The Last Of Us Episode 9 Brings Shocking Reveals And Fateful Decisions
Spoilers follow.
Here we are at last, the episode "The Last of Us" has been building towards for nine weeks. This is the culmination of Joel and Ellie's journey, but has all their pain and suffering been worth it? Well, that is very debatable. Still, it was a very compelling season of TV.
We start, one last time, with a flashback. This is arguably the most important flashback of the season, at least for the characters — one that adds essential context not present in the games. The flashback brings back Ashley Johnson, Ellie's original performer, as Ellie's mother, Anna.
We see Anna getting bit by one of the infected right as she is giving birth — she has so much adrenaline from fighting the infected she quite literally just pops that baby out without noticing. She manages to cut the umbilical cord right away, but it's probably too late. It is not hard to imagine Cordyceps traveling from Anna's wound all the way to Ellie, somehow making her immune from birth.
Marlene arrives with her Fireflies, and after Anna uses their longtime friendship to convince Marlene that she got bit after giving birth, she begs her to take Ellie and shoot her. Johnson does a great job, even if such a short appearance, conveying the weight of the world pressing down on her shoulders.
Not only does this scene show why Marlene cared about Ellie before realizing she was immune, but why she wasn't going to let her become a Firefly. Marlene wanted her to have a relatively normal childhood. The scene also gives a possible explanation for Ellie's immunity, helping sell the idea that there could actually have been a cure — if not for Joel.
The problems begin
Back in the present, Ellie is still reeling from her encounter with David, and the impending end to her journey with Joel. She is not talking, and not even making sarcastic remarks when Joel suggests playing Boggle or teaching her to play guitar.
What's more, this seems to be affecting Joel more than it does Ellie. He spends the first half of the episode trying too hard to cheer her up, but also manage her expectations about the end of the journey and the chances for a cure — even suggesting to just turn around and go back to Tommy. This episode may not have the sheer horror of the game's finale and how it removes the player's ability to make a choice by forcing them to play out Joel's fateful choice in the hospital, but it is compensating for it by telegraphing his decision much earlier and making it clear he cares more about her as a replacement for Sarah than as an individual.
We also get one of the best scenes from the game, a fantastic ray of sunshine in the middle of a stormy night, as Ellie and Joel make their way up a skyscraper and see a giraffe approaching. This is essentially a "Jurassic Park" riff, with Joel grabbing some leaves to pull the giraffe closer so Ellie can pet it. After being rather shut off all episode, this is the first (and last) time we see Ellie smile and be happy.
Sadly, the scene is weighed down a bit by the show's use of green screen that looks like a theme park ride. It is especially disappointing when the scene immediately after, where Joel and Ellie walk through a military medical camp, has such intricate practical sets.
Fateful choices
Joel breaks the tension by finally giving Ellie what she's wanted all season long — reading from her bad puns book! Sadly, just as they start laughing and having fun for once, they are ambushed by Fireflies, Ellie gets taken, and Joel is knocked out.
When he wakes up, Marlene tells him Ellie is being prepped for surgery. As it turns out, the doctor believes the Cordyceps in Ellie's brain that she got from birth is sending out a counter signal that tricks the infected into thinking she is one of them. He also thinks if they can get it out they can reproduce it. The only problem is, they need to access the brain, which would kill Ellie.
When Joel gets enraged, Marlene tries to explain to him that she understands how he feels. She promised Anna to take care of her child, and now she is going to kill her. Yet, she has no choice, this is bigger than them. Joel, of course, disagrees, so he starts killing everyone in his path. He is executing them, changing guns like he is John Wick, massacring everyone in their path.
This is no heroic moment for Joel, no emotional moment where a friend goes to hell and back to rescue another. This is a man so hurt by his past that he is not thinking about what Ellie wants, he is choosing to have her pain and suffering be in vain, killing a whole lot of people because he needs her more than he respects her decision. Henry was right when he said reasons don't matter, it is all about actions. Joel just doomed the entire world, because he could not suffer being alone again.
The end of the road
Before Joel can escape with Ellie, he faces down against Marlene, who begs him to stop and let the Fireflies finish the job. It doesn't matter how many people Joel kills, Ellis would still be living in this cruel, broken world that she could have fixed.
But Joel doesn't listen, he just executes Marlene. Later, he lies to Ellie and says the doctors realized there was no cure and stopped trying. Also, raiders attacked the hospital and they barely made it out.
All of a sudden, Joel is a different man. He starts opening up about Sarah, telling Ellie of the trips they took when she was alive, and even comparing Ellie to Sarah and saying they would be good friends, which makes Ellie rightfully suspicious. She then breaks down and confesses to having killed Riley, the first in a long line of people who died because of her, and all for nothing. She makes Joel swear that he told the truth about the Fireflies and the lack of a cure. He does, and she seemingly buys the lie, as the two walk back into Jackson.
This is as bleak an ending as "The Last of Us" deserved. Like the game, this is a zombie show that stood out because of its focus on characters over just another story about surviving. To see Joel just disregard the entire plot of the show, everything that they did, and the lie about it feels heartbreaking but also just right.