What The Future May Hold for Ellie and Joel in The Last of Us 2
At the end of The Last of Us, Joel saves Ellie from having her life sacrificed in order to extract a cure for the Cordyceps infection which has brought ruin to the world. There is the ethical dilemma presented in saving her as opposed to saving so many more, yet there is also the deeper psychological reasoning why Joel may have saved her, though that also presents problems down the road. To understand this, though, understanding Ellie's overall mindset is key to see what the future may behold between the two characters' relationships as The Last of Us 2 continues their journey.
Before the fictionalized take on civilization's complete collapse and the near-ending of the mankind in The Last of Us, it is important to understand the notion of individuality will likely continue in The Last of Us 2. After all, no one person should bear the responsibility of saving the entire world, but conversely, there are exceptions made in which lives are often sacrificed in calculable measures of war times in determining, with certainty, that an even greater number of lives will be saved from an immediate or direct threat as a result.
Therefore, these ideas in which individuality bears its own individual importance is certainly enshrined in modern consciousness, yet still present major ethical dilemmas and grey areas. The Last of Us is masterful in capturing this ethical dilemma in a way that few have done so in fiction.
At the end of The Last of Us, Joel ends up saving Ellie, despite the fact that sacrificing her life could have presented a cure for the Cordacyeps virus that would have saved countless individual lives in the short and long term and potentially even save the human species. It's not that simple, though.
Is Joel really ensuring Ellie's survival because of his philosophical beliefs in regards to a complicated ethical dilemma? Many would likely believe The Last of Us' Joel was selfish and did it for reasons that entirely revolve around his own emotional need to save that which he holds dear in his world and which still gives him meaning and purpose in his life.
It must not be forgotten that Joel already had to endure the loss of his own daughter at the start of the outbreak, and perhaps it is an experience too traumatizing for him to accept and live through again during his journey through the world of The Last of Us. At this moment in time, there hasn't been any dialogue and insight of Joel's motives and overall views in regards to the lie, or white lie, which he told Ellie in saving her from certain death. It becomes harder to judge as a result.
In Ellie's side of the equation, she also endures much mental agony of her own, with Ellie losing friends and loved ones along the way, and she never knew what the civilized world and society entailed before the apocalyptic outbreak. Perhaps her enthusiasm and the positive mental stimulation she demonstrates as she observes fragments of the old world, such as comics, are what gives her hope for a brighter future. What is clear at the end of The Last of Us is that Ellie finds it utterly important for the well being of her own clear conscious that Joel was telling the truth when he took her away from the Fireflies laboratory, and assured her that her death would have been in vain anyway.
The Last of Us 2 can entail a few circumstances which could complicate the relationship between Joel and Ellie, and such questions in The Last of Us' world will need to be answered. From watching the trailers, it is already apparent that Joel and Ellie have gone their separate ways, at least for a time being, or at least they are not close to one another on a daily basis.
While the reason for this is not yet explained, one can imagine that if Ellie were to find out the truth of the matter of the attempted sacrifice of her life, there is the possibility she could feel much anger and resentment towards Joel. On a deeper level, perhaps she may even view Joel as having took away her path to redemption, given the immense amount of survivor's guilt she often feels for those friends and loved ones whose violent deaths in The Last of Us she witnessed and endured during the course of her life's journey.
Perhaps, if she finds out she does in fact hold the cure, or at least a possibility for a cure, by not going through with her own sacrifice, her life itself is what remains in vain. In this regard, she may view Joel as the one who has subjected her to a life lacking purpose, or a life which constantly reminds her of her perceived failure to fulfill the purpose which she may define as success.
Joel may have to explain himself, and if he explains it on a level of emotional dependence on his need for her to survive, this may not suit well for her, and could be the cause of friction between the two. If he can manage to explain it this deep matter on a larger philosophical level of individual importance, and the ideological need for mankind to uphold these sacred notions of individual value as a means to justify the existence of its species on a positive note, in a world that is already entrenched in cold and bitter evils, perhaps it is possible she empathize.
However, the latter may not necessarily relinquish her of the survivor's guilt she feels daily in knowing her death may hold the answer to save others, and may even give meaning to the deaths of loved ones she knew in the past, whose deaths thus far have been in vain themselves. Perhaps, their contribution to her journey and her overall survival would still give meaning to the deaths of those individuals if she could present the cure the world needs, even if it means death.
There are some clues in the latest trailer for The Last of Us 2 which could provide insight into a new journey Ellie embarks on, and Joel's role. At first glance, it appears that Ellie and Dina set out on a mission of sorts. Dina was either fridged or kidnapped in The Last of Us 2, which could setup a revenge or a rescue story in which Ellie is the protagonist. The trailer reveals that Joel finds Ellie during her journey and wishes to join her.
The moment in which the two met is not exactly marked with bitterness, but it is clear the two may not see completely eye to eye. And it is possible this may present issues are one of an ethical dilemma drawn from the events mentioned above, at the end of the first game. What is unknown at this point is the context of the mission Ellie and Dina set out upon before something bad happened to Dina. In the event that Dina was actually fridged by one of The Last of Us 2's human enemies and not just kidnapped, it would make sense that their journey entailed something of a larger essence and purpose.
This would mean that the plot would not merely be a simple story of revenge for Ellie, but could also entail the journey of needing to complete the mission in order to redeem Dina's death and ensure that her death was not in vain.
While this is mere speculation, there is the possibility that Ellie's journey in The Last of Us 2 is one which seeks out a party, which could create the cure from her, even if it meant the ultimate sacrifice of her life. If this angle were to be an aspect of the story in The Last of Us 2, it would also provide greater contrast and meaning for the ethical dilemma that persists among Joel as mentioned above, at the end of the first game.
In other words, by helping Ellie on her journey to seek out her own sacrificial endeavors for a cure, Joel would be redeeming the lie he told her at the end of the first game, and his actions in thwarting the mission to extract the cure from her at the Firefly's facility. It is also possible that Joel decides Ellie is old and mature enough to make this decision. It would also make sense that there may be another party that has the ability to extract a cure from her using a method that would not kill her, or not. But it is important to note that the Firefly's were not exactly ethical themselves, in trying to kill Joel, among other actions near the ending of The Last of Us.
The plot in The Last of Us which continues the journey for a cure is all speculation, and there is no evidence of its presence, but such a plot would certainly foster further depth in developing the ethical dilemma of Joel's white-lie, the potential death of Dina, the past deaths of Ellie's companions, and Ellie's own ability to cope with life and free the survivors guilt that lingers in her consciousness. Whatever storyline persists in The Last of Us 2, it is clear the relationship between Joel and Ellie is not as straight forward as the first game, and this will likely be addressed and largely relevant to story of The Last of Us 2, which the game will surely answer to.
The Last of Us 2 will release on Playstation 4 on May 29, 2020.
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