Welcome to Savage Starlight, the officially unofficial podcast for the last of us on HBO. I'm Jim. I'm Aaron and today we're talking season one episode eight titled when we are in need.

Hey, Ron, you know what I'm in need of.

No, I will take that as a no. I was out. Yeah, I was like, I you're asking a rhetorical question. I'm wondering what is your background?

What it's a steakhouse. I mean, it's a steakhouse. Yeah.

That's a much fancier steakhouse than the one we visited tonight. Um, I mean, this is like argued. So like this is arguably the apex of the the last of this experience. And it's, I think it's, um, it's a strong brew.

And I'm really curious to see what the the fan base at large makes out of it because it's this is just some really bleak harrowing shit, man.

And if anything, I felt like this episode felt like the director's cut of the video game experience, like it's just as good, but it had even more, like I think everything that we got to know about David's cult, just enhanced the experience.

And all the fewer alley deaths though, than when I played. It's true. Definitely fewer of the true. I mean, so I've like, I am, I find myself, I get frightened when I'm stalked by scary things in a video game, you know, when I'm like a lonely space technician and there's a xenomorph up my ass or, you know, if I'm a paranormal investigator in Phasmophobia and there's a fucking poltergeist about to wrap his bony fingers around my throat.

I really get gripped up. I don't know that I've ever been stalked by more menacing monster than David, like that whole thing where he's, he's taunting and chasing you with that cleaver in the steakhouse is fucking terrifying. And this, I mean, Bella, it's like the thing is like she is so fucking fierce and so ferocious, but she's also a 14 year old girl. And like she sells that like terror, but also she's never going to stop trying to live.

Yeah, her attitude doesn't match her physical presence, which I love. I it's like you can see there's a beast within her, but it's not represented by something that can actually. Yeah, you know, it's physically only so powerful.

And the catharsis that I felt like when Joel ran into her was like such a mince like I can't live a so caught up in the episode. And then it's like, then it was finally over, you know,

there weren't going to be more towns people coming out. It's like, it's just like such, such relief.

Yeah, I was I was surprised that they didn't do a couple of things. I really thought they would do more like the blinding the blind at snow and stuff like that. They kind of did the best with the video game because that's always really atmospheric. I remember that. And then it was at the season one of Fargo and they pulled that off.

No, I like it. It leaves you more with Ellie because in the game, this is like a two-part sequence, I guess. Yes, in the show, it feels more like one. And it's giving you just enough of Joel to let you know he's on his way.

And I think that's important from a plot perspective that they can just meet up here at the end, but I love that like Ellie is kind of on her own this entire episode.

And it's not Joel. Joel isn't coming in saver, but right Joel, but Joel herself. And then yeah, and then Joel comes back up with her. And she saved him. I mean, it's it's.

Yeah, it's really powerful. And man, that that end when they come back together and the whole episode, you know, people are talking about, oh, I, your father, this your father, that.

And then when he calls a baby girl at the end, it's just like, well, I guess Ellie found her father.

Yeah, it's, oh, there's just so many, just really strong elements this episode. But I got to say, it worked on every level. As I was watching, I was just thinking like, you know, are people going to be saying this about or people going to be saying that about it?

Are people going to be, is there going to be a whole referendum on, oh, is Joel a bad guy? Because man, look at what he's capable of.

And I'm very interested to see what people say and think about this stuff, you know, because.

It's certainly there's like some of the, I mean, some of that stuff is trophy. It's like when you see a person behave like that, like Jack Bauer, you know, it's like that's.

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