What We Want: Evil Humans!
Possibly the scariest scene in all of the The Last of Us comes during the winter time as Ellie befriends a group of bandits. They’re eager to usher her under their wing and take care of her. But it turns out they’re cannibals, and Ellie’s torso is destined for the sake. The chapter culminates in a face-off against the slimeball leader, David (voiced by none other than Nolan North, AKA Nathan Drake) amidst the burning remains of a restaurant going up in flames.
The Last of Us has always been good at demonstrating how civility is a social construct, and underneath the platitudes, we’re capable of true horrors. The manipulative David is a brilliant portent that stands for humanity at its most depraved, and I’m looking forward to more encounters with formally good people who have survived, and now view a world without rules as a vehicle for hedonism.
Zombies and clickers are one thing. But a devil masquerading beneath the quiet assurances of a “good man”? That’s true evil.