Summary
- Joel's decision to save Ellie instead of sacrificing her for a vaccine reflects his fatherly nature.
- The Fireflies are morally ambiguous and not the heroes they initially appear to be.
- Ellie's sacrifice for a vaccine would deprive the world of decency in a post-apocalyptic society.
When The Last of Us was released way back in 2013, it immediately became a major talking point. One of the best PS3 exclusive games, it solidified Sony's reputation for having exclusives that told compelling stories and helped to prove that games could have narratives just as good (if not better) than those seen in Blockbuster films. It has repeatedly been hailed as a masterpiece, and this is for good reason.
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People are still arguing over the game's story, even today. This is especially true for its ending, which gave players one of gaming's most morally complex moments. After traveling across a post-apocalyptic America with his charge, Ellie, Joel is faced with an impossible decision. Does he sacrifice her to potentially help save the world, or does he slaughter everyone involved in order to save her. It turns out not to be such a tough decision for Joel, and what follows is a bloodbath. Ever since, fans have debated whether Joel made the right choice or not. There are valid arguments on both sides, but these particular reasons suggests that he may have been right.
7 Would A Vaccine Even Work?
Curing Cordyceps Would Likely Not Be Easy
Joel is no scientist, but what he sees during the hospital section would be enough to shake his faith that a vaccine would work. Recordings and notes made by the Fireflies’ doctors note that the Cordyceps covering Ellie’s brain has mutated, and her body has somehow become capable of coping with it. They hope by removing and studying the fungus that they’ll (maybe) be able to create a vaccine.
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But there’s a certain sense that they are desperate and rushing into a deadly procedure. As the player explores one of the game's hardest areas, it certainly doesn’t look like the Fireflies have the kind of personnel and equipment needed to manufacture a vaccine. Even so, the Fireflies’ ragtag group of doctors and nurses can apparently just use one patient to create a vaccine. Even Marlene sounds torn in her logs. On top of all of this, how could a vaccine be spread to a global populace made up of mostly warring factions?
6 Ellie Has No Agency
No One Asks Ellie What She Really Wants
One of the biggest criticisms aimed at Joel is that his decision to massacre the Fireflies and save Ellie robbed her of her agency, which is true. He could technically have argued with them and waited for her to wake up to see if she consented to the procedure after being told the truth. Then again, the Fireflies make it clear they’re in a rush and aren't about to wait around to ask her-—Marlene claims to know what Ellie would want.
But as far as Joel knows, Ellie doesn’t know the procedure will kill her. Throughout the game, the two of them have multiple conversations about what they’ll do after Ellie reaches the Fireflies. She even talks about wanting to stay with Joel. The sad thing here is that both sides end up robbing Ellie of her agency. Early on in The Last of Us 2, Ellie even calls Joel out on this, leading to one of her best quotes. At least by saving Ellie, Joel allows her to make her own decision in the future (although lying to her is still a lousy thing to do).
5 The Fireflies Aren’t Heroes
They're Just Another Violent Group Vying For Power
Early on in The Last of Us, the Fireflies are painted as freedom fighters taking on the tyrannical and militaristic FEDRA. But things in this game are never black and white, and the Fireflies prove to be a morally complex group, just as capable as FEDRA of carrying out atrocities. This moral ambiguity is one of the reasons The Last of Us has one of the best stories in a PlayStation exclusive.
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In the game’s opening, players see them committing what could be called terrorist acts against quarantine zones, putting innocent lives at risk. They also enforce martial law in their own zones and are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way. By the time Joel reaches the hospital with Ellie, they’ve become ideologues willing to sacrifice an innocent little girl to get what they want. Rather than being altruistic, they would likely weaponize any potential vaccine and use it as leverage against FEDRA and any other opposing group. The way the group behaves towards Joel after reaching the hospital tells him everything he needs to know about their true nature.
4 Joel Has Already Loved And Lost
He's Only Following His Nature As A Father
After the death of his daughter, Sarah, in the game’s prologue, Joel went from being a loving father to a closed-off, cynical, and ruthless thug who looked out only for himself (mostly). His time with Ellie gradually changes this and reveals Joel’s true nature—deep down, he’s still a father. This is also true in the show, which changed a few things about Joel but kept his essential nature the same.
During the winter chapter, Joel calls Ellie “baby girl,” the same thing he called his daughter. During the university scene flashback, Joel tells Tommy he can’t bear to ever lose someone he cares about again. When Joel makes his pivotal decision at the hospital, he’s not just making a selfish decision; he’s following his nature as a father. A parent’s job is to protect their child, and that’s what Joel does. Even the game’s creative director agrees, having stated, "To me, he did the right thing for him," and "As a parent, if I found myself in that same situation, I would hope I could do what Joel did."
3 A Vaccine Probably Wouldn’t Do Much Good
Stopping The Cordyceps Fungus Would Probably Be Too Little, Too Late
Say, for argument’s sake, that the procedure worked, and Ellie’s death led to Fireflies' doctors creating a vaccine. And suppose the Fireflies turned out to be altruistic deep down and decided to spread the vaccine far and wide. So what? The world has bigger problems at this point. This is one of the best post-apocalyptic games ever made, and its world needs more than a vaccine to save it.
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Joel has seen enough of The Last of Us’s world to doubt what good a vaccine would do. There are no governments, no real supply chains, and no communication networks. Instead, there are infected people roaming the streets as well as cannibalistic gangs and deadly groups of raiders. In other words, society broke down years ago. A vaccine would likely be too little, too late; the Cordyceps is almost the least of humanity's problems at this point, and Joel has seen this firsthand.
2 This World Isn’t Worth Saving
Losing Ellie Is A Big Sacrifice To Save A Crummy World
Being with Ellie may have softened Joel's hard heart, but he's still a skeptic. After everything he’s done and seen, why would he want to save the world? There’s so little goodness left in it that even the most civilized groups are only interested in looking after themselves. One need only look at what David and his followers tried to do to Ellie for proof of this. The Last of Us is full of monsters just like him.
But Joel is expected to sacrifice his new daughter after everything they’ve been through in the hopes of saving these people. For Joel, humanity doesn’t deserve Ellie’s sacrifice, and considering the things the player sees throughout the game, it’s a valid point.
1 Ellie Is A Good Person (At Least For Now)
In A World Of Monsters, Ellie Shines Bright
If it isn’t already abundantly clear, truly decent people are a rare commodity in The Last of Us. But Ellie is the moral center of the game. She repeatedly shows empathy to others, never gives up hope, and is one of the most courageous characters. She’s shown comforting Sam, nursing Joel back to health, and loves to make people laugh.
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Sacrificing her for a hypothetical vaccine would rob the world of what it really needs—decency. By saving Ellie, Joel is rescuing an innocent who has the potential to become a great leader or thinker. He’s a saving kind of individual who, even after all the horrors she’s seen, is still a good person. The tragedy is that Joel’s actions, his killing of the medical staff, and his lying to Ellie lead directly to the events of The Last of Us Part 2, events that show Ellie in a very different light.
The Last of Us Part I
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 76%
- Released
- September 2, 2022
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Engine
- naughty dog
- Franchise
- The Last of Us
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5
