When We Are in Need
Ellie faces the preacher David while Joel lies wounded.
"When We Are in Need" is the eighth episode of the first season of HBO's The Last of Us, written by Craig Mazin and directed by Ali Abbasi. It aired on March 5, 2023.
Quick Facts
- Series
- The Last of Us
- Season
- 1
- Episode
- 8
- Director
- Ali Abbasi
- Writer
- Craig Mazin
- Air date
- 5 March 2023
Lore & Background
With Joel's wound infected, Ellie goes hunting and meets David, a preacher who leads a group of survivors, and his follower James. She trades half a deer for penicillin and saves Joel, but David's men come for Joel because he killed one of their group. Ellie draws them away and is captured. In David's camp she learns the group has been eating its dead, and David tries to win her over; she fights back. Joel, recovered, kills and tortures several of David's men to find her.
The episode was shot in Alberta in February 2022. Troy Baker, who played Joel in the games, guest starred as James. It drew 8.1 million viewers on its first day, and Bella Ramsey submitted it for their Emmy nomination.
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