The Last Of Us episode 8 is highest-rated and most-viewed yet

Oh my, oh my. ‘When We Are In Need’ was certainly an emotional rollercoaster. It may have been an hour free of infected, but that does not mean it was a light-hearted romp. By the time Joel called Ellie his baby girl, I breathed a sigh of relief. David has always been a creepy character but this version of The Last of Us’ perverse cannibal cult leader is undeniably the most unsettling to date.

Fans are in agreement that Bella Ramsey deserves an Emmy for their stunning performance. Between this and their reaction to the bite during last week’s ‘Left Behind’ episode, Bella sure knows how to rip my heart out. The episode also included one of Joel’s most iconic scenes. If I say, “I believe him,” I bet you know what I’m talking about. Pedro Pascal nailed the interrogation just as we suspected he would. Episode eight also managed to set several new records for The Last of Us as well becoming the highest-rated and most-viewed instalment to date.

There’s just one episode left to go. Take a look at the promo for the season finale, ‘Look for the Light’ below.

In a press release, Warner Bros. announced that episode eight drew in 8.1 million viewers in the US on Sunday night - a new high for the series. This is a whopping 74% up on the series premiere’s viewing figures. This made The Last of Us the top title on HBO Max for an eighth consecutive week, plus the average audience for the series’ first five episodes is now approaching 30 million viewers across all platforms.

As always, these are only the US viewing figures so when you consider how popular The Last of Us has proved to be across the globe, it’s clear to see how wildly successful the show is. Over on IMDb, episode eight is the joint highest-rated alongside episode five. Both instalments received a user score of 9.5.

There’s now just one episode left to go. ‘Look for the Light’ will draw season one to a close in what I’m sure will be an explosive finale. The good news is we know that a second season is on the way so it’s only a temporary goodbye.