

He steals Ellie away and lies to her, claiming that the Fireflies would not have been able to find a cure and that she is not the only person with immunity. He even killed the head surgeon, a man he just as easily could have disarmed.


Plus, Joel stormed through the Firefly hospital murdering scientists left and right to save Ellie. He spared one life at the cost of countless others, and it was for selfish reasons. Within the story, Ellie is humanity's only hope for finding a cure, meaning Joel potentially condemned every uninfected person still alive. However, his actions are complicated, and they definitely don't make him a hero. RELATED: The Last of Us' Neil Druckmann Explains How the Planned Film Adaptation Imploded He didn't think of the wider ramifications he simply acted on emotion and instinct. After learning that the operation would kill Ellie, Joel realized he could not live without her. At the end of the first game, Joel murders dozens of members of the Fireflies and destroys their attempts to fatally extract a potential cure from Ellie, who is the only person in the game who is known to be immune to the virus.Īfter spending hours with these two characters and sharing touching moments with them, most players understood Joel's decision as a righteous one. After all, Joel lost his biological daughter in the game's prologue, so players understood why he would stop at nothing to save Ellie, who had become his surrogate daughter. The game roots itself in a morally grey area, its characters masterfully fleshed out with elements of good and bad. The word "also" is important here in The Last of Us, there are no absolutes. RELATED: A Last of Us Remake Is a TERRIBLE Idea However, while he has been lauded as a hero by many fans, Joel's actions also make him a monster. The Last of Us follows Joel's journey as he smuggles a young girl, Ellie, across America, culminating in a decision that impacts the rest of the world. In it, the lines between right and wrong are often blurred, and no where is this struggle clearer than with the first game's protagonist, Joel Miller. Ravaged by the Cordyceps virus, the post-apocalyptic game's world is a bleak and hostile place where survivors must constantly fight to keep living. The Last of Us was groundbreaking in many ways, but perhaps none more so than how it explored the decisions of complex characters and the very concept of morality. WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II.
