‘The Last of Us’ ending explained: Did Joel make the right choice?

don’t let the short execution time of Last of UsSeason 1 Finale of Fool. Like his eight episodes before it, “Look for the Light” delivers varying amounts of thrills, tears, and terrors. Many of these come as a result of Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) turbulent final choices.

In “In Search of the Light,” Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) finally arrive in Salt Lake City. There they find Marlene (Merle Dandridge) and Firefly, who plan to use Ellie’s immunity to develop a cure for the infectious cordyceps fungus. However, Marlene reveals to Joel that Ellie must die in order to access the raw materials needed to synthesize this cure. When given, Joel chose to save Ellie, killing everyone in the hospital in the process.

It’s a devastating sequence.After all, Joel is destroying the only shot the world might have for a cure. But at the same time, it’s a choice. Last of Us The whole season is building towards this episode in particular. Let’s analyze the events of “In Search of the Light” and what they tell us about Joel’s decision.

Last of Us Reveal Ellie’s origin story.

Last of Us While the “Left Behind” episode gave us a glimpse into Ellie’s past, “Look for the Light” shows us the very moment she came into the world and why she was immune in the first place. .

Ellie’s mother Anna (played by former Ellie actor Ashley Johnson) gives birth to Ellie shortly after being bitten by one of the infected. Her baby Ellie was still connected to Anna through her umbilical cord, so her infection passed on to her, and her immunity has been growing in her brain since her birth. This is due to the fact that

The worst part of this sequence is when Anna asks Marlene to kill her before she turns. Marlene initially refuses, but eventually shoots Anna without mercy. As heartbreaking as this moment is, it’s also incredible.Marlene is no stranger to making difficult decisions, even if it means hurting those closest to her. If she can give it, she’ll give it to someone else. And if the death of the child she’s chosen to watch over can bring hope to the world, Marlene makes that call, too.

Last of Us “Look for the Light” cements the father-daughter bond between Joel and Ellie.

After Joel calls Ellie a “baby girl” (a nickname for his late daughter Sarah (Nico Parker)) in Episode 8, it’s very clear that he considers her more than his responsibility He considers her his daughter. An argument between the two after they arrive in Salt Lake City solidifies this shift in their relationship.

Joel confides in Ellie about the scar on his temple. After all, he It was the man who missed the shot after trying to commit suicide after losing Sarah. There’s no way Joel, who knocked Ellie to the ground in Episode 1, would trust her with truth on this scale.

Ellie takes this news with the right amount of solemnity and respect as she listens to Joel speak. “So I think time heals all wounds,” she says.

“It wasn’t the time to do it,” Joel replies. The true meaning of that statement that Ellie healed him is never mentioned, but the two seem to perceive it exactly the same. Borrowing, it’s easy to see that as their pair moved forward, their relationship grew stronger than ever.

Firefly threatens to take away the person Joel loves most — but would Ellie want to go through with it?

Firefly ambushes and separates Ellie and Joel, forcing Joel to talk to Marlene. She reveals why Ellie is immune and explains that a Firefly surgeon must cut into the cordyceps in Ellie’s brain to create a cure. Continue your deadly rampage through the hospital in time for Ellie. If you thought the interrogation scene in Episode 8 was brutal, this sequence shows a whole new level of Joel’s abilities.

Joel saves an unconscious Ellie before the surgery begins — notice how Joel carries her the same way he carries the wounded Sarah in Episode 1.

“You can’t keep her safe forever. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many people you kill, she’ll grow up, Joel,” she says. What do you do? She lives in a broken world that you could have saved, so how long before she’s torn apart by the infected or killed by raiders?”

“Maybe,” Joel replies. “But that’s not for you to decide.”

“Or you,” says Marlene. “So what will she decide? Because she wants to do the right thing.”

Marlene’s words raise an interesting point that lingers long after Joel kills her and drives Ellie back to Wyoming. Early in the episode, Joel tells Ellie that she can turn around and go back to Jackson, but she refuses.

“After all, we’ve been through. Everything I’ve done. It’s not in vain,” she tells him. We see a more subdued Ellie, traumatized by the encounter. These events made her more determined than ever. As she reminds her Joel, “There is no middle ground in this. We will finish what we started.”

So when Joel lies to Ellie about Firefly’s inability to find a cure and that raiders are attacking the hospital, this is a devastating blow to her. All the trauma, all the deaths she witnessed — in her mind, they were all for nothing. Anna Torv), Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Kevon Woodard). Her immunity may have given meaning to their deaths.

Joel realizes this and swears he is telling the truth. And it seems.

Joel’s choice has been foreseen by nearly every character we’ve met this season.

Controversially, Joel’s choice is not surprising. throughout the season Last of Us has explored how love influences our behavior toward others and pushes us to extremes.

In the case of Bill (Nick Offerman), we’ve seen how his love for Frank (Murray Bartlett) gives him something other than survival to fight in the apocalypse. His love may have softened his defenses against outsiders like Joel and Tess, but it also cemented his resolve to keep Frank alive. , wrote, “There was one person worth saving.” “That’s what I did. I saved him. And I saved him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have work to do. And God help all motherfuckers who get in our way.

Throughout the season, Joel’s “one” becomes Ellie, and in the finale we see him follow in Bill’s footsteps and fight like hell to keep her protected. increase.

Bill and Frank’s love is presented as hopeful and nurturing against the dark backdrop of the apocalypse, Last of Us Here are some examples of love that has dire consequences despite the intentions behind it.

The first is Henry’s love for Sam. When Sam fell ill, Henry turned the Kansas City resistance leader over to his FEDRA in exchange for medicine. However, despite saving Sam’s life, Henry feels some guilt for his actions. “The answer is simple: I’m a bad person because I’ve done bad things.” The same goes for Joel, and his behavior in the hospital is definitely terrible. But again, just like Henry would do anything to save Sam, Joel would do anything to save Ellie.

Then there’s Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey), whose brother was the leader of the resistance put forward by Henry. Her refusal to forgive or compromise is borderline sinister—yet you know she’s out of a place of love and sorrow. I know it’s coming. He commits tremendous deeds in the name of his love.

Last of Us always presents us with examples of love in the Cordyceps era. What will Joel’s love for Ellie look like? What about her love for him?And in the finale we get the answer to the first question.? Joel’s love is an amalgamation of Bill’s, Henry’s and Kathleen’s love. Joel has a strong desire to protect, which drives him to do terrible deeds with which he must live forever. Still, he wouldn’t change his behavior when telling Ellie about Sarah on the hike to Jackson.

So was Joel the right choice?

Obviously this is a loaded question. From a utilitarian point of view, Joel is completely wrong.think of the finale of Last of Us Like the fungus-filled minecart problem: Joel chose to sacrifice the world for one life. I took my rights away from her.

To be fair, Firefly did the same. They stripped Ellie’s agency for not telling her about the nature of the treatment she was about to undergo. Based on her actions, it’s likely she wanted to do that too. That in itself is alarming behavior.

If you want to make a case for Joel, you can cite that he was acting out of love, but you have to consider whether Henry and Kathleen’s behavior is also “right”. It wiped out the parts and deprived the world of potential cures in one fell swoop.

But the world need Treatment? throughout this first season Last of Us It has shown that it is entirely possible to live a full life in this new apocalyptic world. please give me. These people can thrive without treatment.

Still, just because something is good doesn’t mean it can’t be better, and a Cordyceps remedy will definitely make the world better. , may help us stop living in fear of the virus. It may be the key to a more hopeful future. Joel destroyed that future and whatever role Ellie played in creating that future.

There are no easy answers here. Last of Us We get to know where Joel is from, but he also admits he committed atrocities. We may blame Joel, but what if it’s one of our loved ones on that operating table? Will we be able to accept the consequences of either decision? And as we head into Season 2, the question remains: What about Joel?

season 1 Last of Us It’s currently streaming on HBO Max.(opens in new tab)