The Last Of Us Season Finale Looks To The Future In Its Final Scenes
This post contains major spoilers for the season finale of "The Last of Us."
Unlike the multitudes of apocalyptic father/daughter stories that "The Last of Us" pulls from for inspiration, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) have both made it out of their journey alive. As they abandon their car and take a hike into the woods, Joel is much more open than ever before, musing to Ellie about the similarities and differences between her and his late daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker.) Ellie, on the other hand, clearly has a lot on her mind that she's holding back.
After hiking up a mountain trail, Joel and Ellie look over the horizon. Here they are once again, returning to Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Maria's (Rutina Wesley) Jackson commune, ready to embrace it as their new home. Suddenly, Ellie stops Joel to talk to him about something. Haunted by all the loss she's experienced — Riley, Tess, Sam, Henry — she admits she's still waiting for her own turn to make a sacrifice. So, she makes Joel swear to her that everything he says about the Fireflies, their fate, and their inability to make a cure, is true. Confidently, Joel makes his promise to Ellie, a lie that will change the trajectory of their lives forever. After a rest on Ellie's face, the show cut to black on her saying, "Okay."
The track that plays over the credits of both versions of "The Last of Us" is composed by Gustavo Santolalla and titled "The Path (A New Beginning)." It's a melancholic but hopeful acoustic melody, and a powerful symbol of what lies ahead for these characters. In the 2013 game, it was a moment of finality. In the series, we know there's more in store for Joel and Ellie.
Why does The Last of Us just end?
At first, the ending might seem abrupt or vague to audiences, but it's actually a perfect time to let go of Joel and Ellie for now, and it allows us to draw our own conclusions about the nature of their relationship. It does exactly what good art should do: Raise more questions. Does Ellie know Joel is lying? That he committed atrocities to protect her? How does she feel about it?
Until the events of the second game, which will be covered by season 2 of the HBO series, we can only glean these answers by reading into a look on Bella Ramsey's face and their delivery of one simple word. That's the beauty of it, really — "The Last of Us" is such a striking story and has been celebrated as one of the best video games ever created because it has so much capacity for ambiguity and subtext.
If that isn't enough closure for you, however, you can thank the sequel game, "The Last of Us Part II," for giving us a rough idea of what Joel and Ellie get up to in between these two definitive chapters of their lives. There have been major changes to the timeline and re-ordering of events in the HBO adaptation (such as the outbreak taking place in 2003 instead of 2013), but assuming that they keep the time gap between the first and second game consistent, Joel and Ellie will live together in Jackson for the next five years.
Ellie makes new friends
"Part II" has a complex, non-linear story structure. It mostly follows Ellie in the present as a 19-year-old, but it occasionally flashes back to significant moments between Joel and Ellie in the five-year gap between games. We won't get into the significant events of "Part II," and if you haven't played "The Last of Us" games yet, the wait for season 2 is the perfect opportunity.
However, the HBO show has done a lot to make Joel and Ellie's original adventure a lot more cohesive with the events in "Part II." In episode 6, "Kin," we got to see more of Jackson than we were ever allowed to see in the first game, giving us a greater picture of what life is like in an explicitly communist society. There are schools, movie nights, community mess halls, and homes. Thanks to "Part II," we know Joel and Ellie eventually will have their own living spaces and become part of the greater community.
As Joel takes on patrol duties with Tommy and Maria, Ellie will make more friends around her age. Dina, who might have made an early appearance in episode 6, is Ellie's future third girlfriend and main love interest in "Part II." Though they meet each other during Ellie's first year in Jackson, they develop a slow-burn crush on each other throughout Ellie's time living there. Their mutual friend Jesse, who Dina briefly dates, becomes a loyal confidante to Ellie and will also accompany her future journey.
Ellie will also eventually meet her second girlfriend, Cat. Though she is only mentioned and never seen, Cat designs the moth tattoo that Ellie covers her unique infected bite with along with a chemical burn. It's important to Joel that she hides her immunity. It's easier, or so he claims.
A new beginning, indeed
In the season finale of "The Last of Us" during the giraffe scene, Ellie tells Joel that when their mission is all over and done with, they can go and do whatever they want together. Joel certainly delivers on that promise, giving Ellie a stable place to call home.
In my opinion, Ellie is wise beyond her years. In season 1's final moment, I believe she knows that there's something more than Joel's recounting of what happened with the Fireflies. However, for the first time in her life, she has someone she loves who hasn't abandoned her or died too soon. By accepting Joel's lie, she's giving herself permission to live in peace. Of course, you can't build upon a relationship based on a lie. Eventually, it will fester and rear its ugly head. But, for a child who has never known belonging, this will have to do for now.
Joel and Ellie made it out alive, but they've been forever changed as they decide to make a life for themselves in Jackson together. A new beginning, indeed.