HBO’s “The Last of Us” series is one of the best video game adaptations ever, and the emotional season finale showed why the PlayStation classic has one of the most critically acclaimed stories.
After an arduous journey across the United States, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), in season 1, episode 9, finally arrive at Fireflies Hospital in Salt Lake City.
There the rebel group led by Marlene (Merle Dandridge) has a hospital under their control and they can analyze Ellie in search of a cure. However, this is not possible without Ellie’s sacrifice.
When Joel learns that Marlene is willing to kill Ellie for the cure, his anger controls him and he bursts into the hospital to save the girl he now sees as his daughter.
But throughout this chapter there are different symbolisms and hidden details about love, nature, conservation and selfishness. Here we explain the ending of the last chapter and what to expect for the second season.
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‘The Last of Us’: How did Ellie’s mom make her immune to the fungus?
The season finale opens with Anna (Ashley Johnson, voiced by Ellie in the games) escaping from an infected as she prepares to give birth, but as soon as the baby is born, she is bitten.
Anna manages to cut the umbilical cord but the cordyceps fungus (which exists in real life) it manages to infect Ellie’s brain, though it does not take over her body or nervous system.
In her last ditch effort, Anna sacrifices herself to keep Elli safe and have a protected life, which is echoed in the final minutes of the chapter where Joel also shows that he is capable of anything to protect Elli .
What do the giraffes mean in the final chapter of ‘The Last of Us’?
Several images of giraffes have been hidden throughout the series, either in stuffed animals or drawings, but when Ellie and Joel finally find one in the ruins of a city, it’s a beautiful sight that takes their breath away.
The appearance of this giraffe also shows how nature is neither good nor bad, since while Cordyceps has destroyed humanity by expanding and reproducing, we also see how nature has reclaimed urban areas.
The giraffe is a symbol of hope that the world can emerge from the chaos that lies ahead for humanity and reminds Ellie and Joel that there are still beautiful things in the world.
The Last of Us Explained: Is Joel Actually the Story’s Villain?
Although it’s somewhat ambiguous in the series, in reality Ellie would have chosen to die in order for a cordyceps cure to grow in her brain so her life would mean something and leave a mark on the world.
As Marlene points out to Joel at the end, the decision to save or sacrifice Ellie isn’t up to either of them, it’s Ellie’s. However, Joel can’t bear the thought of losing another daughter, so he decides not to honor her wish.
Joel’s decision to kill innocent people to save Ellie, despite not wanting to be saved, is something that has divided fans of the video game and now the series.
From the beginning, Joel himself has told everyone that he is not a good person and that he has done whatever is necessary to survive, even if it means killing innocent people.
It can be considered that Joel in the grand panorama of “The Last of Us” is the villain, since his selfishness prevents a cure that saves humanity, in addition to the fact that his murders affect the relatives of the dead.
‘The Last of Us’ why does Joel lie to Ellie at the end of the season?
After killing all the Fireflies and the doctor who was going to operate on Ellie, Joel takes her back to Jackson and lies to her saying that she is not the only one who is immune and that no other person has been able to develop a cure.
He then tells her that a group of looters attacked the hospital and that’s why they had to leave in a hurry. However, Ellie has proven to be smart and finds Joel’s story very convenient and strange.
Joel, in the role of the father, believes that his lie will protect Ellie in the future, not make him look like a murderer, and since he wants to be with her at all costs, he removes the idea that she wants to sacrifice herself to do the treatment.
“The Last of Us”: what will happen in the second season?
With the first season of ‘The Last of Us’ following the story of the video game almost identically, it’s easy to believe that the same will happen with the sequel, where 5 years later Joel’s actions finally have consequences.
All the morally ambiguous decisions made by Joel become important in the second part of the story as Ellie discovers the truth and distances herself from Joel.
Also, the daughter of the doctor Joel murders, Abby (who some fans believe appears in a cabin in the final episode), waits years to get revenge on her father’s killer and finally meets Joel and Ellie.
The second season of “The Last of Us” has been confirmed, although no tentative date has been announced for its arrival, nor how the show will deal with the time jump in the story.
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Source: univision
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
