The latest episode of HBO’s The Last of Us, “When We Are In Need,” portrays Joel and Ellie’s run-in with David and his band of survivors at the Silver Lake resort. This is one of the most iconic sections of The Last of Us video game from Naughty Dog, and once again the show totally nails it.
All that said, there are some interesting differences. Before we get into them, be warned that there will be SPOILERS for this week’s episode of The Last of Us as well as the video game below.
Were David and his group cannibals in The Last of Us game?
Let’s start out right at the top by saying that, scene-for-scene, “When We Are In Need” is up there alongside “Left Behind” as one of the most faithful episodes of the show. Just about every scene involving Joel or Ellie is drawn right from the game. Some, like Ellie and David’s ominous fireside chat about how “everything happens for a reason,” had extra lines thrown in; others, like Joel’s torture of the two Silver Lake cult members or Ellie biting David’s hand and confessing that she’s infected to get away from him, were pretty much taken from the game word for word.
Most of the variations involve David, James and their group. Basically, any scene that doesn’t feature Joel or Ellie was new; we didn’t get any scenes of the cult on their own in the game, instead just seeing them through the eyes of Joel or Ellie.
That means all the backstory about Silver Lake is new. This includes David’s history as a teacher-turned-preacher. In the game, we really don’t know anything about David’s past, just that he has an almost dogmatic view about fate and is fine eating people if it means his own followers survive. The show gives David a new religious fanaticism. Ellie offhandedly refers to the Silver Lake group as a cult, and it fits. But in the game they’re never referred to this way, and generally don’t give off the same cultish vibes.
They are, however, cannibals in both versions of the story. The game highlights this even more, with Ellie outright witnessing them chopping up a body. In the show, it’s hinted that most of David’s followers are unaware that they’re eating human flesh; it’s only those in his inner circle, like James, who know the truth. In the game it’s much more apparent that the whole posse is in on it.