The last of Us Ending (Spoiler's)

[GamingGuru]

Well i think it is time to discuss one of the best reviewed game's of the year. I know someone made a topic about this but i wanted to make one where we could discuss the game ending in depth meaning their will be spoilers so please don't go any further if you have not finished the game and if you don't have the game for the love of god go pick it up.

Now i want to talk about the ending it was very clever to make a ending like this as well as very ambitious you can't decide if you want to save Ellie or let her die for the vaccine, You have to save her. And that moral dilemma is what very few games accomplish. I mean Joel and Ellie's relationship started off very rocky. Joel felt that this was a job nothing more and did not really care for Ellie (My conclusion is that he does not really want to get attached to another girl because he has not moved on from the death of his daughter) But as the game goes on you see their relationship blossom especially when Joel and Tommy find Ellie at the abandon house. I have not cared for any companion as much as i cared for Ellie (yea even more than Elizabeth) and that made the ending brilliant because if they had made a companion you don't care about then the ending would not be Morally Difficult. But you do and knowing everything Joel and Ellie have been trough and Deciding weather you save Ellie or The majority of mankind would have been the hardest decision i ever have had to make (In game of course). I think naughty dog knew that as well as having 2 endings would ruin the story they were making because let's face it some games need various endings. The last of us is not one of those games. So when Joel has rescued Ellie i did not know what to think and that is the beauty of this game they leave you wondering if Joel made the right decision. Was he thinking of Ellie or himself. I think he wanted to save Ellie but he also needed her. He needed someone to replace his daughter. In the beginning he did not want to get attached but now he want's nothing more then Ellie to be a part of his life. Remember when Ellie said her biggest fear was being alone i think that is what Joel also fears. They both need Each Other. But is Ellie's death worth the vaccine i have to say yes because as much as i care for Ellie is her life worth allowing the epidemic to continue NO. No life is worth that not even mine. And he did not even take into consideration what Ellie would want just like Marlene said. If Ellie were to find out what happened it would destroy her knowing she could of saved mankind but couldn't because Joel needed a Daughter figure to protect. At the end Joel and Ellie are talking about Ellie's survival guilt and Joel say's You need something to keep Fighting for i feel that before he was Fighting for the sake of living another day but when Ellie came into his life he found something else to fight for Ellie's life.

So those are my thought's on the ending it was a amazing game one of the best i ever played and it is a testament to the fact that video games are art and Naughty dog should be applauded for that.
Please let me known what you thought of the ending i love hearing other people's point of view. 

[techwizard]

i completely think he made the wrong choice and should have let her die, but i understand his reasons for not following through with it. there were also hints throughout the game that joel was not a hero, and not even a good guy. mention of him fighting "from both sides" and the scene with david where you see the effect joel's violent killings had on the victim's families. it all makes you think, and i really like that they didn't glorify the violence in this game, it was all about morals.

also i'm fairly sure that ellie had a good idea of what happened, i mean she woke up in a hospital gown in the back of a car. and normally she would follow joel and not question his motives (once their bond started getting more secure), but this time she called him on it and made him promise he wasn't lying. when he swore he told the truth, she seemed to hesitate and not be completely satisfied, but accepted it anyway. she probably knew what happened but in the end was just happy to be alive and to be with joel.

[Fleach]

I didn't read your posts because I'm still trying to track down a copy of the game. But darn guys, you sure making me feel anxious! Any good Samaritans out there willing to lend me the game?

[GamingGuru]

I didn't read your posts because I'm still trying to track down a copy of the game. But darn guys, you sure making me feel anxious! Any good Samaritans out there willing to lend me the game?

 i am sure if you wait 5-10 days they will have them in stock. Sorry man i just don't like lending.

[Fleach]

I know it'll be back in stock soon. I'm just impatient and feel like the kid who still has training wheels while all his friends are racing on two wheelers.

[GamingGuru]

I know it'll be back in stock soon. I'm just impatient and feel like the kid who still has training wheels while all his friends are racing on two wheelers.

Yea I know what you mean.

[Fleach]

If there's any thread worth reviving it's this one. I just finished the game and I'm both excited to discuss it and accepting of how speechless I am by the gravitas of Joel and Ellie's journey.

The game and its story revolved around the promise Joel made at the beginning to Marlene. Knowing that the world, civilization and morality no longer exist and that humanity had devolved into savagery any hope of salvation, in this case a cure, would spur any one with the slightest thread of moral fiber to action. Joel is not a bad person. He is brutally violent only because that's what required of him to survive. Most importantly, prior to bonding with Ellie, Joel is a man with nothing to lose, and definitely nothing to gain. Another death is just another less threat. Whether he feels comfortable with his actions is a whole other story (one I'm more then willing to discuss - hit me up on Skype).

This game will resonate with parents, let alone who feels their world would collapse should they lose someone dear to them. The world shown in the game is a mirror image on Joel's psyche. He's broken, pushed the edge, desperate, but he clings to a tiny sliver of his former self - the memory of Sarah.

As everyone's said already the bond between Joel and Ellie blossoms with the movement of the plot. The scene that is the topic of contention is the flee from the hospital. Joel fulfilled his promise to Marlene by bringing Ellie to the Fireflies, but what they found was not what they expected. The Fireflies, though their cause was admirable, hid methods which certainly were not. This enraged Joel and broke his trust for Marlene. That led to him shooting her and escaping with Ellie. Upon waking up the the truck Ellie learns that the weight of the world was wrongfully put on her shoulders when Joel says there are dozens like her, but is unaware of what her ultimate fate was. She begs Joel to promise her that the Fireflies were good people because she didn't know what was going to happen to her. She too wants to believe and hope that there are still good people despite what she sees around her everyday.

To answer the question if Joel did the right thing... He did what was right for him and Ellie. They needed each other to survive in this chaotic world and within their shattered psyches. He gave Ellie the hope (even if it was false hope) that everything will be fine.

Will a cure be found? Will humanity be restored? That's left to our imaginations. That also makes the ending great. Remember, the game was about Joel and Ellie (and what they endured and survived) not the world or the infected.

TL;DR drop me a line on Skype or PM. I would love to share my thoughts and hear everyone else's.

EDIT

Once finishing the game you see Ellie's knife resting in the now slightly open window. It could be a memento of her journey or it could signify that they are still fighting to survive - that even Jackson isn't safe.

[GamingGuru]

Thanks for you're response i appreciate it am also glad you got the game. i hope more people start writing on this forum so we can discuss the ending more in depth.

[techwizard]

i will definitely come back to this, but i'm too tired right now to think of a good response. congrats on finishing it fleach, ps3 is definitely going out with a bang!

[GamingGuru]

I think naughty dog has left their mark on the ps3 and the last of us is in my opinion the best.

[Fleach]

Definitely right about that. Ever since playing the Uncharted games I knew Naughty Dog could do great things. Just last week I learned that some employees are members of Sony's ICE Team which was developed to learn about unlock the full potential of the PS3 hardware.

With games like this and what's on the horizon (even next-gen stuff) Sony is really establishing themselves as a "for gamers" corporation. PS3 will go out with a huge bang. Now for Beyond: Two Souls.

If anyone wants to talk about The Last of Us or just chat in general my Skype is fleach.rfg