Let's Talk about the ending of Last of Us (spoilers obviously)

[Jacco]

I can't remember playing a game where I actually said to myself "I went through all of that, for that?" I mean, I get that the writers were tying to be all dramatic and poetic and stuff, but to arbitrarily deny the human race a possible cure was just asinine. I liked Joel as a character up to that point. He was brutal and awful when he needed to be, but at his core he was still a grieving father. But the moment he chose to kill the doctors and steal Ellie back I think he lost his humanity. One life means nothing to the millions more who would be saved by her. And then not only that, but he lied to her about it all. Ellie would have made the choice to give her life to the cause but Joel denied her that by lying to her-- the very thing he shot Marlene for trying to do.

What are your thoughts?

 

[irishdude]

well in some of the voice recorders you hear marlene talk about other people been like ellie and still not getting a cure form them, i still loved the ending, kinda darker ending than if joel or ellie or both dying, i think i would have done the same thing as joel did, plus nolan north as the leader of the cannibal gang was great, happy they keep that a secret, was real surprise seen his name in the credits, also playing as ellie was great

 

[Lygus]

Joel didn't lie. In the game, there's voice record which says "there's been a lot of immune people that had a surgery but the vaccine just didin't work". Joel knew exactly that and made the right choice - to save a little innocent girl that he himself got attached to during the adventure. Ellie still reminds him of the daughter.

Marlene was desperate, as you could see that in her eyes at the end.

It's been more than 20 years humanity has descended into chaos and a simple vaccine won't change shit (unite different factions fighting for survival etc.). It's just pointless to sacrifice an innocent because he accidentally got bitten and is immune.

 

[Jacco]

Joel didn't lie. In the game, there's voice record which says "there's been a lot of immune people that had a surgery but the vaccine just didin't work". Joel knew exactly that and made the right choice - to save a little innocent girl that he himself got attached to during the adventure. Ellie still reminds him of the daughter.

Marlene was desperate, as you could see that in her eyes at the end.

It's been more than 20 years humanity has descended into chaos and a simple vaccine won't change shit (unite different factions fighting for survival etc.). It's just pointless to sacrifice an innocent because he accidentally got bitten and is immune.

Where was it? I thought I had found them all. If that's the case then I look much more favorably on the ending.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

I can't remember playing a game where I actually said to myself "I went through all of that, for that?" I mean, I get that the writers were tying to be all dramatic and poetic and stuff, but to arbitrarily deny the human race a possible cure was just asinine.

The way I understood things, the cure was all but certain. Marlene had a vision and a certain infrastructure in place, but chances were high Ellie would just plain die like the others, sacrificed to the idea of a better tomorrow, but no proper guarantee for success. Besides, given her political stance and the whole 'we are the new blood' vibe of the Fireflies, I am not too sure things would automagically turn out A-OK if the cure was really to actually happen.

Also, please bear in mind that Joel started out on this quest just wanting his guns, his merchandise back. In his view, they were stolen from him as they were rightfully his, whatever ideas and implications might be derived from that.

In the course of this journey, Joel lost everything and everyone. And, deep down, he felt that he could, maybe, fix the biggest failure, the biggest loss of his life. He lost Sarah, twenty god-forsaken years ago. Now he found himself stuck with another girl, a girl he did not want or care for much. And then... she's eventually the only thing in the world to him. The only thing he wants. The only thing he wants to be safe. The only person that matters to him, as all the others are dead anyway.

So... is it selfish? Sure. Is it pathological in nature? Yeah, I think so.

But it's damn human if you ask me. And our thoughts are free to wander as we contemplate what might come after we and the game part ways.

I cannot but think it's excellent, as I tear up just going through the story in my mind. Joel's life sucks, but I'm glad I was allowed on this one particular ride. It's just awesome.

 

[lucky_sharm]

The idea of someone like Ellie being sacrificed to "maybe" create a cure for a society far and away from being salvageable is beyond the pale. She's 14. She barely even knows what the outside world is like. She deserves a full life.

Besides that, Marlene didn't even give her a choice. She was unconscious from the bus stop all the way to Joel's car at the end. Furthermore, Marlene pretty much sent Joel packing without so much as a thank you or compensation. Remember the guns that she promised? Granted, Joel isn't any better than Marlene for lying to Ellie's face about the Fireflies, but he truly had her best interests in mind.

The only real hope for humanity at that point is Tommy's community. A cure won't magically make the entire world full of bandits, military, and infected disappear.