Is Joel The Real Villain Of HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’?

HBO’s The Last of Us ended on the same morally ambiguous note of the games, reigniting a well-worn debate of whether of not Joel was the true villain of the story.

Spoilers Ahead for The Last of Us Finale

The finale to the critically acclaimed HBO series sees Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) scarred, but alive, their familial bond forged in fire. The hospital is close, and the two have already decided that they will stay together after a cure has been developed from Ellie’s immunity.

The two are rudely ambushed and knocked out by the Fireflies. When Joel wakes up, he’s told the true nature of his mission; the cure, if it even works, requires a sample of cordyceps from Ellie’s brain, and she won’t survive the surgery.

Joel has already experienced the loss of his child, and he doesn’t have the emotional capacity to accept Ellie’s death, even if it means saving all of humanity from the zombie fungus. Hence, Joel aims a machine gun at the Trolley Problem, and mows down every single person standing in his way.

Joel performs his massacre methodically, with the dead-eyed detachment of a school shooter, gunning down armed and unarmed members of the Fireflies like, well … flies. Soldiers are understandable enough, but when Joel guns down a surgeon, then Marlene, it’s clear he’s crossed the line into sociopathy.

The most impactful moment comes directly after, when Ellie wakes up, and asks what happened. Joel chooses to preserve their relationship, knowing she would never forgive him if she really knew the truth; hence, Joel tells Ellie that she isn’t the only one with immunity (considering how the series shows that her immunity was not genetic, but circumstantial, he might even be right).

More importantly, Joel tells her that there is no hope for a cure.

The series ends on another ambiguous note, as Ellie asks Joel to confirm his lie, and she seemingly chooses to believe his narrative, despite her gut telling her otherwise. We never know if Ellie would have been willing to sacrifice herself for the cause, because no one ever asked her.

Is Joel the true villain of the story?

The ending of The Last of Us has proved so powerful because there is no clear ethical choice to be made, other than asking Ellie what she wants; even the idea of sacrificing a willing young girl for a potential cure is deeply unsettling.

Of course, any loving parent, when faced with this dilemma, would likely do the same as Joel; his instinct is incredibly human, as is the long-term goal of the Fireflies, who don’t have a close relationship with Ellie.

Any parent would want to save Ellie, sure, but would they be able to commit a massacre without breaking a sweat? Not unless they were a certain type of person. Joel is a perfect example of a familiar American archetype, one we see often in action movies and westerns; a man capable of deep, unconditional love, and stomach-churning violence, without ever getting his wires crossed.

This type of character, I think, is largely a fantasy; how can an individual be capable of such raw, unflinching violence, and yet, maintain perfect control over his worst impulses? Despite Ellie being strong-willed and rebellious, Joel is rarely anything less than patient and gentle; at his worst, he yells at her.

Joel’s personality is cleanly split into doting dad and bloodthirsty monster, with zero overlap. Surely, Pedro Pascal is one of the few actors who could pull off this blend of warmth and aggression; it seems impossible for the man not to emit good vibes (Keanu Reeves could also pull it off).

The most sinister part of the finale might be the moment when Joel reminisces on the memory of his daughter, and speculates that her and Ellie would get along; the two have entered Joel’s fantasy land now, where the truth can never be acknowledged. What would he do if Ellie ever pushed back?

We never get to see that side of Joel; he stands in that murky gray line, operating by video game logic, in which enemies are mere cannon fodder, literal NPCs.