The Last of Us Episode 8: The End is different from a video game, here’s why

Warning, spoilers. It is recommended that you watch The Last of Us Episode 8 before continuing reading this article.

It was the last bloody episode that fans of The Last of Us discovered this week. Titled “When We’re in Need”, the eighth chapter of the series, available on Prime Video, conveys a rather dark and stressful part of the famous video game.

As winter sets in, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) continues to tend to the critically injured Joel (Pedro Pascal). But while hunting in a snowy forest, Eli meets David (Scott Shepherd), a preacher in charge of a group of survivors.

Thinking she can trust him after he’s allowed to get Joel penicillin, Ellie ends up trapped by this cult leader who turns out to be a cannibal. Threatened, locked up and abused, the young girl finally manages to escape from the prison and tries to escape from David.

Eli and David fight in a diner, which he sets on fire to scare off the butcher. After a few crashes and a few punches, it looks like David is going to take advantage of the young girl and try to sexually assault her, but Eli manages to grab a butcher’s knife and stab her, then kill her and finally finish her off.

On her way out of the building, Ellie runs into Joel, who has managed to find her and who comforts her as best he can after the traumatic events she’s been through. If the creepy then-gentle sequence scared the crap out of fans, even those who know video games, it’s somewhat different from a video game masterpiece. But there’s a good reason for that.

Emotion, the main driving force between Joel and Ellie

In the video game, Joel comforts Eli well, but he is the one who removes her from David’s body after he finishes killing him. Co-showrunners Neil Druckman and Craig Mazin explained the significance of this subtle difference The Official Podcast of The Last of Us.

“First of all, the logic question was, ‘How can Joel get in if David has the keys?’ And I think it’s the same for the show that we wanted the audience — or the player — to think that Joel is going to save Ellie, because that’s what the character traditionally does.”

The creators of the series chose a different and unexpected result. Ellie pulls away and leaves the diner alone, still upset about what she just experienced. Only then does Joel step in, outside the building, to emotionally “save” Ellie. For Neil Druckman and Craig Mazin, it was important that this heartwarming reunion took place outside:

“He has to do something very different than what a parent does: He saves him emotionally until he passes out. He’s there to bring him back to his senses. It’s one of the most emotional parts of the story, and I was so upset that it was. It hits really hard. show.

The contrast of the blood on her skin and the whiteness of the snow…and Bella gives us this incredible disembodied representation where she’s not quite there. Pedro then grabs her and holds her as if to say “I can’t protect you from this”. I screamed and texted Craig to tell him we’d beaten that streak.”

The Last of Us series is available on Prime Video.