The Last of Us, “When We Are In Need”, Review!

The Last of Us had us wondering about the fate of Joel and now we have to worry about Ellie! Re:cap - “Left Behind”, Ellie was trying to help Joel who was stabbed in his stomach, she flashes back to her time at FEDRA school. There is a reunion with her friend, Riley , who takes her to an abandoned mall. They are safe from FEDRA and Riley shows Ellie the Four Wonders of the Mall. The first is a merry-go-round, the next is Raja’s Arcade, duplicated from the video game. In a corner of the mall, a cordyceps corpse has wakened while they play Mortal Kombat II. They finish their last game, Ellie does a Fatality move, and they scream, but there is a closeness to their friendship. Ellie is ready to go back, but Riley promises her a gift. They head through a food court to Macho Nacho, at the back room, Riley gives Ellie No Pun Intended Vol. 2 so we see the connection. Ellie finds on a shelf, pipes used for explosives, she realizes Riley was posted at the mall. She starts to leave and Riley tries to catch up to her, shouting that she is being posted to the Atlanta QZ, Marlene had made this Riley’s last time in Boston. Riley says she wanted to say goodbye and Ellie leaves. 

Ellie re-enters the dark mall and hears screams, she runs over to a store, and a Halloween ghost prop pops up. This was Riley’s fourth wonder and Ellie asks for her book. Riley brings up that she remembers her family and feels that way with the Fireflies. A quiet moment between friends. Riley sneaks under a counter and tosses her a werewolf head. While she takes out her Walkman. Riley plays “I Got You Babe” (1968) sung by Etta James with a clown mask. She dances on top of a counter and brings up Ellie.  They dance together giggling. I was always checking the edge of the frame, but nope, it’s just fun. Ellie takes off her mask, Riley takes off her mask, and Ellie tells Riley not to go. Then, they kiss, Ellie tries to apologize, but then they both smile. Next, they hear a trash can kicked over, yup, it can’t last.  Riley takes out her gun, shoots the Infected, and they start to run. The Infected tackles Riley knocking her out and the gun tumbles. The Infected knocks Ellie back and she stabs it to free herself. Riley hits it with a bat and the Infected attacks her! Ellie finishes the Infected with her switchblade to its head. She sees the bite on her wrist and tries to wipe away the blood, this is the bite! Riley holds up her hand with a bite mark by her thumb! 

We move then to a close-up of Joel’s ragged breath. Ellie runs to check cabinets. Back at the mall, she rages smashing cabinets with the bat. Then, she sits next to Riley, quiet and crying. Riley has they have two options, the easy way, holding her gun, or “we just keep going.” She adds, “But we don’t quit.” They hold each other until the end. This is such a showcase for Bella Ramsey! Ellie pulls out a kitchen drawer and finds a needle and thread! She holds Joel’s hand, now Ellie is the protector, then she begins to painfully sew Joel’s bloody wound closed! “When We Are In Need” picks up at an unfamiliar, snowy town of Silver Lake nestled under snowy hills. We hear a voice, this is the town’s leader, David read Revelation 21 at Todd’s Steakhouse. The rest of the community is there. There is a sheet with “When We Are In Need He Shall Provide” written on it. A girl, Hannah (Sonia Maria Chirila), is crying. David asks Hannah if she can finish the passage, he continues, and then she is questioned about its meaning. He is about to walk away when Hannah asks when they can bury him, meaning her father, Alec. David says they can’t dig now so he will be buried in the spring. A strange community and I just didn’t trust that things were normal there considering the show. 

                                                THE LAST OF US - - “When We Are In Need” - - SCOTT SHEPHERD - - Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO. 

David says goodbyes to the townspeople and then asks about food supplies with James who is played by Troy Baker, the voice of Joel in the games! James says they have about a week. He brings up that a deer was found by Josiah and Martin. James admits he still believes, David was just testing his loyalty, and then has James get the guns for the hunt. At the house, Ellie taps water on Joel’s lips, then she eats some tiny squares of rations before leaving one for Joel. She leaves with the rifle. The game shifts control to Ellie at this point! Ellie sees a rabbit, aims, but the rabbit scurries away with Ellie landing on her face in the snow! She continues walking and then spots a deer. Immediately, it hit that this is the deer that James and David will be hunting! Ellie takes cover by a fallen tree, we see the deer’s breath, then Ellie before she shoots! The deer staggers and then runs away! Ellie starts to run after it. The trail of blood in the snow leads to the deer, David and James discuss the deer, James says the hunter is nearby. Ellie warns them to drop their rifles! Ellie asks them to turn to her and says she will shoot including James whom she calls “buddy boy”!  

David introduces themselves and explains they are from a group. Ellie says she is from a group and David says they can trade for the deer she can’t carry with her rifle. Ellie asks if they have medicine for infections. She wants buddy boy to get the medicine. David tells James to get two bottles of penicillin and a syringe. Ellie has David back up so she can unload the bullets from the rifles. David says it is four miles to the village so he offers to carry the deer to a nearby lodge. A fire is going and David wants to know her name. Ellie is not up for being friendly and David continues that he leads a group. She asks if they are part of a “weird cult thing.” David reluctantly acknowledges her and says that he is a preacher and formerly a teacher. He says he left with others from the fall of Pittsburgh. David says “everything happens for a reason” and since the winter has been harsh, he sent four people to a town. One was killed, Alec, Hannah’s father, by a “crazy man” with a girl. Alec is the man who attacked Joel at the university in “Kin.” David smiles and tells James to lower his gun. He tells James to throw the medicine to Ellie. The ulterior motive of David seems creepy. She takes it and runs back to Joel. Ellie fills the syringe with penicillin, but doesn’t know where to inject it! 

THE LAST OF US  --  “When We Are In Need” -- TROY BAKER -- Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO

She injects it directly into the wound, really it should be cleaned beforehand, and then pulls back his jacket. Ellie should also redress the wound with fresh cloth, still she doesn’t know how to properly care for Joel. She rests next to him to sleep. I’m thinking she should stand guard. At the Silver Lake kitchen, a man brings in a tub of meat which he says is venison. The stew is served to everyone when James and David bring in the deer which should be the venison! No spoilers here unless you already realized or seen the show, but the situation reminds me of the post-apocalyptic comic book limited series, Just a Pilgrim (2001-2002) by Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra, recommended for adults! David admits that a rumor could have reached the townspeople that they found a girl connected to the murder of Alec. He says the next morning, they will go find him. Hannah says that both them should be killed. David walks over, takes off his glove, and slaps her to the floor! He seemed like a calm man, but now we know he is brutal, not just to Hannah, he threatened James to follow his orders! You do have to watch out for the quiet ones because you don’t know when they will turn violent. 

David pulls her up and tells her that she has a father and wants her respect, he doesn’t tolerate disobedience like FEDRA. He begins to pray before eating his meal and the others join in before eating. Morning at the house, Ellie checks in on Joel, and gives him another injection. She opens the garage door to pile snow in a bucket for the horse. Next, she sees a murder of crows take flight. Ellie sneaks over to see six hunters following her trail. David is one of them along with James who is told to bring back the girl. James questions David’s decision, the leader turns to him, and James lowers his head in compliance. Ellie tries to waken Joel and gives him a knife to protect himself she leads the hunters away. She rides the horse as the hunters approach. Ellie rides up to them and fires her gun. They take cover, James runs to get into position, and shoots the horse sending Ellie flying into the snow! The actor who played Joel taking out Ellie! The hunters surround Ellie and one tells James to shoot her, but they stopped by David’s rifle shot! David carries the unconscious Ellie, orders two others to drag the horse back, and the others to take their revenge! It seems like Joel is almost missing from this episode. Another stunning episode of The Last of Us that is a turning point for Ellie! 

Four Fungi out of Five! 

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