Ellie and Joel Reminisce on Life Before the Apocalypse in Emotional & Visceral Finale for Season One of 'The Last of Us'
There's a saying that is often communicated with many when trying to showcase love and care for one another; "I would kill and die for you." We've seen Ellie and Joel have circumstances like this arise episode-by-episode all season long, however, one thing rings true at the conclusion of the riveting HBO series' first season, Joel will do anything to protect his new love, in what has become his renewed passion for having a "daughter" in Ellie. Within the ninth episode of the freshman effort, "Look for the Light," helps shine upon the reality of what Ellie and Joel are dealing with despite their own respective journeys. They're now joined together, after all the trauma, emotion, laughter, tears and drama that they've endured. Ellie assures Joel that after they get to the hospital, she'll follow him anywhere he wants to go. It's the cheeriest we've seen Pascal's portrayal all season long which echoes that of the performance that Troy Baker originally gave to Joel in the video game that the series takes from. In what is personally one of my favorite visuals from the storytelling of the game, we see Joel and Ellie interact with a giraffe, one who has inhabited the lands that have grown over time. It's filled with greenery and for a minute, they just take in the view. It gives you a feeling that things may actually be okay for the future inhabitants of this world.
As they're walking amongst Salt Lake City to seek out the hospital set up by the Fireflies, they're not given a warm welcome. As a flash bang takes them out before a Firefly hits Joel in the back of the head with a rifle and Ellie is taken. Joel awakens to the site of Marlene (Merle Dandridge), who we haven't seen since the season premiere. She informs him that Ellie is being prepped for surgery: the doctor is tasked with removing the cordyceps that he believes is growing inside her as it may be attracting other fungus-type creatures toward her as they pick up on the network of communal fungi that is located in her brain. Their doctor believes that the cordyceps has been growing inside her since birth, as we see evidenced in a visceral opening sequence featuring Ellie's mother, Anna (played by the video game's original Ellie, Ashley Johnson). If they multiply the cells, they can create a vaccine to cure the rest of the world; however, the news comes wrapped in tragic circumstances for Joel as he realizes that if they remove the cordyceps from Ellie's brain, she'll die.
Marlene had a history with Ellie's mother, which plays out in the opening flashback, and given what she knows and what she had to endure with Ellie, she knows she must die for the advancement of their current humanity. However, Joel doesn't quite see it that way. In a sequence that features Joel grabbing the soldiers weapons, going on a rampage and leaving bodies at his wake, Joel eventually departs having killed everyone with an unconscious Ellie in his arms.
Within the game, the scene plays out much differently, as series creator Druckmann points out, that since you're in control of a character, you feel complicit in Joel's actions. However, co-creator of the series, Craig Mazin, who's had to deal with difficult source material before (i.e. Chernobyl), says that he's still morally gray on where Joel's decision lies: "I'm not suggesting that I have a hard opinion about how things go at the end-and I don't. I'm confused about it morally. I think it's a difficult choice. I go back and forth, and I think a lot of people will go back and forth on it."
It's a sequence that is wrapped in fear, anxiety, sadness, confusion, anger, remorse and love. Joel knows that at this point, he will do anything and everything to save his "baby girl," which puts him in a situation where many never hope to find themselves in. One would think when you love someone unconditionally, that logic goes out the window and that's what we see when Joel endures the choice of saving Ellie or saving the rest of the world. Joel, of course, doesn't have the heart to tell her about his immediate decision-making, despite the fact that that may not be in fact the end result that Ellie herself would have wanted.
It's truly an emotional finale to wrap up what was a series for HBO that became fully embraced as it went on week after week. The viewership, ratings and fanfare has grown exponentially from when it first premiered back in January. It was an elaborate first season that had great care, courtesy of the creatives that were truly fans of the game. An exploration of intimidating situations that brought us all along for the ride. It was intricately crafted and I'm excited to see where they go with Season 2.
Overall Score for the Episode: 9.1
Overall Score for Season 1: 9.6
Comments
Post a Comment