to share this information.
Then the episode turns into a fiery bloodbath.
Ellie takes out James and then struggles with David as the steakhouse burns.
She might have a violent heart, but theres more to it than violence alone.
Infectious Bites
Phew.
That was a rough one, right?
And the finale is still ahead of us.
Among his most famous characters: Joel Miller inThe Last of Us.
Its a shame the two Joels dont have any scenes together, but that might have been too cute.
Joel is saved by penicillin, which is derived from a fungus, so theyre notallbad.
The fate of the other Silver Lake residents remains a bit of a loose thread.
Are there any men left?
Did Joel and Ellie just leave a bunch of women and children to fend for themselves?
And, if so, does that prove Davids point?
The wording seems intentionally unclear on whether He is God or David.
