Ever since Bella Ramsey's casting on The Last of Us, there's been discourse about whether she's the right person to play Ellie.

Throughout The Last of Us Season 1, the star has embodied the character from the video games to perfection, but she amped that up on The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 8, which is by far the best episode of the series to date.

Ellie's tenacity throughout traumatic event after a traumatic event has solidified her as one of the most badass characters on TV in a very short time.

It's hard to imagine the emotional beats the series will scale next, but "When We Are In Need" was a perfect hour of TV from start to finish.

There's always that level of familiarity when watching an adaptation, but even with the episode largely sticking to the source material, it was a flawless transition from the game to live-action.

As a fan of both the games and the series, it's been surprising how much of the series has been canonical to the games, but do we really need to change much when it's this good?

Ellie has been through it all, and thanks to the events at the university, it was inevitable someone would come after her and Joel.

It was evident from the jump that David and his gang would be terrifying adversaries for Ellie and Joel.

David was chilling. He gave severe cult leader vibes as he gave speeches and tried to communicate with Ellie.

It's hard to tell whether David intended to harm Ellie from the get-go, but he sure as hell was surprised that someone was speaking back to him.

In David's community, he expects people to bend backward to help him, but Ellie has proven to be a firecracker who will take orders from no one.

David was adamant about his men keeping her alive, making you wonder what he had planned for her inside this community.

His men wanted justice, even though they went on the attack against Joel and Ellie at the university first.

Tracking Ellie back to the house where she was trying to keep Joel safe was a given. When there's snow, it's much easier to follow someone.

Ellie struggled to hide her trail because the sheer desperation drove her to save the man helping transport her to the Fireflies for what people will consider her bigger purpose.

I wish the horse survived because, damn, post-apocalyptic works of fiction like to hit viewers in the feels by hurting the animals.

Then again, that could have been explained away as this community wanting to feast on horse meat.

Ellie proved resourceful at every turn, but the events inside this community have forever changed her life, and she won't forget it soon.

Can you imagine the horror she must have felt when she realized they were cannibals? I mean, it's hard enough being in that environment with the infected, but throwing cannibalistic communities into the mix is just wild.

Then again, it's unsurprising that the show went in this direction. Resources are scarce, so they have to do something.

Ellie telling David and his little henchman (played by the original Joe!)  that she was infected was probably one of the most satisfying scenes on TV in recent memory.

Every time David thought he was in control of the situation, Ellie knocked him down a few pegs, and then some.

Ellie knew the only way out of this situation was to take both of these men by surprise, and her "I'm infected, assholes" rant was the perfect way to take these men by surprise and kill one of them.

One vs. one was far easier than two vs. one, but it's hard to imagine how Ellie can move from what happened when David overpowered her.

Ellie killing David was the only way to move on from this arc and allow the story to prepare for the last chapter, aka "The Hospital."

Ellie getting Joel medication and him subsequently coming around in time to wipe out these men and utilize his map tactic made for good TV.

Joel admitted his concern about Ellie's well-being to his brother on The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 6.

He knew he had to spring into action if he had any shot at saving Ellie's life, and damn, he did great.

Joel and Ellie are formidable when they work together, but it will be exciting to see how things play out now that we're headed into the final chapter.

You could see the relief on Ellie's face as she realized the person grabbing her was Joel, making you wonder whether she could proceed with the plan to join the Fireflies.

There are many questions as we head into The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9, but until then, I'll be wondering how this season finale will set up The Last of Us Season 2.

What did you think of this desperate battle for survival?

Do you think Joel and Ellie can part ways if they find the Fireflies?

What's your take on the series bringing back videogame stars in different roles?

Hit the comments.

The Last of Us continues Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.