Last of Us episode 8

The 8.1 million viewers who tuned into Episode 8, titled “When We Are In Need,” contributed to a 74% increase from the viewership of the series premiere, which ...

And alongside reaching another then-series high of 6.4, Episode 3 received major acclaim from critics and fans alike for the [guest performances of Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-last-of-us-episode-3-bill-frank-nick-offerman-murray-bartlett-1235505272/), jumpstarting conversations about awards potential for the actors and the show as a whole. It should be noted that when Episode 4 racked up its solid 7.4 million viewers, it premiered in competition with the Grammys. Those 4.7 million initial viewers scored the network its [second-most watched debut](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-last-of-us-premiere-ratings-hbo-1235491303/) in over a decade — only behind “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon.” The series then built on that launch with 5.7 million viewers of its next installment, [HBO’s largest ever increase](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-last-of-us-episode-2-ratings-viewers-1235499252/) between a launch and a second episode, leading to an [early Season 2 renewal](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/the-last-of-us-renewed-season-2-hbo-1235504485/). According to Warner Bros. [The Last of Us](https://variety.com/t/the-last-of-us/)” Season 1 reached an impressive 8.1 million viewers on Sunday night.

Joel and Ellie try to survive the bleak midwinter – then encounter David and his strange meat-eating club. What unbelievably horrifying viewing.

That verse David was reading from the Bible was from Revelation 21:1, concerning the New Jerusalem and the foundation of “a new heaven and a new Earth”. Where exactly they were heading to at the end of the episode was uncertain, but let’s assume Joel and Ellie were going to get as far from that town as they could and see out the winter with the rest of that penicillin for company. The most obvious change came at the end, when Ellie killed David: in the game, Joel arrives as she’s hacking away and he drags her off, whereas here she stopped of her own accord. So often used in fiction as a symbol of innocence, the rabbit vanished once it was startled, just as any scrap of innocence Ellie was clinging on to has now disappeared. And just as she has softened Joel and reawakened parts he thought were dead, she has absorbed some of his ruthlessness, and will learn that there are parts of her personality she has to close off if she wants to survive. It was a frenzied attack that matched the level of violence about to be inflicted on her, but there was more to this, too – all of Ellie’s angst and rage was coming out in each wave of the cleaver. Ellie escaped, after lying about being infected and killing James, and took on David in the burning saloon, inflicting a stab wound before being overpowered. David either knew who Ellie was all along or worked it out as they were talking, and realised that if he let her go, she would lead him and his men to Joel so they could get their justice. He broke off from his reading to console a sobbing girl and her mother – we later learned they are the family of the attacker Joel killed at the university. In the basement, we got out first glimpse of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). Back in the basement, Ellie administered antibiotics, and if you listened closely, you might have heard Alexander Fleming rolling in his grave. The way David spoke to Ellie later, expressing his admiration for cordyceps and mocking his followers for believing in the good lord, made me think the He refers to him, David, rather than Him, God.

Ahead of the season finale next week, Episode 8 has now delivered a 74% increase from the show's premiere in mid-January which drew an audience of 4.7 million ...

With the [season finale](https://collider.com/last-of-us-episode-9-trailer-season-finale/) airing this Sunday, we get to see how this journey ends. For the early episodes of its run-on air, The Last of Us consistently pulled off improving viewership numbers. It is no surprise that the show’s eighth episode has now delivered the series’ highest viewership so far this season with 8.1 million viewers on Sunday night.

What time does episode 8 of The Last of Us air? Is Joel still hurt? And who does Troy Baker play? Digital Trends has all the information about the hit HBO ...

The Last of Us is one of the best shows of 2023. [Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_last_of_us), The Last of Us sits at 96% on the Tomatometer, with an audience score of 90%. Is The Last of Us worth watching? [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15747176/?ref_=ttep_ep8), the episode stars Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, Bella Ramsey as Ellie Williams, Troy Baker (who voiced Joel in the two The Last of Us video games) as James, Scott Shepherd as David, and Nelson Leis as Josiah. When does episode 8 of The Last of Us release? The Last of Us is quickly becoming a huge hit for HBO, joining the recent success of series like House of the Dragon, Succession, and Winning Time. [Game of Thrones](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/game-of-thrones-jon-snow-best-episodes-hbo/), The Wire, and The Sopranos are also available to watch on the service. You can also get lost in the movie library with a great selection of films, ranging from blockbusters like [The Batman](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/the-batman-review/) to classic standout dramas like The Verdict. (Fans of the video game already know who they turn out to be, but I won’t spoil it for you here.) [The Last of Us](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/the-last-of-us-hbo-review/) has been one of the biggest hits of 2023 so far. [The Last of Us honors its original video game](https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/last-of-us-part-i-review-ps5/) source material and is about more than just bacteria-infested zombies. With [viewership increasing by the millions](https://www.ign.com/articles/the-last-of-us-on-hbo-is-so-far-outpacing-house-of-the-dragons-viewership) with each episode, the show has already achieved something truly rare in entertainment: it’s a video game adaptation that doesn’t suck.

Scott Shepherd's David is a suitably chilling adversary for Bella Ramsey, who finds yet more layers within Ellie in an hour of television that's hard to take ...

Despite the episode ending in a flurry of violence as David is dispatched and Baker is butchered (leaving us only a candlestick maker short of the set) much of this chapter is dedicated to the ever-winding tension that plays out between David and Ellie. The way the group silently eats in the cold, lifeless surroundings of the restaurant is in sharp contrast to the welcoming warmth that Joel and Ellie experienced in Jackson two episodes ago. We've heard whispers of Joel's questionable past throughout the series, but the way he dispatches his two hostages is the first time we see him fully step over that moral line and a crucial moment in us realising that he will do anything to keep Ellie safe. It’s a flash of brutal fury that we needed to see from Pascal’s Joel too, who on the whole has felt like a softer interpretation compared to Troy Baker’s rendition in the game. This is shown in the highly impactful final moments of the chapter when Joel holds her in a display that proves neither is ready to forfeit the love they’ve discovered for each other. They're Ellie's first human kills and a flurry of ferocity that comes when she thinks all is lost.

In one of the faster-paced episodes of the season with a 50-minute run time, we catch up with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) in Episode 8 of ...

Ramsey reveals in the epilogue of the episode that it's when David starts to talk about making Ellie into his "minion" and "little wife" that she sees him for what he truly is - a sexual predator. At that point, David's jig is up, and he realizes that she isn't going to be a victim of his manipulation. The intuitive teenager isn't about to be groomed for the perverse and deviant desires and false prophecies of a self-deified pedophile. When the group returns to exact revenge on Joel for their fallen comrade, Ellie is able to elude them for quite a while and even manages to kill some of them in the game and Joel stabs his attacker in the back of the neck instead of strangling him. He wants to get the deer she shot (Ellie uses a bow and arrow in the game) to placate his followers, but there is something far more nefarious in his dealings with Ellie. His bible study meeting and discussion with one of his "pets" and James are not in the game. And when Joel asks for verification of the location of the group at the Silver Lake Resort and then kills them both, it is almost verbatim from the game. Ellie isn't buying his line of horse manure and breaks David's finger as she pretends to be reaching for his hand. Everything about David seems to be genuine in his dealings with her, and he comes across as earnest-almost like a father. And though the Naughty Dog survival horror game never explicitly refers to David's group as a cult, it's pretty clear that the group of refugees from the Pittsburgh QZ are unusually loyal to a cause and David himself and are willing to do anything to ensure their next meal. We're not here to go over semantics and what makes a cult an actual cult, but they appear to be strictly adhering to the teachings of the man who is also providing them with food, albeit an offering an assortment of different cuts of human beings. Plus, [Jeffrey Pierce](https://collider.com/last-of-us-hbo-jeffrey-pierce-kathleen-perry-relationship-comments/), the motion-captured actor of Tommy (Diego Luna) from the game, also makes an appearance.