For the majority of its run on HBO, The Last of Us has seen its first season follow a stable and faithful narrative path that was very close to the original game upon which it was adapted from. There have been exceptions – which have been the positive, including the introduction of the township of Jackson, the expanded backstory of Bill and Frank, and the inclusion of Ellie’s mother, Anna, in the season finale which was entitled “Look for The Light”.
Audiences have followed Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the post-apocalyptic United States on their shared journey of bonding, trust and discovery, seeing a broken man and a frightened girl accept each other as their new family. The finale added a narrative thread which brings new depth to Joel’s character. Following the iconic giraffe scene, Joel and Ellie are strolling through the streets of Salt Lake City on their way to the Firefly hospital, where Ellie will – unbeknownst to them both – face being killed in order to produce a vaccine designed to stop the Cordyceps outbreak once and for all. On the way there, they stop at an Army checkpoint where Joel drops a bombshell.
He tells Ellie he had visited a similar camp on the second day of the outbreak to treat a head wound, and points to the scar on his head, further expanding by revealing that it was self-inflicted – following the death of his daughter, Sarah, he tried to take his own life but flinched. The scene takes place differently in the game, where Ellie hands Joel a photograph of himself and Sarah (which she stole from Maria (Rutina Wesley) back in Jackson) and sparks a conversation about her. The subtext remains the same, but brings into sharper focus why Joel behaves the way he does.
Showrunner Craig Mazin expanded on this, during The Last of Us Podcast finale with host Troy Baker, explaining that this allows the two characters to let their guards down without ever having to say how they really feel to the other.
I think we wrote this in the script, like literally, this is how they say ‘I love you.’ They don’t say ‘I love you.’ How they say ‘I love you,’ is, they talk around it. So, without saying, ‘I tried to commit suicide,’ he says, ‘I tried to commit suicide.’ And without saying ‘I love you,’ she says, ‘Well, I’m glad that didn’t work out.’
The scene also shows Joel telling Ellie that it was her who saved him and brought him back to life, literally and spiritually. The added weight of this makes Joel’s decision to slaughter the Fireflies and abandon the chance at a cure for humanity, just to save Ellie, all the more heartbreaking and complex. It humanises Joel above the murdering he commits in the name of his mission, because ultimately, he still just wants to be a father.
All 9 episodes of The Last of Us Season One are on HBO Max. Season Two has been greenlit, with a release date yet to be announced.
