The Last of Us is not a long game, but it has lingered on many players' minds for years after the credits roll. It's a simple but incredibly impactful story, one that asks elaborate questions and puts moral quandaries in front of players that are still the topic of many conversations in 2023. The Last of Us' HBO adaptation opened these questions up once again, with Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal embodying Joel and Ellie in a way few thought could be replicated.
The actors added their own take on the beloved pair, and in doing so gave them more depth. Joel and Ellie's partnership begins as a cargo mission, but as they trek across a ruined America, they learn more about each other until they reach Salt Lake City as firm friends and desperate dependents. They are introduced as poles apart in maturity, but have some critical similarities that The Last of Us' narrative relies on.
The Last of Us is a Story About Developing Maturity
The Last of Us' DLC story Left behind showed a glimpse of Ellie's experiences before she meets Joel. She's easily led by Riley, and exhibits lively human qualities that are recognizable for any 14-year-old. Throughout the first game she's frequently tested and matures greatly as a result (particularly during her run-in with David), and the girl players see at the close isn't the same one that Joel begrudgingly inherited in Boston. In The Last of Us 2 she's older, wiser, and less innocent, as the world has shaped her into a hardened survivor in both competence and character. The growth that Ellie has to endure is profound, and shows just how much people still have to adapt even when they were born after society fell.
Joel goes through his own arc, not just from a soft father before the world ended to the grumpy, grizzly, and emotionally empty man that fans meet in Part 1. He had the chance at normality in Part 2's Jackson, so when he meets Abby he does so as someone who has experienced five years of relative harmony. Ellie and Joel are not stalwart characters, they are immensely adaptable and malleable, which feeds into their humanity and emphasizes that they aren't conventional video game protagonists.
Joel's Mistakes Echo Ellie's Misdeeds
"If I every were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself" is a poignant message in the early stages of The Last of Us 2, and provides the basis for Ellie's journey after experiencing perhaps her greatest sense of grief. When Joel is killed, it sets the character on a path of destruction and hatred that manifests in a barrage of bodies scattered across the crumbling Pacific Northwest. She's fueled by a clouded sense of right and wrong, and even when she's presented with the idea of a quiet life with Dina outside Jackson, her love of Joel drives an uncontrollable hunt for Abby.
Joel experienced a similar feeling in the hospital at the end of the first game. When presented with the possibility of losing Ellie for good, he carries out heinous acts of destruction and death on innocent people. The difference between the two is that Joel had the opportunity to save Ellie, whereas Ellie's quest is a vengeful one after the fact. The emotional response is similar, as they each do fundamentally immoral and reactive things. Joel's weakness is on display for all to see as he can't be subjected to yet another heartbreak, and though Ellie has already experienced it, there are obvious parallels to the pair's reactions.
The Last of Us 2 is available now on PS4.