Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 6 and the original game.The Last of Us episode 6's ending introduced some important characters for the show's future through the group who attack Joel and Ellie. Much of The Last of Us episode 6 surrounded Joel reuniting with his brother Tommy after he and Ellie found Tommy's community of Jackson in Wyoming. Through this, the episode explored Joel and Ellie's relationship, as well as elements of Joel and Tommy's difficult past.
The final sequence of The Last of Us episode 6, however, saw Joel and Ellie traveling to the University of Eastern Colorado. Tommy told Joel that the university is where the Fireflies have a base, with Joel and Ellie heading there to find the group and have them extract a cure from Ellie's immunity in The Last of Us. Although, upon reaching the university, Joel and Ellie find it deserted by the Fireflies, with a mysterious, aggressive group of men finding the duo and attacking them.
A Group Of Cannibals Attacked Joel & Ellie In The Last Of Us
Warning! The following sections contain spoilers for the original The Last of Us game.These men are a dangerous group of cannibals who have big repercussions on the story of The Last of Us, sure to be highlighted in episode 7. While The Last of Us episode 6 does not divulge this information, the story of the original The Last of Us game makes it clear who these men are. In the game, Joel and Ellie are attacked by a group of men at the university like in The Last of Us episode 6. The attack also results in Joel being injured, thought slightly differently with the show showing Joel getting stabbed as opposed to falling from a height like in The Last of Us game.
After Joel is injured, Ellie takes him to safety and begins looking for a way to heal him. This brings Ellie into contact with members of the same group that attacked them at the university unbeknownst to Ellie at first. It seems as though HBO's The Last of Us will leave this sequence relatively unchanged, with episode 6's ending introducing the group as the beginning of the plot point that will take the story into The Last of Us episode 7.
Who Leads The Cannibal Group & Why They're Important In TLOU
More important than the henchmen who attacked Joel and Ellie though, is their leader David who is vital to The Last of Us' overall story. David is one of the two men Ellie runs into in the game, and offers medicine to save Joel in exchange for a deer Ellie caught while hunting. Much like Sam and Henry in The Last of Us episode 5, David is vital to the character development of both Joel and Ellie.
David tries to induct Ellie into their group, after revealing themselves as cannibals. When Ellie refuses, David captures her and plans to kill and eat her with the rest of his community. This causes Joel to attempt to save her yet when he finds Ellie she has already killed David. Distraught and traumatized by David's actions, Ellie breaks down in Joel's arms in the first true moment in which Joel accepts Ellie as his surrogate daughter. This is one of the most important scenes in The Last of Us, and all stems from David who the group of cannibals in episode 6 paves the way for.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.