Warning – This article takes a closer look at some of the key plot points of The last of us.In the core, The last of us is a franchise in which characters are forced to make difficult decisions. Set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by infected and desperate people, players are shown how far humans will go to survive. Joel and Ellie, the protagonists of The last of us, are no exception. On their journey across America, the two are constantly besieged by the world and its inhabitants in situations that are morally ambiguous and burdensome to conscience.
Perhaps the most taxing choice Joel has to make comes at the end of the first game. When Joel is faced with the possibility of a cure for the man-made Cordyceps fungus, Joel turns his back on the world and decides to save Ellie. The young girl’s immunity is in fact the key to a cure that could end the nightmare that has plagued the world for 20 years, but just as Joel’s decision to save Ellie has consequences, so does a hypothetical alternative choice to save the world that too.
Ellie would die
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The first and most obvious outcome if Joel chose to save humanity would be that Ellie would die. Since the Cordyceps fungus grows around the victim’s brain, removing Ellie would definitely result in her death. It was because of the bond Joel shared with Ellie that the former decided to take on the daunting task of eliminating a vast majority of the Fireflies at St. Mary’s Hospital. But if that bond didn’t prove strong enough to thwart Joel’s conscience (or what’s left of it), Ellie may have been dissected for study.
The people closest to Ellie would be most affected by her death. This includes Tommy and Maria (although Ellie hasn’t spent much time with them at the moment), Marlene and of course Joel. Joel would find Ellie’s death the most difficult, because he was the one who had the most experiences with her. Ellie’s death would weigh so heavily on Joel that he might not be able to live with the guilt of handing her over to the Fireflies without a fight. Considering how grim the world of The last of us is that Joel might turn to vices like alcohol or even consider suicide to cope with the pain and loss.
A Snake Oil Cure
Even if Ellie’s sacrifice managed to produce a cure, not everyone would be willing to accept it. Humanity has been divided into different groups with different views for so long that no single governing body can oversee everyone. Some groups would be skeptical of the existence of a cure simply because it took so long to create. Other groups would shun the cure because they want what the world is like in its current state (think factions like the fighters).
Both ideologies are confirmed by Joel in the first The last of uswhile telling Ellie to hide her immunity from others for fear that they might try to kill her or think she’s crazy. However, despite the skepticism, some would be ecstatic about the existence of a cure and gladly accept it. Coincidentally, it will take a lot of effort to bring the world back to what it was before the spread of the Cordyceps fungus.
The fireflies are not the absolute answer
Both The last of us and The last of us 2 show how small the fireflies are. The group’s members are mainly made up of people who rebelled against numerous FEDRA quarantine zones around the world. As the demand for a unified government and a cure for the Cordyceps fungus grew, so did the number of people joining the Fireflies. But by the time the events of The last of us, the numerous losses to FEDRA soldiers combined with the slow death of the group’s dream for a government and a cure have reduced the Fireflies to a small militia group. With the prospect of a cure on the horizon, the Fireflies can finally deliver on one of their promised goals.
But the Fireflies are not the government. It would be difficult to spread a cure around the world with such a small number of people whose reputation has been tarnished by years of failure and disdain. And not everyone is friends with the Fireflies, as the group has made a large number of enemies during its existence. It is because of these factors that the Fireflies would undoubtedly be picky about who they give the remedy to. They would try to prioritize those in need of healing, but it also raises the question of what they would do if those in need were their former enemies. Just by looking at the questionable morals of their leader Marlene, who would sacrifice Ellie despite promising the girl’s mother that she would take care of her, one can see how morally ambiguous the Fireflies can be.
Even with all that sacrifice and pain, Joel will choose to do the “right” thing, maybe not make the world a better place. It would undoubtedly be a choice for the good of humanity, but there are still multiple factors beyond its control that must be taken into account. While it may seem like Joel saved Ellie from his relationship with the girl, he must also have thought about what would have happened if he had made a different choice.
The last of us part 1 is now available for the PlayStation 5.
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