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Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 8. If you've yet to tune in and don't want to know any details, then turn back now.
The Last of Us episode 8 is arguably the HBO show's darkest yet, as it sees Ellie come up against cannibal cult leader David – and Joel viciously fight off his loyal henchmen, too. Like it has done so with several supporting characters so far, the adaptation expands on David from the game. It turns out, though, that writer Craig Mazin used discarded dialogue from the game to inform the villain's story on screen.
After the most recent installment, titled 'When We Are in Need', aired on Sunday (March 6), a Reddit user known as Anne-Marie, took to the platform to remind others that they'd once stumbled across 35,000 deleted sound files from the first game six years ago.
Upon listening to them, they discovered "David's character in the game originally had a lot more of the Christian cult-y lean that we just saw in the show."
They added: "I thought was a cool detail for them to expand on. No specific unused lines were given to the show that I recall, but David's preacher is the third concept to be seemingly cut from the game but expanded in the show. The first two are the existence of tendrils ('Tendrils' in the playlist) and confirmation of Joel's construction/contracting background ('Bulldozer')."
According to the original post, most of the other snippets were minor, from Joel complaining about his flashlight and Tess calling him "Tex" to QZ announcements.
The Last of Us concludes on Sunday, March 12 on HBO and HBO Max in the US, and Sky Atlantic and NOW the following day in the UK. Make sure you're up to date with our The Last of Us release schedule or our breakdown of how many episodes are in The Last of Us.
For more from the series, check out our guide to the major Last of Us episode 8 changes from the games and a terrifying look at the Cordyceps fungus.
