Let's discuss The Last of Us’ ending: What does it all mean?

MMGN: The end of The Last Of Us is truly the culmination of everything that has come before, a fantastic ending to a videogame script that was actually genuinely good.

[Philoctetes]

Brilliant ending. It's basically The Godfather in a radically different setting. This is the first video game I've ever encountered that actually merits seriously literary discussion. Naughty Dog should be proud of this game.

[showtimefolks]

No doubt I was expecting the worst and was pleased to see they didn't go the excited route

It's different
It makes sense
And the creative director said he doesn't need to explain, it's the development studio's vision

This is the first game that I played in a long long time when character development actually takes over over time instead of through one cutscene

If you still haven't played the game, believe me you are missing out on one of the best games with excellent story and very thought out MultiPlayer

[hulk_bash1987]

Great story and perfect ending considering the experiences of the character through out the whole game. Doing a sequel to this game is kind of a double edged sword. On one hand I would love to revisit this world and characters in a new game but I don't want the ending of the 1st to be tarnished.

[soniqstylz]

I'll wait until DLC is out -- they may say all that needs to be said about this universe.

[Majin-vegeta]

Don't know still haven't played it :(.Hopefully i'll get it this week.

[Kingthrash360]

you've lost gamer points my friend.
any self proclaimed gamer HAS to play this game. its truly a game that has it all...action, adventure, comedy, horror, violence, strategy, suspense...etc....the agrees I get will tell you its no lie.

[Xer0_SiN]

dont worry. if you dont play it, watch them turn this into a movie; the storyline IS that rich.

[MoonWheel]

I feel a like a movie couldn't pull it off as well. It took me 13 hours to complete it and no movie I feel could replicate what you do in those 13 hours. Also, the cut scenes are fantastic, but all the little things like the side conversations, jokes, ellie doing weird stuff is what makes this game special and I don't think a movie could pull it off. It's just one of the perks of this being a video game.

[Xer0_SiN]

i wholeheartedly agree. i didnt say the movie would do this game justice. i just said they would do it. from hollywoods perspective, it would be hard not too. the storyline is heavy. its a good script. the game is way better though. just because of your interaction with the enviroment and the characters themselves. even the little things, like ellies jokes, like you mentioned.

[Psychonaut]

Long story short. He grew too attached to her. She knew what had to be done to save her. They were BOTH lied to by the Fireflys about her being the only one immune. There is a audio file in the hospital that mentions other immune.

So then he lies to ellie about them stopping from looking for a cure to keep her safe, however she could tell it was a lie. The End. Amazing game. The sequel should start with them, and his brother in the safe haven either searching or being found out. And make her the main character this time around as she has been trained for years now by Joel.

[HeavenlySnipes]

Where was this audio file?

I swear Joel just lied to Ellie about that part in order to justify why they left

[Psychonaut]

Yeah its in the hospital. without giving away what is said its a doctor off hand making a remark about another immune person they were testing on and lost.

(And I got voted down for no reason.)

[dumahim]

You probably got a disagree because all of the audio journals were talking about Ellie.

[Psychonaut]

shh... im trying to red herring the ending for people. ( however some people_ heavnlySnipes for one does not know tact. or giving away the games true ending. :/

[soniqstylz]

The surgeon's recording in the Firefly lab was talking about Ellie being the latest of about a dozen immune.

[HeavenlySnipes]

Oh all right (didn't down vote you btw)

****Spoilers****

I had collected all of Marlenes audio recordings and they were basically about having to give the go ahead for killing Ellie to get to the mutated virus. I'd been under the assumption that Ellie was their only hope (Marlene even pleaded with Joel that same story before he killed her)

It also sounded like Joel made that shit up on the spot when he told Ellie that in the last cutscene tbh

/Spoiler

[Majin-vegeta]

Jeezus christ how about farking putting spoilers ahead in your next comment!

@below i didnt even click on the article link. .

[YourGreatUncle]

In all fairness if you shouldn't be reading an article that says "Let's discuss The Last of Us’ ending: What does it all mean?" if you haven't beaten it yet just saying.

[CaEsAr-]

I'm sorry but how on earth are you reading comments made by people who actually finished the game already?

[YourGreatUncle]

It goes way beyond than Joel getting attached to Ellie. In this game you see what humanity has become. The population has split into tribes killing whoever enters their territory. The infected are the least of your worries when dealing with cannibalistic pedophiles. You have to ask yourself is humanity even worth saving at this point? Also a vaccine was never guaranteed. The audio files said they have tried the operation before and each time it has failed. Lets say a vaccine is made. How would they mass produce it and get it to people who will shoot them on site? Once the word of a vaccine is out it would cause even more trouble because each tribe of people would want total control over it. There's so much more to the ending than just Joel has grown attached to her.

[Veneno]

In theory everything you just said is perfectly right, but this game is more emotionally driven than plot driven. The focus will always be on the characters first, and the infection a close second. The core of the story isn't really the fate of humanity, but the bonds we as people make with each other. Therefore I can confidently say that the single player DLC will focus again on emotional bonds and use the infection as a plot device.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE DLC,!!!!!!!!!!

[FrostyZipper]

!!!!SPOILERS IN THIS POST! SKIP IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED TLOU YET!!!!

I like to think there's certainly the attachment factor, but I also like to think that perhaps, when Joel was told Ellie was going to have to die in order to find out what made her immune, that he took a step back and looked at humanity as a whole. Who he was, what he's done and the state of affairs as a whole. In one collectible, it's estimated that roughly 60-65% of the world's population either died or become infected and given the state of the world twenty years post-outbreak I doubt the population will have risen any higher, with losses to infected attacks, hunters, military crackdowns, malnutrition, lack of basic essentials such as clean water etc. etc.

Maybe Joel realised that a vaccine wouldn't change anything. That hunters would still plague innocent travelers, the military would still retain their brutish authority and that the issue of supply would still kill hundreds even if they were vaccinated against the Cordyceps. Maybe he thought the Fireflies would hoard the vaccine and that the military would take aggressive steps to take it for themselves. Maybe he realised that humanity just wasn't worth saving anymore.

[soniqstylz]

TBH, if you're reading an article on the examination of the ending of the game w/o having played the game, you deserve to be spoiled.

[FrostyZipper]

@soniqstylz: Fair enough but I'll wager there'd still be people who'd complain if I didn't point it out beforehand.

[dumahim]

@soniqstylz

No, it doesn't.

"As we've seen in all past cases, the antigenic titers of the patient's Cordyceps remain high in both the serum and the cerebrospinal fluid."

Past cases would be other, normally infected people, not immune people. He then goes on to talk about what makes Ellie different from the other infected, including this:

"and an MRI of the brain shows no evidence of fungal-growth in the limbic regions, which would normally accompany the prodrome of aggression in infected patients."

He also talks about the hundreds of other men and women who died for the cause, which would likely be Fireflies doing their job, not immune people. He said nothing about other immune people. Dozens or otherwise.

[moparful99]

I applaud Naughty Dog's ability to create a compelling story that has a satisfying resolution without have to resort to a "Rainbows and sunshine" happy ending. We as fans got to see Joel and Ellie make it through but throwing in a healthy dose of uncertainty for their future.

[soniqstylz]

Honestly, the ending was the closest thing to being "rainbows and sunshine" as you could get. Tommy's was the only place that they had come upon where there was an actual community, almost civilization (agriculture, electricity, etc.).

[Lovable]

Joel couldn't face the fact that Ellie will die for humanity. Humanity that tried to kill them along the way. Is it worth saving? Also the fact that I think Joel couldn't face losing Ellie who became his second daughter.

[mgszelda1]

I'm tired of a ton of ppl looking at Joel as a bad guy. I mean what he did was selfish but in a way, mankind kind of doesn't deserve a cure. No one is usually willing to help a stranger and they r willing to kill just to get something from somebody else. Whether it be supplies or even just power.

[WitWolfy]

@Lovable

Wow, you know your right, I never saw it from that perspective. I just saw it as him not wanting to lose YET another daughter.. But reading your text just made me see it through a different light.

[Inception]

Definitely agree with Lovable & mgszelda1. I mean, yes, there's still good people like Tommy, Tess, Bill, or Henry & Sam who's helping Joel & Ellie even in bad situation. Some of them died (Tess & Henry-Sam) too when helping Joel & Ellie.

But just look at the prologue when Joel's daughter being shot and died by the government, the side that obviously must help & protecting their people but they're not doing that. And there's the Hunter who always hunt and try to kill normal humans like an animal. The last, David gang who wants to eat Ellie. Hell, even the Firefly want's to kill Joel just because Joel want to see Ellie for the last time. If i'm on Joel shoes i just said "My 2nd daughter will be sacrificed for people like this? F* them all!".

[ginsunuva]

We know what it means, becuase it's not ambiguous or up for interpretation. We know exactly what happens.

Why it happened or what results of it can be interpreted, but it's still not vague.

[GribbleGrunger]

It means it's time to replay the best game ever made.

[CrossingEden]

it means that we get a sequel instead of an ending -_-

[McScroggz]

The ending has definite resolution, I don't know why you'd make this face -_-

[CrossingEden]

we don't know where joel and ellie are, for all we know they could've been attacked, most likely scenario is that a second game will be announced and a prequel comic to the second game will fill in the gap, its been done before

[JustanaverageGamer]

From my perspective, even though the game ended perfectly with a slight bit of uncertainty in their future, the never-ending pressure given to Naughty Dog from their fans to make a sequel will eventually drive them into making one. I personally would be okay if a sequel isn't made; it's just that I don't want Joel and Ellie to be wiped out from the gaming world. Such awesome characters shouldn't be forgotten. I guess I'm emotionally attached to the characters; and I would hate to never see them again. Do you agree?
In Conclusion:
If they ever make a sequel: I hope they put their time and effort into it... like what they did to make this game a masterpiece. Hopefully they can find a way to make the plot as interesting as the original.
If they don't make a sequel: Cameos are okay with me... I just don't want two like-able protagonist to be forgotten...
Random Idea: What if they released an expansion for the game finishes the sort-of cliffhanger the characters face and make a definite ending; since a sequel is for me a too big of a game for tying in the loose plot holes.
This is the question that ran through my head when I finished the game...
*Will the cordyceps virus will be cured? Or will the selfishness of the remaining survivors cause humanity to fall to piece? How will Joel and Ellie survive through the remaining years of their lives when selfish hunters, the strict military, and hungry zombies are out against them?

[GribbleGrunger]

It's the most emphatic ending you could have. The story is about Joel and Ellie's relationship, but mainly it's about Joel coming to terms with the death of his daughter and Ellie finally getting the Father figure she longed for. How more emphatic can you get than that? The only part of the ending that has no closure is whether humanity deserved to survive and what you would do given the same journey.

[ufo8mycat]

I honestly think the people remaining are better off as they are, even if there are still infected, rather then the POSSIBILITY of a cure which would start a war for different gangs trying to take control of it etc.

I don't blame Joel what so ever in not giving up Ellie for a potential cure, considering how close he got to her and already losing a daughter, wouldn't want to go through something like that again.

I would of done the exact same thing.

Awesome, amazing, brilliant ending.

[YourGreatUncle]

A sequel with new characters maybe. Naughty Dog specifically said Joel and Ellies story ends with this game.

@CrossingEden
http://www.gamesradar.com/l...

[CrossingEden]

link?

[McScroggz]

I ask again, why the face? There was more than sufficient resolution to the story. Neil Druckman said Joel and Ellie's story it done with and I don't need any more information to be satisfied. There is absolutely no sequel baiting. I just don't understand your response. Because it's possible for a sequel you're unhappy or something? Does that mean you wanted both of them to die or something?

[porkChop]

We don't know where they are? They went to Jackson County. Isn't that where Joel lived in the prologue? He specifically told Ellie they were going "home".

[Pintheshadows]

'we don't know where joel and ellie are'

Yes we do. Stop trolling Crossing Eden. You are not very good at it.

[McScroggz]

Obviously if you click on this article spoilers are expected, but still SPOILERS!!!

The beauty of the ending is there are a few different ways you can interpret the ending and have narrative proof to back up your opinion. To me, Joel saved Ellie because he's selfish. He was able to cope not just with his daughter, but to an extent what he was because of Ellie, so he decided he wouldn't let the Fireflies operate on her because it wasn't guaranteed.

And at the end, when Ellie told him about her and her friend, and then asked him if what he said was true, some part of her knew he was lying. To me, she accepted the lie because she needs Joel to have some good in him and she's probably afraid that if she knew what he did to save her she couldn't trust him.

Very bittersweet, and I freaking loved it.

[mgszelda1]

Perfect ending. I just like how with the way it ended, everyone assumes that only marlene knew about ellie. There will b others. Different factions as well, like the "government"

[O0MyGawd]

I think it was more than just Joel not wanting to lose a daughter. Why would he want to share this girl with all of humanity when humanity was so horrible. Honestly, he didn't think humanity was worth Ellie's life which obviously meant so much to him.

[spektical]

the story is great albiet some transgression issues, but really what game doesn't experience this.

Anyways, the ending at least for me was very predictable. I mean he loses his girl, and now he has to take care of another one.. A real father is a real father, and old habbits come back. I wasn't surprised and yet it felt like a real outcome.

[Lovable]

In a perspective of someone who lived his life since the outbreak, experiencing all the bad things and how humanity turns into something inhumane, the ending was the most realistic outcome if you are on Joel's shoes...

[WitWolfy]

Agreed, plus we dont know how Joel and Tommy lived together after the outbreak, or maybe how Joel's depression led Tommy to pack up his things and leave. Resulting in Joel turning to smuggling stuff around for ration cards.

I mean look when Joel meets up again with Tommy. Tommy even admits that living with Joel was hell!

[solidboss]

SPOILERS--------
i thought the ending was great, but something felt "off". i wanted to know more. its not necessarily a cliff hanger, yet i wonder: will Ellie ever confront Joel about the lie or accept it? since Ellie and Joel go back to live with Tommy what about other factions?

obviously the fireflies are still out there, and they know about Ellie. how long until the government finds out and DEMANDS to have Ellie sent to a medical facility? (which would obviously anger Joel)

the entire game i had the mind set that Joel was going to die eventually saving Ellie. it almost happened yet never did. i feel the ending would of had more of an emotional impact had one of the main characters died. i know that sounds cliche, and the ending is certainly good for this game but doesn't necessarily end the story of Joel and Ellie. this is why i don't understand when ND says their story ends with this game.

[Pintheshadows]

FEDRA barely exists anymore outside of Boston. You saw the other quarantine zones. Humanity is in ruins. The Fireflies might try but how far will they get? How many trained surgeons do you think they have that are capable of performing surgery, let alone developing a cure.

[izumo_lee]

For me Joel did what he did cause for one thing he is a selfish person, he lost someone close to him cause of the same humans this 'cure' can save. Ever since this outbreak he has seen what the human race has turned into & what it turned him into.

Ellie is his 'way out'. He has been running from his past for all this time & Ellie gives him a reason to live a normal life. So the ending is a good way to show that. Joel has denied humanity a cure that may or may not work for his own selfish reasons. To live a life that humanity took away from him.

[ThatCanadianGuy514]

I love how ND chose the hard way to end it.By that i mean, most writers simply kill off a character at the end for that player/character attachment to get some sort of emotional reaction.

This was brilliant.Joel found in ellie what he lost long ago, not just his daughter, but the thing that made him human.

That's why despite the whole purpose of the game being to get ellie there, to try a find a cure, his attachment to her in the end made him sacrifice everything and everyone.The tension and emotion that built up that entire last segment of the game was incredible.And it caps off with a sunny spring overlook in a place to call home.

Ellie knows Joel lied to her, she feels guilty that she couldn't be part of the cure, couldn't "avenge" Riley, sam, tess and others.But she says "Okay" to Joel.Because she longs for that reassurance that everything IS okay.

I don't even want a sequel.No prequel, nothing.
Leave it as it is, a tempting peak in a world that we barely knew, never will know, but all experienced.

Leave the future of these characters to the imaginations of the fans.Like all great classics.

[Veneno]

Thank you. You actually get what ND was trying to do with the ending. Everyone else here is way too caught up in the infection plot when it was only a device in which to tell the real story of human emotion. The story of Joel and Ellie is over and done. If that scenario continued it would just be redundant.

If I remember correctly I think ND said there will be single player DLC. I really hope you play as brand new characters in a totally different situation. Maybe as a government soldier who goes rogue over a guilty conscience. Or maybe as a survivor who builds a gang and rises to power. I cant wait to see what ND has for us next!

[Pintheshadows]

Ish.

[ooquis]

I wonder whats the story with Sarah's mother?

[Veneno]

If you wander the house in the opening there's a note that says she became a hooker in Dallas.

[Chicago8506]

I have to agree with some of the other posters here.
I do believe a sequel is in the works.
I admit I kinda scratched my head on the ending, & yet it was still good.
All m saying is there's room 4 more story, & there is a possibility. I would love a continuation, the game was AWESOME!

Wether they add more story through DLC or a sequel, it would DEFINATELY b welcomed by me.
I'll keep my eyes open :)

Game on!

[sprinterboy]

Would like to see a new story set in London or Europe, be cool hiding out in pubs and London would look awesome with the overgrown vegetation on bigben, parliament etc

[killamoneymike]

The ending was crazy. Not what I expected, but it dazzled me. Joel's near last line I think to me said it all the best. You need to have something to keep fighting for in life, or something to that extent. And Ellie's was his reason.

He needed that reason just to keep fighting and stay alive. So he made the selfish choice. It was crazy...woww.

For some reason I almost feel like crying. I am actually fighting off crying, because I dont want to be a bitch and cry over a fabricated story. But it captivated me, I guess to the point where I didnt realize. Because this ending brought out emotions in me.

I guess it wasn't a very sad ending considering they both lived, but idn, something about it made me sad...

[killamoneymike]

I never made the choice to play through a 14 hr plus or any hour plus really single player game twice but I might actually pick up the controller for this one again a few months down the road. Not right now, Ill give it some time.

[williamsus]

I just finished the main story and I lived the ending. I think I would be fine without a sequel, but I also really want one. Maybe with different characters, or after Joel dies and Ellie must fend for herself, or maybe they can go back to Joel's and Tess' adventures during the twenty years that it skipped, you know, maybe watch them do some smuggling. I would also kind of like to see Naughty Dog do something similar to Rockstar Games and maybe go to people that we met along the way. I would like to see a prequel about Henry and his brother. The possibilities are endless.

[DarcTempest]

This game was fantastic and the ending help put it in place though the ending put me in an off place on one hand you have Joel who has just learned to love and trust again who was willing to do anything to keep that bond and on the other you have Ellie who trusted Joel who is no different than the world she lives in I think she was heart broken to know he lied to her he slaughtered innocents who wanted nothing more than to save the world I think their relationship will be broken at best