For over ten years, fans of The Last of Us have passionately debated a single topic: was Joel right to save Ellie at the expense of a potential cure for humanity? This question, at the heart of the first game's conclusion, had become almost sacred, fueling thousands of discussions, essays, and videos. Today, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have just decided: yes, Joel was right. In an interview with IGN, the showrunners have cleared up any ambiguity. They explain:
This positioning, while it may seem innocuous, marks a major turning point in the way the work is interpreted, especially when we know how much the authors have always preferred ambiguity to the declaration of principle.
Is the work trying to send us a message?
And yet... Was it really a surprise? Re-examining the original game and its recent television adaptation, several clues already hinted at this bias. In the series, for example, the final episode entirely adopts Joel's point of view, emphasizing his despair, his motivations, and the brutality of his love for Ellie. We see very little of the opposing camp – the Fireflies – humanized or developed. The surgical operation, potentially life-saving for humanity, is rushed through without discussion, as an almost suspicious fait accompli.
The game, for its part, had already skewed the emotional balance. The doctors are armed, and therefore threatening, and the player, forced to pull the trigger to advance, is complicit. The story never gives Ellie the opportunity to choose, and the absence of this voice helps refocus the dilemma on Joel alone. This doesn't mean the game approves of his actions, but the emotion is undeniably biased.
Season 2 will turn everything upside down
And yet, not everything is so clear-cut. The Last of Us Part II offers a form of counterpoint. We'll keep the events of the second game secret for all players who have yet to discover its plot. Season 2 of the series will make a point of exploring the consequences of Joel's choice through a plurality of perspectives. Despite this stance, will the next episodes succeed in reopening the debate, in redistributing the moral cards?
Perhaps this statement is, ultimately, also a strategy: that of guiding the audience towards the emotional complexity of season 2, the consequences of which are already known. Season 2 of The Last of Us is currently streaming on HBO Max. Find out how to access it here.
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