Episode 8 of HBO’s The Last of Us destroys one of the best animals in the game

Andrew: Even without any knowledge of how this plays out in the game, I agree that this episode felt rushed and uneven in a way that makes me even more frustrated with last week’s flashback episode. Last week’s episode wasn’t bad at all! But it was clear that this arc wanted to breathe another episode, as the Kansas City arc got. Instead we have to put all this stuff in in one hour.

David suffers the most. It’s like the show needed to be filled with red flags to make sure the audience didn’t like him or feel bad for him, but it also makes him a cartoon character in a show where most of the antagonists were already. a small apartment.

Andrew: Yes, in a TV show, there are some places where I’m more willing and able to suspend disbelief – like Joel goes from laid-back-delirious-with-infection to full-on Rambo killing. -spray in the space of 45 minutes. A more realistic recovery would take a long time to show and see! Bo-ring!

But I didn’t believe for even one fraction of a second that Ellie was in any danger of getting involved with this horrible fundamentalist/mushroom cultist/boy child/cannibal, and it makes it even weirder that the last sequence between them is framed as. this great emotional upheaval.

And also… there were many other people in this community? Where did they go? Perhaps a more organic and satisfying version would allow David’s own community to see the horror that exists and experience it, rather than a dramatic one-on-one confrontation between David and Ellie in the most flammable restaurant in the world. It doesn’t seem like that’s how it goes in the games, but it also sounds like the character is handled but fundamentally different.

Andrew: I don’t think the audience is meant to believe that David could ever be a good guy. The scene where you meet him is full of meaningful looks and awkward pauses, and obvious fear of the other people in the community.

The first scene where David and Ellie meet, on the other hand – I could see it! David (played by Scott Shepherd, a fairly prolific character actor with one of those “what did I just see?” faces) has a certain avuncular charisma. Unfortunately, we’ve already seen too many Bad Guy markers from him, even before you discover that he is reading To Serve Man.

Andrew: Joel is clearly driven by his acceptance of Ellie’s figure as a daughter (her “baby girl” when they finally hit back is a big deal) and his beliefs based on trust-no one in life after the apocalypse. But that doesn’t make it uncomfortable to watch. This is a dated reference, but I was reminded of Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer, from the War On Terror-era show 24. Sure, he tortures people, and sure, he seems overly enthusiastic about it, but he gets results!!

And you’re right that Ellie’s butchering of David at the end of the episode goes on a little too long for comfort. I’m not sure what to make of it. Ellie has certainly been through as much trauma as she could possibly need for story purposes. It’s not like David was close enough to her to really notice her. Between the two of them, Joel and Ellie do enough violence in this episode to sour their happy reunion a bit. This is not where I wanted to be going into the finale of my favorite season.

Andrew: They still have to send her magic blood out to some scientists involved with Firefly! The only thing I’m confident enough to assert is that they will eventually get where they’re going, and the scientists will be weird scientists who aren’t quite up to par.

I would love to be pleasantly surprised! Perhaps the show has set up this predictable rhythm to make it very mind-blowing next week when all the scientists are very sensible and professional.