The ending of The Last of Us remains a subject of discussion after more than ten — was Joel right or wrong? Creator Neil Druckmann says he understands the protagonist.
This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us 1 and the series «The Last of Us»
The game’s director made it clear that he supports Joel’s choice. In an interview, Druckmann and the series’ showrunner Craig Mazin were asked what they thought of the game’s final events. Druckmann answered directly:
«I believe Joel was right. If I were in Joel’s position, I hope I would be able to do what he did to save my daughter», — says Druckmann.
Showrunner Maisin agreed with him, but added that he was not sure if he could do it himself:
«That’s so interesting, because I think that if I were in Joel’s position, I probably would have done what he did. But I’d like to think that I wouldn’t. That’s the interesting push and pull of the morality of it. And that’s why the ending of the first game is so provocative and so wonderful», — adds Maisin.
In the finale of the first part, Joel learns that to create a vaccine against cordyceps, the doctors of «Fireflies» must operate on Ellie. But instead, the girl would not have survived, and then Joel would have lost her, as he lost his teenage daughter long ago. Without hesitation, he kills everyone in the hospital, takes Ellie away, and lies to her about the failure of the cure.
Was his choice the right one? The game doesn’t give a clear answer, and that’s what made it so powerful. The Last of Us Part 2 further exacerbates this dilemma by showing the consequences of Joel’s actions. In the future, he is often shown as an antagonist and attention is drawn to how his actions have affected the lives of many people.
The second season of the HBO series will start soon and will be based on the events of The Last of Us Part 2, which will be released on PC the day after tomorrow. Although the creators of promised to show something that was not in the game universe. But in both the series and the game, the moral implications of the first game’s finale will be key to the continuation of the story.
Maisin’s statement adds context: he himself believes that Joel did the right thing, although the game deliberately does not give an unambiguous assessment. This may affect the adaptation, as the series has already shown that it sometimes changes details to give viewers a slightly different vision of the story. For example, it became the series about Bill and Frank, which was received by with criticism, but the creators were not afraid of it — they prepared a response for this episode.
Source: IGN
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