The Last of Us ‘When we are in Need’ review: Hearts of darkness examined in penultimate episode

The newest episode of The Last of Us, When we are in Need is another showcase for Bella Ramsey as Ellie.

When we are in Need is the 2nd consecutive Ellie-centric episode of The Last of Us. Ellie’s hunt for food finds her in the crosshairs of David. He’s the leader of a Christian cult. David recognizes a paramour of sorts. He agrees to provide medicine to Ellie in exchange for half of the deer she killed. Ellie agrees and what follows is a dark examination of the depravity of human beings.

Eventually, Ellie is captured. Once Joel receives penicillin, he starts healing and taking out David’s men. However, Ellie isn’t a damsel in distress who can afford to wait for Joel to save her. She has to use her own savvy to outwit David and James (Troy Baker), which reveals a disposition for violence for sure but also love, which is something David preaches about but doesn’t have the capacity to understand.

The performances and Craig Mazin‘s screenplay in When we are in Need are fantastic. Scott Shephard delivers another nuanced guest-starring performance as David. At first, he seems like a well-intentioned, if slightly controlling leader. As the episode goes along, the facade of a decent man fades into something truly monstrous. Mazin’s script also walks the line of making David likable up until a specific event unfolds, then his true character comes forth.

When we are in Need is another nearly flawless episode with the only blemish coming in the otherwise final confrontation between Ellie and David.

With only one episode remaining, The Last of Us is on course to be an even better first season than House of the Dragon, Andor and maybe even The Sandman.

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive deeper into When we are in Need. There may be some minor spoilers. The Last of US is streaming on HBO Max.

David’s cult in When we are in Need

The opening of When we are in Need shows the dire situation of David’s group. David is preaching from the book of Revelations and trying to help a young girl who recently lost her father. The girl’s father is the one who wounded Joel a couple of episodes ago.

The group is low on food rations. David and James decide to go on a hunt for deer. David feels his influence over James is waning. James maintains he still has faith in David, but the conditions are making things tough. For someone who is mainly known as a voice actor, Baker is really good at making the small interactions between James and David matter.

During the hunt, David meets Ellie for the first time. She gets the drop on them after shooting a deer. David agrees to trade medicine for food and lets Ellie go to James’s dismay.

Up to this point, David presents as a little screwy, but a decent guy. The town wants revenge for Joel killing the little girl’s father. After he returns to the village, David explains why he let her go. Tracking Ellie’s path will be easier in the morning. The little girl speaks up about wanting Joel to die. David responds by slapping her in the face.

From this point forward, David begins a progressive descent from bad guy to pure evil.

Ellie’s resilience

With medicine in hand, Ellie returns to Joel. Ellie figures out David’s group is onto her. In order to buy Joel time to heal, she tries to distract the group on horseback. James is able to dismount Ellie with a well-placed shot.

David orders James and his men to hunt down Joel. He takes Ellie back to the compound. As in their prior meeting, David starts off pretty genial towards Ellie. She doesn’t budge much. However, she becomes particularly aghast when she sees a human ear in the cell next to her, which confirms the group is eating humans.

David doesn’t deny Ellie’s accusations. He begins to unveil his dark aspirations. He sees a kindred spirit in Ellie. Her loyalty to Joel, disposition towards violence and resilience are all qualities David admires. David views everyone else in his flock as sheep with him being the shepherd. In order to provide for the village, he needs a partner (yes, in a sickly romantic sense as well). He wants Ellie to join him.

Ellie appears receptive but uses the close proximity to break David’s finger and to try to grab the keys to the cell away from David. She fails and David turns on a dime and says she’ll be cut to pieces. Ellie finally gives David her name, but only so he can tell the group about the little girl who broke her fingers.

Few actresses roar (quite literally at times) with intensity like Ramsey. Ellie’s intelligence in the face of terrible circumstances is a great hero moment for a character who could be seen as cargo.

Joel’s persistence

With Ellie in David’s custody, Joel finally starts to stir. Joel slowly begins taking out three of David’s men. The first enters the house Ellie and Joel were hiding out in. Joel stays out of sight and kills the man in what would ordinarily be the craziest death scene.

Joel kidnaps two other men. He tortures them for information. Then after revealing the correct information, Joel kills the men in a vicious fashion. This brutality of Joel has been mentioned before. However, When we are in Need is the first time seeing Joel at his most unforgiving.

As Joel makes his way to David’s compound, David and James return to Ellie’s cell. They drag her out of the cell and put her on a table. David grabs a cleaver. Before he can dice up Ellie, she screams she’s infected and shows her bite mark. The distractions give Ellie just enough time to embed the cleaver in James’s neck.

Ellie escapes and eventually gets the drop on David. She explodes with violence and stabs him repeatedly. In shock, she stumbles outside. Joel pats her on the shoulder from behind and Ellie embraces Joel. Without hesitation, Joel says “it’s ok baby girl” which is the term he used for his daughter. The episode ends with the pair stumbling off together.

Pedro Pascal uttering “baby girl” absolutely broke me. Ellie’s violent killing of David was also shocking and strangely cathartic. I’m a little confused about what happened to the rest of the group. Ellie starts a fire during the fight with David. Surely, somebody would have seen the flames or heard Ellie’s loud screams.

When we are in Need final thoughts

As good as Left Behind was last week, When we are in Need is the superior Ellie’s centric episode. The violence is gruesome, but the fall of humanity is somehow more sickening.

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