Warning: spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 1 episode 9.
This season finale will linger in our minds for a long time.
The Last of Us TV series, based on the video game franchise of the same name, has been nothing short of a success since its inception, following Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) on their perilous adventure in a terrible, post-apocalyptic world.
Over the course of nine episodes, their friendship has grown to the point that neither can deny that they now see one other as father and daughter, as they each risk letting down their barriers once more in order to be vulnerable with someone they actually care about.
In episode eight, Joel referred to Ellie as “baby girl,” which triggered cries throughout the world since it was the same pet name he used to refer to his late daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), but it also established their everlasting relationship. They’d become one other’s ride-or-die situation.
While Joel originally denied any feelings for Ellie early in the series, by the last episode, he’s determined not to allow anybody or anything harm a hair on her head… even if it means saving the planet.
Joel has just one priority: ensuring that he does not lose Ellie.
When he learns that the Fireflies want to murder her in a surgical procedure in order to remove the Cordyceps from her brain and try to put it in a vaccine, the former smuggler has only one thought: eliminate anybody who stands in his way as he embarks on saving her life.
It has been remarked that Joel seems significantly more weaker in the TV drama than in the computer game – a genuine picture of a 56-year-old who has experienced both mental and physical trauma.
Considering his partial deafness, which has previously stopped him from hearing assailants, and a knife wound that Ellie has just recently stitched up, one may suppose Joel is incapable of facing a full army of Fireflies on his own.
When Joel puts his mind on anything, he is nothing if not determined, and he does not hold back from unleashing his bloodthirsty, deadly side in order to achieve his goal.
Joel emerges as an unstoppable force, murdering Fireflies left, right, and centre without a hint of regret or shame on his face as he makes his way through the hospital to find Ellie.
This is the most ferocious Joel we’ve ever seen, one episode after viewers saw him torture and kill two men in the cannibalistic group who kidnapped Ellie.
Joel leaves a trail of dead in his wake, including shooting Marlene (Merle Dandridge), the Firefly commander he’s known for years, in the head so she can’t track them down.
To add insult to injury, when Ellie awakens in the vehicle, Joel informs her that the Fireflies were unable to produce a cure and that the base was besieged by raiders.
The cruelty of The Last of Us season one finale has so many levels that we must unravel. The Fireflies’ furious rampage by Joel. His blatant deception to Ellie. The possibility that he has just discovered a cure for the Cordyceps illness.
Yet that’s what makes this programme so compelling.
The Last of Us looks to have entirely turned the script on the show’s goal – finding a vaccine – just as Game of Thrones left viewers stunned when the primary character Ned Stark got his head hacked off in the season one finale.
Viewers will be faced with grave moral concerns – if given the opportunity, would you save a loved one or try to save the entire planet from disaster, even if the latter option wasn’t 100% certain?
Joel and Ellie’s father-daughter connection is nearly indestructible, but might the prospect of his secret being revealed be enough to tear them apart?
All we can say is kudos to the show’s creators, from the showrunners to the writers, cinematographers, cast, and everyone else on the team.
It’s been a terrifying thrill to witness this story, both for video game fans and novices to the genre, and we’re already dreading the day when we have to say goodbye for good. So, for the time being, bring on season two!
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW.
Source My Celebrity Life.