'The Last of Us' Episode 8 is a Showcase for Another Brutal Enemy

[Editor's Note: The following review contains spoilers for "The Last of Us" Season 1, Episode 8, "When We're in Need."]

While everyone on "The Last of Us" is trying to salvage what they can, the only thing that connects everyone is a name. One of the series' progressive steps has been recognizing when people try to bring out their own. Often it's in self-preservation, like the ambush child in "Please Hold to My Hand." It's the same tactic used by a man here in the penultimate episode of the season "When We're In Need." Staring down the barrel of a gun and an ultra-determined Ellie (Bella Ramsey) pointing it, someone who's become an expert at staying alive comes up with a way to continue her streak. He identifies himself as David (Scott Shepherd). And by then he has already taken over.

David is the latest in a series of obstacles from Joel and Ellie from the original game "The Last of Us", a ruthless and enigmatic leader who has found a way to bend a new world to his whims. He's also the show's latest example of how this post-cordyceps reality is a chance for people to remake themselves, and a narrative can be the most powerful weapon in one's arsenal. This can deter an entire population of raiders from approaching your fortress, as the people of Jackson have done by spreading spooky myths about what lies just beyond the "River of Death". Some people rewrite their stories as a way to atone. Others, like this character with a group of rigid and zealous followers who hide in an abandoned winter resort, use it as a chance to make a hierarchy in their image.

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'When We're In Need' takes place over a longer period of time than last week's 'Left Behind', but the simple spirit of purpose remains the same. Instead of Ellie picking her way through a shaky attempt at a normal childhood, her search for food for her and Joel (Pedro Pascal) leads her down the path of David and James (Troy Baker, Joel from the original game) . Once David has made this introduction of names and objectives, then begins a long episode of psychological tug-of-war, with the leader and the rebel both trying to maintain an advantage.

David begins with the false promise of a community fire, where he details his supposed past and his stated reasons for embracing a life of faith. As an individual, he's an interesting reverse of the horse-riding party that Joel and Ellie meet outside of Jackson. These riders arrived as a threat but then dropped their outlaw veneer to show the welcoming folks below. David comes across as a shy man of God, only to regularly back down and show himself to be a predator at heart.