‘The Last of Us’ Episode 8 Ending Explained: What Happened to David and His Cult? (2024)

Editor's note: The following article contains spoilers for Episode 8 of The Last of Us.With only one episode until Season 1 of HBO’s The Last of Us wraps, we are already sad to see Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) fade into the horizon for who knows how long. Still, the series is determined to leave a mark in our memory, which is why Episode 8, “When We Are in Need,” pulls no punches when exploring the horrible lengths people will go to survive in a world infected with Cordyceps. That’s why in Episode 8, we are introduced to a new cannibal community of survivors led by the preacher David (Scott Shepherd). And while Jackson had no central leadership, and everyone was responsible for the group’s well-being, the resort community was freezing and starving under David’s leadership.

By using God as a shield from scrutiny, David imposes his will over his people, thinking of himself as a superior human being who can make decisions for others. That’s why David begins to serve human meat to the community, a terrifying secret only his inner circle knows. The resort community is in shambles when they cross paths with Ellie and Joel, but things might worsen after David’s demise. Or they could get better. Because the lesson in Episode 8 is that people need to trust each other to thrive in the post-apocalyptic world instead of unleashing their primal, violent impulses.

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The Cannibal Community Future

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In Episode 8, Ellie is still trying to help Joel recover on his feet after they got attacked at the University of Eastern Colorado. Since they need food, Ellie takes Joel’s rifle and goes hunting some deer. That’s how she meets David and his right-hand man James (Troy Baker, who voiced Joel in the video game), who are also looking for a game to feed the resort community. The fateful encounter allows us to see the university brawl through different eyes, as we soon learn David sent the four men Joel and Ellie met to gather resources. So, from the resort community's perspective, one of their members was brutally murdered by Joel, and finding Ellie is a gift from God that would allow them to exact their revenge.

While James wants to take Ellie out immediately, David sees something different in the girl and even trades some deer meat for penicillin. The medicine helps Joel heal from the nasty infection he has on his wound. But before he can get back on his feet, David and his men kidnap Ellie.

While spending some cozy time in a cage at the resort, Ellie discovers David is not a believer and only acts as a preacher to manipulate his people. She also realizes they’ve been chopping human bodies into pieces to use the meat as a source of nourishment, a grim realization that adds to Ellie's exposure to the darker side of this dystopian world. According to David’s twisted worldview, there’s no good or evil in any action aimed at survival, and violence is a proper tool to get by in desperate times. Of course, David also believes he should make this kind of decision in everyone’s name, which means the resort community has been eating people without knowing about it.

Ellie manages to escape by sticking a butcher’s knife in James' face. During her final confrontation with David, she inadvertently sets part of the resort on fire before overpowering the preacher and unleashing her fury by hitting him dozens of times with a knife. That means now the resort community lacks a leader, and since Joel took out most people from David’s inner circle, there might not be anyone around who knows about cannibalistic meat production. If the fire spreads, the vestiges of David’s gruesome secrets might be wholly burned down. However, the most likely is that people find the remains of dead bodies hanging from meat hooks. And when faced with the nasty price of their survival, the resort community will have to choose which path they want to follow.

The Last of Us Is All About Community

We cannot argue about David being a villain. He’s violent, is fine with cannibalism, and is probably a pedophile and definitely a rapist. David had to be killed for the sake of Ellie but also to free his people from his tyrannical rule. Even so, Episode 8 serves as a cautionary tale for Ellie and Joel because, in many aspects, they behave just like David does. In every episode, Ellie seems more comfortable with shooting first and asking questions later. As for Joel, he brutally tortures David’s men before killing them in cold blood, even after they give him the information he wants. While we can understand Joel’s actions as insurance so that no one will follow him later, it also shows how survival becomes the excuse for Joel and Ellie to lose their souls.

Episode 8 is about loyalty and how Joel and Ellie depend on each other to stay alive. At the same time, it’s a dark exploration of how only true communion with other people can ensure humanity survives the apocalypse. In Jackson, survivors choose to trust each other, and as a result, they have built a haven where people can do much more than just survive. In the resort community, on the other hand, fear and desperation put a violent man in charge, who ends up leading everyone to their doom.

After David’s death, the resort community will be forced to reflect on what they want to do with their lives. They might build something like Jackson if they learn to trust each other instead of following a divine leader. Nevertheless, if they still act on fear, convinced that survival justifies any kind of violence, they will only bring chaos and destruction to their lives. As much as it might pain us to admit it, Joel and Ellie could have the same choice ahead of them. If they keep treating any human as an enemy, Joel and Ellie will remain alone. And without people supporting them, they can’t build a fulfilling life.

New episodes of The Last of Us come to HBO and HBO Max every Sunday.

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