“The Last of Us” reminds us that people are the real monsters in a zombie apocalypse

As “The Walking Dead” and its offspring have demonstrated time and time again, people – left to their own devices in a lawless society – become the real monsters during a zombie apocalypse, a powerful argument made in the latest episode of “The Last of Us.” , which shows how tough, brave and resourceful teenager Ellie can be.

With Joel (Pedro Pascal) still ill, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) found David (Scott Shepherd), the leader of a starving community that he presides over as her spiritual guide at a most basic level.

“It’s hard to trust strangers, I know,” said David when he met Ellie, assuring her, “I’m a decent man.”

However, despite sounding pleasant and sounding completely reasonable at first, David was exposed as a different kind of monster, resorting to cannibalism to feed his struggling flock and, attempting to sexually assault teenage Ellie, who, thanks to her courage, saw her as a kindred spirit.

In one of the most gruesome images the series has produced, first Ellie and then Joel witness the remains of what David was using for food, with the latter discovering a gruesome cupboard where the bodies were being stored.

For her part, Ellie struggled after trading a deer for antibiotics to help Joel, who recovered enough to torture and kill several of David’s men to find her. She also brilliantly leveraged her immunity to the virus as a means of buying time when David was about to kill her, before cathartically saving herself with a visceral burst of violence.

Almost certainly by chance, the series’ odd-numbered episodes were generally more memorable than the even-numbered ones, a pattern that persisted here. These last few chapters were notable for the gradual evolution of the Joel-Ellie relationship, underscored when he finally found her in the final hour, telling the emotionally drained young woman, “It’s okay, little girl,” with a tenderness that stood out and gave relief to her. the brutality on display otherwise.

Already a huge success for HBO in terms of ratings and media buzz, the series has one more episode to essentially cement its credentials in terms of another priority associated with prestige TV: Being remembered when the Emmy awards season kicks off on a high note. speed in the spring of the United States.

A rich roster of guest stars aside, Pascal and Ramsey may not have fully sealed that deal, given the historical hurdles faced by this genre on that front; yet, with each of these latest developments, they continue to build a pretty convincing relationship.