The Last of Us Ending Discussion (Spoilers Obviously)

So...

That shit was pretty crazy huh..

I just finished it like five minutes ago, credits still rolling now.

I don't even know what I think about it...  I think I need to think more about it.

 When I was in the hostpital I didn't want to kill those doctors.. I stood there for like three minutes looking for others ways to proceed..  I love Ellie, she is a bad ass 14 year old girl in a serious video game..  Ellie is definitely my favorite female character in a game of all time (at this moment) but if her death would save mankind I would accept that..

What do you guys think?

Yeah, it was definitely both a great, yet troubling ending. At first I thought Joel was driving alone, suggesting that he gave Ellie up, which I didn't like, because obviously Ellie is the best, but then when it showed that she was with him it also upset me that Joel gave up humanity's chance for a cure. 

Although I think that even if Ellie had been sacrificed it is not a guarantee that the doctors would have been able to find a vaccine or mass produce and distribute the vaccine.

But then again, in a world like that how much is life even worth? There are very few joys in such a world, and who knows how long Joel and Ellie will survive anyways.

And then Joel lying to Ellie about what happened shows that what he did was more for his sake than for hers...... So many interesting points to this ending, none of which give any sort of comfort, but they serve to make it a memorable story.

Yeah, it was definitely both a great, yet troubling ending. At first I thought Joel was driving alone, suggesting that he gave Ellie up, which I didn't like, because obviously Ellie is the best, but then when it showed that she was with him it also upset me that Joel gave up humanity's chance for a cure. 

Although I think that even if Ellie had been sacrificed it is not a guarantee that the doctors would have been able to find a vaccine or mass produce and distribute the vaccine.

But then again, in a world like that how much is life even worth? There are very few joys in such a world, and who knows how long Joel and Ellie will survive anyways.

And then Joel lying to Ellie about what happened shows that what he did was more for his sake than for hers...... So many interesting points to this ending, none of which give any sort of comfort, but they serve to make it a memorable story.

Duxsox56

I was 100% certain Joel was going to die... when he fell on that Reebar, just before WINTER... i thought it was the beginning of the end for him. Wasn't sure how much was left to the game.

I was overall very happy with the ending.... I also stood for a good 3 min. before taking down the doctor.... I moved closer with shotgun in his face... to see if he'd back off perhaps... or maybe attack me. I didn't want to shoot him, cuz I was thinking "the world probably doesnt have many doctors left"....

Yeah I didnt like the ending. I stood around too, cuz i didnt want to kill the doctors. But the game forces you to kill them and take Elie, which i didnt agree with. Then when you are walking throught the field after you leave the car behin, i seriously thought the game was going to make us shoot Joel in the back of the head. Which would of been a better ending.Nengo_Flow

That would be a far worse ending. Ellie would never shoot Joel, even if she knew he lied. It makes absolutely no sense.

[QUOTE="Nengo_Flow"]Yeah I didnt like the ending. I stood around too, cuz i didnt want to kill the doctors. But the game forces you to kill them and take Elie, which i didnt agree with. Then when you are walking throught the field after you leave the car behin, i seriously thought the game was going to make us shoot Joel in the back of the head. Which would of been a better ending.moistsandwich

That would be a far worse ending. Ellie would never shoot Joel, even if she knew he lied. It makes absolutely no sense.

Back when there was that "ending leaked" thing a few weeks ago, I had come across something that said that at the end Joel got infected and Ellie had to kill him. What a crazy powerful ending that would have been, and the whole time I was playing it I was expecting that with a lump in my throat. I was kind of let-down when the ending wasn't as strong as all that, but at the same time I was happy they lived. I guess it makes it possible for a sequel, although Naughty Dog has also said that they might try another game in the same world but with different characters.

Back when there was that "ending leaked" thing a few weeks ago, I had come across something that said that at the end Joel got infected and Ellie had to kill him. What a crazy powerful ending that would have been, and the whole time I was playing it I was expecting that with a lump in my throat. I was kind of let-down when the ending wasn't as strong as all that, but at the same time I was happy they lived. I guess it makes it possible for a sequel, although Naughty Dog has also said that they might try another game in the same world but with different characters.

DaRq_MiNoS

[QUOTE="moistsandwich"]

[QUOTE="Nengo_Flow"]Yeah I didnt like the ending. I stood around too, cuz i didnt want to kill the doctors. But the game forces you to kill them and take Elie, which i didnt agree with. Then when you are walking throught the field after you leave the car behin, i seriously thought the game was going to make us shoot Joel in the back of the head. Which would of been a better ending.Nengo_Flow

That would be a far worse ending. Ellie would never shoot Joel, even if she knew he lied. It makes absolutely no sense.

I think what the story is really about is Joel's journey from a guy that can't stand to care about anything anymore -- to a guy that cares so much about Ellie that he sacrifices the whole human race to save her.

[QUOTE="moistsandwich"]

[QUOTE="Nengo_Flow"]Yeah I didnt like the ending. I stood around too, cuz i didnt want to kill the doctors. But the game forces you to kill them and take Elie, which i didnt agree with. Then when you are walking throught the field after you leave the car behin, i seriously thought the game was going to make us shoot Joel in the back of the head. Which would of been a better ending.Nengo_Flow

That would be a far worse ending. Ellie would never shoot Joel, even if she knew he lied. It makes absolutely no sense.

I too was stunned when you had to kill those three doctors in such a brutal manner. But other than that, I think the game was incredible, and Joel's actions have weight.

If I was in his shoes, I probably would have done the same thing. He didn't want to lose his "daughter" for the second time. It was a selfish act, but one I have no problems with. Some of the recordings and files found in the hospital say that they had other immune people and that previous vaccine's never worked. What if Ellie was the same and she died for no reason? Obviously its the only way to research the cure, but if they already had immune people then there will be more than Ellie and she could live.

Maybe I'm just trying to justify his actions by thinking that way, but I'm fine with it. Fantastic ending to impeccable masterpiece of a game.

Some of the recordings and files found in the hospital say that they had other immune people and that previous vaccine's never worked. Ultrabeatdown55

[QUOTE="Nengo_Flow"][QUOTE="moistsandwich"]

That would be a far worse ending. Ellie would never shoot Joel, even if she knew he lied. It makes absolutely no sense.

MethodManFTW

[QUOTE="Ultrabeatdown55"]Some of the recordings and files found in the hospital say that they had other immune people and that previous vaccine's never worked. MethodManFTW

Back when there was that "ending leaked" thing a few weeks ago, I had come across something that said that at the end Joel got infected and Ellie had to kill him. What a crazy powerful ending that would have been, and the whole time I was playing it I was expecting that with a lump in my throat. I was kind of let-down when the ending wasn't as strong as all that, but at the same time I was happy they lived. I guess it makes it possible for a sequel, although Naughty Dog has also said that they might try another game in the same world but with different characters.

DaRq_MiNoS

I've heard the same, glad it didn't end like that, because that ending would've been exactly the same as a 2012 critical acclaimed game, which I'm not gonna name since I don't want to spoil it for you in case you haven't played it yet.

It's funny to read posters' comments that "they had to kill all three doctors" when infact you only had to kill the one blocking the path to Ellie. The other two were just nurses and you didn't have to kill them.

It's funny to read posters' comments that "they had to kill all three doctors" when infact you only had to kill the one blocking the path to Ellie. The other two were just nurses and you didn't have to kill them.

Bigboi500

I killed those doctors. I don't feel that it is what I would have personally done, but Joel was at a point where he would kill anybody that even had an inkling of harming Ellie... I was playing Joel, and it made sense.

Really I would agree that one life means nothing when compared to the survival of the human race... Ellie should have died and the doctors were right, but it would have been proper for them to at least talk to her/ask her about it. I could see where Joel's coming from though -- that this girl had become like his surrogate daughter, and he wasn't going to let her die.

I sympathize with Joel's decision.  Why trust the Fireflies?  They were just as ruthless trying to get their way in some instances as FEDRA was.  In a world where civilization is broken, you look out for yourself and your interests alone.  Joel did exactly that - trusting the good intentions of others only leaves you vulnerable to being knifed in the back.  Let your guard down and you wind up dead.

It's kill or be killed - surviving isn't an easy decision, but like Joel said you simply have to keep finding something worth living for.  If Joel let Ellie die, what else would he have?  Tess is dead, his brother and him aren't exactly on the greatest of terms, he'd be out in the wild with nowhere to really go - keeping Ellie alive is his reason for surviving.  And surviving is all Joel really has left.

First I shot doctor who hold gun in his face by shotgun because I like Ellie I don't anyone miss with her, 2nd when I heared in recording voice cure operation may be failed I don't regret when Joal lied to Ellie.

Killing the doctor was surprisingly easy for me. Doctor = Shotgun to the face at point blank. Male nurse = slammed his head into the wall, death via blunt force trauma. Female nurse = Flamethrower... felt kind of bad for that one, but she did call me a monster...

It's easy to get caught up in the ramifications of Joel's actions, but I'm not in favor of letting children die at the hands of grown adults, regardless of their rationale. Sure, there was a possibility that their research/ellie's death COULD bring about a cure; however, the chances of them discovering and then mass producing a cure to save humanity seem ridiculously small. Also, the Fireflies aren't exactly the symbole of justice and truth. They are scummy and what would stop them from using the cure as a form of control over the rest of the population? People are just assuming that the Fireflies will craft a cure, mass produce it, and pass it around the globe like Santa Clause... I mean seriously, Earth is a giant wasteland and they are the only ones with a cure to the infection...and they are just going to hand it out to everyone... for free? Furthermore, Joel lied to Ellie to set her free from any doubt and protect her from any emotional pain that she would have surely suffered had he told her the truth. He wanted to let the poor girl live the rest of her life as happily as possible because that is exactly what she deserved. Joel did the right thing and, if I had the chance, I'd make the exact same decisions.

PS: The ending of Joel getting infected and having Ellie kill him is incredibly cliche and predictable. Naughty Dog made the right decision, the best decision.