Warning: Includes SPOILERS for The Last of Us season 2, episode 6, and for The Last of Us Part II game!Joel's death in The Last of Us season 2, episode 2, left a permanent mark on the TV show, killing off the lead character. While it's not the first time an HBO show has killed off its lead character, the star power of Pedro Pascal was one of the reasons that brought non-gamers to the series, making his return for episode 6's flashbacks more notable.
The Last of Us season 2 picked up after a five-year time jump, and with season 1 ending on such a complicated note, there were bound to be many difficult feelings between Joel and Ellie. Episode 6 offers the full scope of the highs and lows between the adoptive father and daughter. We see Joel and Ellie in some of their strongest bonding moments, but also in scenes that placed massive wedges between them, all leading to their final chat on the front porch.
Ellie Confronted Joel About Salt Lake City The Night Before His Death In The Last Of Us
This Was Joel And Ellie's Final Conversation Before He Died
As we saw in The Last of Us season 1's ending, the events in Salt Lake City never sat entirely right with Ellie. Season 2, episode 6, demonstrates how the prolonged effect of Joel's lie caused Ellie to drift further away from him. The older and wiser Ellie got, the more she began to process the situation, and it was constantly a strain on even their happiest moments. For example, Ellie and Joel shared a beautiful outing for her birthday, but the mood was dampened when she saw actual fireflies in the woods, reminding her of her suspicions.
The older and wiser Ellie got, the more she began to process the situation, and it was constantly a strain on even their happiest moments.
On the front porch on New Year's Day, Ellie finally demanded that Joel tell her the truth about what transpired. Realizing he could no longer keep up his lie, Joel itted to what happened, explaining that a cure could have been made, but it would have meant Ellie's death. He also itted to killing all of those people. Ellie its that she knew about what Joel did when she spoke to Nora in The Last of Us season 2, episode 5's ending, but this is the first time we see how she processes this information.
Why Ellie Was So Mad At Joel For Saving Her From The Fireflies
Ellie Believes Joel Took Away Her Chance To Mean Something
Image via Max
On the one hand, Joel saved Ellie's life on that fateful day in Salt Lake City. On the other hand, he worsened everyone else's lives by preventing the chance of a cure, killing Abby's father, the only known person left in the world who could develop a vaccine. Joel's move was selfish, and he had to live with that weight for five years. Anyone who's died since, like Eugene, is indirectly his fault. With this reveal, Ellie must now carry the weight of this choice as well.
The Last Of Us' Tommy Twist Is Exciting, But It Makes Me Wonder What The Point Of Season 2's Biggest Game Change Was
Tommy might be sticking to his video game story after all. But then, what was the point of all those changes and that big season 2 sequence?
An integral aspect of the moral debate behind Joel's actions in season 1's ending is that Ellie wasn't given a choice. She wasn't conscious, meaning she had no idea what was at stake. Just as the Fireflies decided to put her under and take her life for the greater good without her consent, Joel robbed her of the chance to mean something on a grander scale. Ellie's point, which seems to be true given what we know of her, is that if she had been given the choice, she would have agreed to give her life to save everyone else.
Why Joel Said He "Would Do It All Over Again" If It Meant Saving Ellie's Life
Joel Loves Ellie Like A Daughter And Wouldn't Sacrifice Her
Joel knew what the situation represented to Ellie and what it meant to the world at large, yet he chose to save Ellie's life. He knew Ellie wouldn't have agreed to it, and he knew he was taking something away from everyone, but he did it because he couldn't bear to lose her, especially after losing Sarah. Joel knew this was a selfish choice, just as lying to Ellie in an effort to "protect" her was selfish. However, he's introspective enough to know that he would make the same selfish choice again.
Years later, with the time spent parenting her, he knew his instinct was true, and he would still make the same choice.
Even though he'd only spent months with Ellie at the time, The Last of Us demonstrates how familial bonds can form between people who aren't blood-related. He loved Ellie like he loved his own daughter, and even after just a short time, his instinct told him that she meant more to him than the rest of the world combined. Years later, with the time spent parenting her, he knew his instinct was true, and he would still make the same choice.
Was Ellie Going To Forgive Joel For What He Did To The Fireflies?
Joel And Ellie's Relationship Would Always Have Been Complicated
The future of Ellie and Joel's relationship was cut short, and that makes it impossible to predict precisely what would have happened. The two of them would always have to live with the weight of what happened. Every time a person died from being bitten, Ellie would feel guilt, and from that guilt, she would be angry at Joel. Her path to forgiveness would have taken a long time, if it could even happen, and those feelings would never truly have gone away, which makes his death all the more impactful.
I Was Skeptical About The Last Of Us Season 2's Handling Of Ellie's Revenge Story, But Episode 5 Turned It Around
So far, Ellie's pursuit of revenge in The Last of Us season 2 hasn't felt as intense or narrow-minded as the game — but episode 5 turned it around.
The Last of Us season 2 poses interesting questions about death and how loss can complicate feelings even further. Ellie felt anger, guilt, sorrow, and many other things towards Joel, but she also knew, deep down, the only reason she was able to walk and breathe and feel joy was because of the choice he made. A part of her also realized that Joel was incredibly meaningful to her as a companion; someone she could talk to and be herself with no matter what. All the bad came with a tremendous amount of good.
She needed time to process everything, to compartmentalize the parts that she loved with the parts that angered her.
As I said before, it's impossible to know whether she would have forgiven Joel. The critical thing about this story is that she was once again robbed of the opportunity to decide. She needed time to process everything, to compartmentalize the parts that she loved with the parts that angered her. That could have taken years, but she was only given a day before she had to adjust again on the fly after a traumatizing new event.
How The Last Of Us Season 2's Porch Scene Compares To The Game Flashback
There's A Major Difference From The Video Game Version
Joel and Ellie have a similar scene in The Last of Us Part II, though there are a few elements that are shifted around. By this point in the game, Ellie has already confronted Joel about Salt Lake City during a flashback where she runs off and travels to the hospital herself to assess what happened. The discussion about the coffee, Seth, Ellie's patrols, and Dina is drawn almost word for word from the video game. Ellie's claims that she was meant to die in the hospital are also from the game, though she'd had more time to process it.
Joel's statement about making the same choice in Salt Lake City if he had a second chance is adapted from The Last of Us Part II, as is Ellie saying she's not sure if she can ever forgive him, but that she'd like to try. That's ultimately the most integral element of this scene, as, rather than Joel and Ellie's last words being at the chaotic New Year's Eve party, we see that their final exchange was hopeful. In both cases of The Last of Us, Joel and Ellie ended on a path that offered the chance to heal.
The Last Of Us
- Release Date
- January 15, 2023
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Craig Mazin
Cast
Joel Miller
Ellie Williams
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Craig Mazin, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, Ali Abbasi, Mark Mylod, Stephen Williams, Jasmila Žbanić, Liza Johnson, Nina Lopez-Corrado
- Writers
- Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin
- Franchise(s)
- The Last of Us
- Creator(s)
- Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
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