Fans of The Last of Us have mixed feelings about Joel usually. In some ways, he is the hero of the story, making sacrifices that show that his true nature isn't as bad as he makes people think, but in other ways, he is a truly sadistic character who thinks of no one but himself. The Last of Us 2 will see Joel come back into Ellie's life after being away for a presumably long time, but will this be a good thing for the tragic heroine of the sequel? It's possible that Joel was really more of a bad influence on Ellie than a good one.
Joel and Ellie's relationship is paramount to understanding and enjoying the story of the original The Last of Us, and the same will likely be true in The Last of Us 2. Something must have happened in the long gap between the two games, as in the trailer which features Joel, Ellie seems less than happy to see him. What occurred between the two that drove them apart is as of yet unknown, but given the strength of their bond by the end of The Last of Us, it must have been something pretty serious.
Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us
Both Ellie and Joel are extremely interesting and complex characters in The Last of Us, and both change dramatically throughout the course of the story. Joel's evolution is easy to see for the most part: he begins as a caring and kind father, but loses much of his humanity during the time skip after losing his daughter, Sarah. The next time the player controls Joel, he is an incredibly selfish and morally ambiguous person. Tess seems to draw out the best in him, but even that isn't much.
It is ultimately his travel with Ellie which helps him revert back to a more kind-hearted character, but some of the stains of his years since the outbreak never fade. Ellie, on the other hand, has much more subtle changes, due in part to the tough exterior she puts on throughout everything. Despite her snark, Ellie is mostly innocent at the beginning of the game. She has seen some terrible things, like her friend Riley turning before her eyes and the regular executions which occur in the quarantine zone, but she is still a child and ignorant of the true horrors of the world she lives in.
Travelling across country with Joel changes this. Although it can be said that Joel wasn't trying to be at first, he was not a great father figure for Ellie. He is somewhat protective of her early on, as is shown by his reluctance to give her a gun or let her go off on her own, but even this eventually fades. Joel effectively trains Ellie into a killing machine just like him, and by winter, Ellie is able to systematically slaughter an entire group of armed men in quite the brutal fashion. This is a longshot from the Ellie which nearly threw up after making her first kill to save Joel.
Joel is a Bad Influence on Ellie
Even though it seems that Joel eventually opens up and becomes far more caring towards Ellie, the truth is that most of this was still born of selfish desire. It was Joel's need for companionship that caused him to open up to Ellie, not Ellie's need for a father figure. Likewise, the lie Joel tells Ellie at the end of the game and the actions he took to save her were all completely selfish, as it is clear that she wanted to know the truth. He told the lie so that he wouldn't lose her.
Ellie in The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us 2 paints a different picture of Ellie during its opening scenes found in the trailers. She is living a somewhat normal life with Tommy's group, complete with good food, dances, safety, and real human interaction. The fact that he was able to secure this kind of life for her does say some good things about him, but Joel's absence during these scenes is certainly strange to say the least. It isn't until after a routine patrol goes horribly awry that fans see the more ruthless Ellie that started to surface by the end of the previous game.
Ellie seeks revenge, presumably for whatever happened to her love interest, Dina. This time, though, it isn't Joel's quest, it's her's. Numerous people attempt to dissuade her from going down this path, but the hatred she feels and her desire for vengeance are simply too great. These are all traits that Joel instilled in her during their year-long journey to the fireflies, and they are all traits which will drive her actions in the sequel.
There is no denying that the post-apocalyptic setting of The Last of Us is harsh and unforgiving, and Ellie certainly never had a chance of living what most would consider a normal life, but it is likely that Joel didn't really help in that department either. Perhaps if Ellie had instead been escorted by Tess, who from the start proved to be more caring of Ellie and careful of how she behaved the child, then Ellie would have grown up to be a less violent person. Of course, there is plenty of room for doubt as to whether she would have ever made it as far as she did with Joel.
Ultimately, both Ellie and Joel are flawed characters, but that is what makes them so entertaining to play. With Naughty Dog's claim that Ellie will be the most complex character in gaming, these flaws are likely to persist. Though Joel certainly aided Ellie in becoming the more jaded and hateful person she is today, he still saved her life countless times and formed a strong bond with her that she wouldn't find anywhere else. Hopefully whatever came between them can be resolved in The Last of Us 2, but only time will tell for certain.
The Last of Us 2 is due to release May 29th, 2020 exclusively on PS4.