***SPOILER ALERT*** "The Last Of Us", Episode 8.

[Aristus]

Not even the Cordyceps zombies trigger me as much as the villains in this episode. They're everything I hate and fear: bearded, hypermasculine monsters with guns, a zealously religious sense of self-righteousness, and a smug ends-justify-the-means worldview.

They scare me because we don't need an end-of-the-world apocalypse for these monsters to emerge; they're here right now, trying to turn us into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

[oregonjen]

1. Bella Ramsey is such a fantastic actor. Emmy? Golden Globe?

The character David, made me sick to my stomach. The abuser, using religion and fear, is exactly what is happening today.
This episode had me processing all night long.

[Aristus]

3. They included a pretty clear message that it's the self-righteous religious fanatics,

and not drag queens, YA authors. etc, who are the "groomers".

David creeped me out so much. Far more so than the stern, monotone, Bible-quoting cannibal preacher in "Z-Nation". He was just a boilerplate evil cult leader. David was a true monster.

[oregonjen]

4. Yes, my daughter had read that in the game, David was clearly grooming, abusive and a rapist

but cis men didn’t pick up on that. So, in the show, they added a couple things to make it completely obvious just what kind of character he was.

[Mz Pip]

2. Creepier than the fungus

At least we hear the Cordyseps coming and they aren’t duplicitous in their motivations.