David

"Everything happens for a reason."

- David's beliefs

David was the main antagonist of the winter chapter in The Last of Us, appearing as the leader of a group of cannibalistic survivors. He was voiced and mo-capped by Nolan North.

Background and early life
Nothing is known about David's life prior to the cordyceps brain infection outbreak.

Events of The Last of Us
Ellie first encountered David when she was hunting a deer during the winter of 2033. She was immediately cautious around him and his friend James. David offered to exchange supplies for a share of the meat from the deer that Ellie had tracked and killed. Ellie demanded antibiotics in return, threatening them with her bow if they tried anything. James left to get antibiotics at the group's settlement, and reluctantly left David alone with Ellie. David and Ellie then took refuge in a barn from the cold weather. David asked Ellie's name, but she, being cautious, didn't give it to him. Infected soon attack their shelter. . David helped Ellie fight them off, complimenting her skill with a rifle. As they worked their way through the nearby buildings, fighting off several waves of Infected, Ellie's attitude towards him softened slightly.

After completely clearing out the buildings, he and Ellie return to their original refuge. He discussed the philosophy that everything happens for a reason, to which Ellie disagrees. David decided to prove his theory by revealing that it was in fact his men who attacked Joel and Ellie at the university. A returning James overheard the conversation and held Ellie at gunpoint, but David demanded Ellie be given the medicine and set loose, and James reluctantly complied.



David, having let Ellie leave, had his men to track her down. His men mentioned that they are under strict orders from David to keep her alive, but these orders were ignored when they found out from James that Joel slaughtered half the raiders at the university. Ellie proceeded to run away from David's group and they began tracking her. While trying to flee a building, David grabbed her from behind and put her into a sleeper hold until she lost consciousness.



When Ellie regained consciousness in her holding cell, she witnessed James chopping up a corpse on a table, and discovered that David and his group were cannibals. Ellie was visibly disgusted and hostile toward David. They argued and Ellie reluctantly ate the food that David gave her, claiming that it was just deer, nothing more. David pleaded to Ellie that he had her best interests in mind, and offered her a place in his group. He then affectionately touched Ellie's hand. Now realizing his intentions, she tried to take advantage of them and played along by placing her other hand on his. Seizing her chance, she broke David's finger, and attempted to grab his keys, but David slammed her against the cell bars and threatened her life.

The next day, David and James arrived and pinned Ellie down onto the table attempting to slaughter her for food. In the struggle, Ellie bit David's hand. Just before David struck her, Ellie exclaimed she was infected and stated that David was infected too because she bit him before she was thrown onto the table. David was initially skeptical, but Ellie insisted that he should roll up her right sleeve to show her bite wound. Upon finding out she was telling the truth, James became frightened and disgusted but David claimed it must not be real because she would have turned sooner. James weakened his grip on Ellie's left hand and David began to observe his bite from Ellie. Ellie took this chance to grab a butcher knife with her left hand and thrust it towards James' throat, killing him. James' death enraged David, where he retaliated by firing at Ellie with his revolver, missing every shot. Ellie escaped from the room with a switchblade, while David grew increasingly frustrated and proceeded to hunt her down again, asking her where she was going and boasting "This is my town" in a demented tone.

David eventually found Ellie in a decayed restaurant, struggling with her as she attempted to escape from his people out the back door and commenting that she was easy to track. He knock her down, taking her revolver, and held her at gunpoint, asking her how she managed to escape alive. He was momentarily distracted as the building started to catch fire, because a lantern shattering during their struggle. As the restaurant was slowly engulfed in flames, he locked the exit and taunted Ellie, telling her that she had nowhere to go and would need to take the keys from him if she wanted to leave. David stalked her throughout the restaurant, all the while mocking her and expressing his disappointment that she did not accept his offer to join the group. Ellie simply expressed more revulsion towards David, and his insanity as she hid behind the dining booths and attempted to take the keys from him by sneaking up on him and stabbing him.

After Ellie stabbed David from behind once with her switchblade, he threw her off and attempted to shoot her with his revolver, missing as she took cover. He then drew a machete from a back sheath and continues to stalk her, attempting to shoot or slash her to death. He made use of the broken plates on the floor throughout the building to find her if she stepped on them. She managed to elude David and stabbed him twice more, causing him to panic and bash her into a table behind him before grabbing her hair and throwing her to the floor. He and Ellie then blacked out beside each other.



When they regain consciousness, David recovered first. He ridiculed a weakened Ellie as she crawled towards his machete, saying that she could give up. David hit Ellie again, pinned her down and grabbed her firmly by the throat and nearly strangled her to death. However, Ellie managed to reach the machete and slashed his arm. Gaining an advantage, Ellie proceeded to violently hack at David's head multiple times, until Joel arrived and pulled her away from his corpse, consoling her.

David's actions affected Ellie long after his death, as she became distant and quiet, yet more determined than ever to reach the Fireflies, claiming that what she has done and been through "can't be for nothing."

Ellie
Ellie's relationship with David was traumatizing for her. It was also rife with many ironies, for instance when David allowed Ellie to leave with the penicillin, she used it to heal Joel, who later helped Ellie kill most of David's group. Ellie also called him an "animal" despite eating the food he offered much like one in the cell. David even tried to keep Ellie alive, even though she later killed him with his own machete that he tried to kill her with. David often talked to Ellie in a patronizing tone and treated Ellie like a child, namely when they first met, David offered to exchange supplies for a share of the meat from the deer that Ellie had tracked and killed, saying that his group needed the meat because they had many women and children to feed. He emphasized the phrase "Women and children" several times in the hopes that Ellie, being young, would naturally feel sympathy. David took advantage of her being a child by making her believe she was in control when confronting him and James, complying with Ellie's demands despite having an idea of who she is. When the Infected attacked, he revealed his true colors by saving her with a hidden revolver, asserting she never had control at all; he was just sizing her up.

Similar to Joel, he viewed himself as Ellie's protector, saving her from a Clicker and captured her personally to "keep her alive". He even offered Ellie a place in his group, saying he could protect her and how he viewed her as "special". However, he was much more manipulative with her than Joel was. When Ellie reacted with rage and disgust, he tried to calm her down as though she were an irate irrational youth. He dismissed Ellie's disdain for him and touched Ellie's hand only for her to break his finger and attempt to steal his keys, causing David to lose faith towards Ellie; he no longer desired to have her join the community. Despite having once protected Ellie from Infected, David was now willing to kill Ellie due to her stubborn nature.

As Ellie killed more and more of his men, (including his second in command, James), David grew more fixated on her and made several attempts to kill her. He did show some guilt when he decided to try to kill Ellie. He told her he was sorry about Callus's death, (caused by his men when they shot him in an attempt to capture Ellie), although he taunted her that they would eat him, and that if she gave up, he promised he would make her death as quick and painless as possible.

However, David met his demise when he was violently hacked to death with his own machete by Ellie. Considering his violent death, his actions left a mark on Ellie, making her distant and quiet towards Joel yet more determined to reach the Fireflies in the following chapter.

James
James was implied to be David's right-hand man and was a cannibal like the rest of the group. David personally viewed the man as his friend. Unlike David, James was not seemingly as kind-hearted and does not always agree with David's decisions. Knowing that a group of David's men were killed in the University by a man and a little girl, he overheard David's conversation with Ellie about the incident and was reluctant to let Ellie leave, but complied none the less; one of the few cannibals to do so.

When James noticed Ellie waking up, he informed David straight away, having helped him secure a new "pet." James appeared to work for David at times, butchering a human corpse for him and the group. He also assisted him in their attempt to butcher Ellie, demonstrating David relied on him on several occasions to help. He even went out hunting with David, displaying a gesture of protection when Ellie threatened him.

When Ellie killed James though, David indicated sadness for his death, saying that James was just trying to do his job, and Ellie shouldn't have killed him.

Personality and traits
David did not resort to violence if he could help it. At first, he displayed concern over Ellie and did his best to help her. It is implied he cared for the people in his group and their well-being, as early on he personally hunted for food with his partner James instead of having someone else do it. He was also charismatic, leading his group and controlled people like James and Ellie without the need to be aggressive or hostile towards them; he asked and they complied. He also supported those around him, complimenting their survival capabilities, notably Ellie.

His true colors were revealed, however, when he admitted his group were the ones that Ellie and Joel fought at the University. Later, David revealed that he and his men had resorted to cannibalism, treating humans outside their group as food rather than people. He also exercised a belief in fate, asserting "everything happens for a reason", hinting he believed his encounter with Ellie felt like destiny to him.

It is implied he had disturbing intentions for Ellie, supported by him touching Ellie's hand and calling her "special". A cannibal Joel tortured even called Ellie "David's newest pet" suggesting he captured and manipulated other children beforehand.

When David tried to murder Ellie, he paced around in a hurried, slightly jerking manner and he sounded almost insane as he stalked around looking for her.

Skills and abilities
David demonstrated leadership qualities by how he was voted leader of his town and has influence on his men. However, he didn't have full control over them, as evidenced when some questioned his leadership, a small group even disobeyed his order to keep Ellie alive. However, James followed him, having heeded his command to not kill Ellie despite what she had done to his friends.

David was also shown to be an excellent combatant in how he killed Runners and Clickers with just his revolver and fists; he even managed to kill a Bloater with Ellie's assistance. He was also able to use a hunting rifle, though he stated Ellie was a much better shot than him with it. He wielded a machete which he could use with lethal efficiency, being able to non-canonically kill Ellie with just one slash.

Similar to Joel, David was also adept at stealth in how he easily tracked Ellie on multiple occasions and successfully strangled and disarmed her at the same time. He was quiet enough to not be heard and would strike out of nowhere when given a chance, making it very difficult for Ellie to stab him for a third time. He also had a high pain tolerance, only grunting when stabbed and retained the strength to pin and strangle Ellie almost to her death despite having been stabbed several times.

David also had a good sense of hearing, able to track Ellie in the restaurant when he heard her step on broken plates from even the very back of the room despite a fire blazing in the background. He was quite fast, able to sprint over to Ellie in a matter of seconds and could continue doing so until he lost sight of Ellie, displaying incredible endurance.

Guns

 * Hunting Rifle
 * Revolver

Melee weapons

 * Machete

Quotes

 * "Hello. We just wanna talk."
 * "I'd say we make a pretty good team."
 * Ellie: "Psshh. We got lucky."
 * David: "Lucky? No, no... No such thing as luck. No, you see I believe that everything happens for a reason"
 * "This is my town!"
 * "I know you're not infected. No one that's infected fights this hard to stay alive."
 * "And get this, he's — a crazy man traveling with a little girl."
 * "Now don't get upset. It's not your fault. You're just a kid."
 * "How'd you put it, huh? Tiny pieces? See you in the morning, Ellie."
 * "You know I love how you think that you're better than this. Better than us. But you're not."
 * "I gotta admit. You had me back there. For a second you shook my faith. But only for a second."
 * "You keep on surprising me Ellie!"
 * "Oh, hey, Ellie? I'm sorry about your horse. I truly am. I hope you take comfort in knowing we won't waste any part of him."
 * "That was good, kid, Everything's gonna be alright"
 * "It's a shame you wouldn't come around. But it's too late now."
 * "You give up now and I promise to be quick. Promise."
 * "Run little rabbit, run."
 * "I knew you had heart. You know it's okay to give up. It ain't no shame in it."
 * "Huh. I guess not. Just not your style is it?"
 * "You can try beggin'."
 * "You think you know me? Huh? Well, let me tell you somethin'. You have no idea what I'm capable of." (Last words)

Trivia

 * It has been confirmed that David had sexual intentions towards Ellie due to a lack of surviving females. He shows affection towards Ellie by holding her hand and initially wanting to only capture her, rather than kill her.
 * In an interview with IGN, Nolan North said that he wasn't trying to "rape her, or anything like that... at first". He felt, as the actor that portrayed him, that David wanted to repopulate the Earth and would not miss an opportunity to impregnate a woman, especially one talented in survival, as few still remain. When Ellie kept refusing, Nolan also stated that David was a type of person who always tried "to get what he wants."
 * The writers of The Last of Us initially called David "the cannibal king" but fleshed out his character, giving him a name, when Nolan North secured the role.
 * Neil Druckmann reportedly informed North to "not play a bad guy, [David] has to be charismatic enough for Ellie and his people to trust him".
 * David appears to be ambidextrous, as he uses both hands at different times when firing his revolver. His machete is at his left side, but he picks it up with his right hand.
 * David is the only antagonist that Joel does not directly fight against.
 * Despite David's claims that there are women and children in his group, only one woman is ever seen and heard in-game.
 * David has a very high pain tolerance, able to fully sprint even when stabbed twice by Ellie and still get up after the third stab.
 * David seems to be losing control of his group, as you can hear some of his men say that after they kill Ellie they are going to put his leadership up to a vote because they are tired of him and his "hobbies." Also, they disobeyed his orders and attempted to kill Ellie, even though he wanted her alive.
 * Nolan North revealed in the Q & A panel at SacAnime 2013 that in certain scenes between David and Ellie, he and Ashley Johnson actually swapped roles, with North mo-capping Ellie and Johnson mo-capping David.
 * In Grounded difficulty, David will hear Ellie while crouched unless she is moving slowly; he is the only human in the game to show this behavior, as generally only Infected can hear the player moving at full speed while crouched.
 * David is the only non-infected enemy in the game the player has a boss battle against.
 * In cutscenes on the PS3, David's jacket is green, but in the same cutscenes on the PS4, it is blue. It is green during gameplay in both versions, however.

Mistakes

 * There are two visual errors in the restaurant boss battle: David's broken right finger is no longer in a splint and perfectly normal. Also, the scabbard for David's machete does not appear until they wake up after the fight, the machete simply appearing idly on his back before this. Also, his splint appears to be back by then.
 * Another error occurs in the cutscene where Joel finds Ellie right after the battle. As Joel grabs her, you can clearly hear the machete falling to the floor. However, as they leave, the machete is sticking up.
 * Ellie and David may teleport many times during the boss battle depending on where David is when the player stabs him. The most notable is when near the area just outside the kitchen, they both teleport inside the kitchen, to then teleport by the booths for the sequence where Ellie crawls towards the machete

Glitches

 * There is a possible coding error as after stabbing David for the first time in his boss battle, his AI will sometimes revert to an ally and will continuously say "Lord forgive them." and not attack Ellie. The reason for this is unknown and will be fixed after stabbing him again.
 * In the winter chapter when you’re fighting off infected with David, if you enable photo mode and set hide characters to hide enemies David will disappear. Similarly if you enable hide buddies David will remain visible.
 * On a similar note, if one was to place a nail bomb on the ground, and David was to walk past it, the bomb would explode as the game would consider David an enemy, even during the sections where he is an ally.
 * If one runs to the door that David ambushes Ellie in, and attempts to open it, it will cause Ellie to move back, and the surrounding area will begin to burn, and the scripted dialogue plays out, but David appears outside, sometimes, his machete and revolver will float near the window, and they/he will fire at Ellie if she nears it. Once one restarts from the checkpoint, she will have kept her revolver along with her switchblade instead of David confiscating the prior. Ellie can shoot David, but it won't damage him in any way, although he will bleed.
 * Sometimes, Ellie's model disappears and her flashlight is all that remains when she crawls for the machete after waking up in the burning building.

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