This is the beginning of the Bluff City Law Barry Sloane series. :)
our boy is a lawyer in Tennessee though he is from Massachusetts. (His accent coach is insane tbh) he is in pretty much every episode so there are a LOT of scenes im going to be sharing. This is kinda like a day in the life of civil case lawyers, he just happens to be “gifted” a 25 year old murder trial case from the lead characters dead mother. You will see a lot of her in clips too. Because he is in every episode and he has his own storyline you will be able to follow along with what’s going on SO be aware of spoilers. I will probably be adding in context to clips so you’re not totally lost. Enjoyyyy
also if the man looks familiar it’s because he’s David the cult leader from the last of us….yeah I know
From the beginning, it's clear that David sees himself as God. He talks of people losing faith after the ceremony, not in religion but in himself.
Ellie and Joel are as much in need as David and his following. She rations the remainder of their food supply between them before venturing out on her own to hunt. Previously, the chance to use Joel's gun would have been thrilling to her, but now it's a tool. A means to an end.
She exhales before she pulls the trigger, just like Joel taught her too. She can't believe that she's been successful.
Ellie is smart enough to pretend she is also from a larger group, although it's difficult to imagine such a situation where they would send a young girl out to hunt for them. She gives her vulnerability away, however, by jumping to demand medicine in exchange for the deer.
David explains that he has people who relies on him, but that it wasn't his choice to become their leader. He sees himself as a provider, but only so long as people obey him and treat his word as gospel. He provides for his people in a similar way to how FEDRA ruled the QZs, he doesn't do it because it's what he was made to do, he does it because he craves the power and control it gives him.
Interestingly, David uses the word "flock" the describe his followers. He is their shepherd. Once again the imagery of vulnerable animals is used, but it is in contrast to how Joel described wanting to be a sheep rancher.
As soon as Ellie indulges David, lets him prove to her how everything happens for a reason, that's when he reveals his cards. He knows who Ellie is, and that she was traveling with Joel, the man who murdered one of his followers. He makes it clear to her that he has the upper hand, warning her of James's presence, showing her some mercy in an attempt to scare her into submitting to him.
The way Joel leans his head against Ellie's even though he is delirious, showing that he's subconsciously relying on her as much as he is physically.
David happily performs his role of provider, dragging the dead dear into the dining hall as a visual to everyone in order to strengthen their faith in him. It is at this point that the audience realises that the "venison" from the kitchen moments earlier couldn't possibly have been the dear that he has just brought back and that the meat everyone is feasting on is probably human.
David rules through fear, with an iron fist. He wants his flock to see him as a father figure, both religiously and paternally. He manufactures this for himself by creating his own cult, something that Joel never had to do because he just is a father.
Not the horsey 🥺
David purposefully tells Ellie that the others want to kill her but he's the one who is fighting to keep them from doing so. He reiterates it when she doesn't respond because he doesn't get the submission that he craves. He further tries to play on Ellie's fears of being alone in this world, tries to reinforce that it's impossible for her to survive on her own. He wants her to feel like she's incapable of that in order for her to devote herself to his will.
Joel uses the same tactic with the map that he used with the older couple previously. But now that Ellie is in danger, and he is without her, he uses his brute force to the maximum.
David tries to appeal to Ellie by telling her she's a leader, something that the FEDRA soldier told her. He places himself and her on the same level, flatters her by saying that he needs an equal. It's clear that David took the outbreak as an opportunity to fulfil his desires of complete control, and he believes that Ellie is so disenfranchised with being downtrodden that she also craves the same things he does. He compares himself to cordyceps, says that together he and Ellie could grow and spread out as a service to their people. But Ellie knows that cordyceps aren't human, and she knows that David is inhuman.
She bides her time, waits for David to believe that he is the one in control, before revealing that she has the upper hand by using his trust to break his finger.
Even though she has hurt him and defied him, David still won't be the one to take responsibility for her demise. He warns her that he's going to tell the others, let them satisfy their blood lust so that he doesn't have to do the dirty work.
David can't stand the fact that Ellie is immune, hates that she is the one who is special. He has had to work hard to get the level of misplaced respect that he has, had to shout about how good he is in orders for others to listen.
The fear Joel must've felt, seeing Ellie covered in blood, unable to do anything but hold her. She becomes his baby girl in that instant, and there is no turning back for the pair of them.
