THE LAST OF US Season 1 Ending Explained!

[Music] you'll know the two of us we are the closest living out here Ellie and me swear to me that everything you said about the fireflies is true I swear why you always lying well we've made it to the end and Joel and Ellie can live happily ever after wait a minute this will not end well yes don't fret the last of us has been renewed for season two but details are still scarce on whether it will cover all or part of the second game however here's what showrunner Craig Mason told IGN so Neil and I are just now sort of figuring out how to because it's more than a season's worth of Television for sure but I'm getting ahead of myself and we have a whole finale to break down I'll be saving all my part 2 spoilers until the end of the video but I'll give you a warning before we get there and hey if you've been watching my breakdance this season consider liking and subscribing I cover lots of cool and interesting shows plus I have a lot more Last of Us content coming out in the days ahead we follow Ellie's Mother Anna as she's stalked by an infected on the outskirts of Boston you can see the skyline matches later we can see all the cuts and scrapes on her legs from her Escape now now there's something pretty fun about the actress who plays Anna being the same person who portrayed Ellie in the games the actress who gave birth to this character is now literally giving birth to Ellie in the show this is Ashley Johnson and I for one hope that if there is a part 3 which is rumored as being in development hope she comes back to reprise her role other than her notably pregnant belly we see she has these white running shoes which remind me of the same kind nurses wear in hospitals we know from the Left Behind DLC that Anna was a nurse oh and she said your mom was a nurse which is probably a good profession to have if you decide to give birth by yourself in an abandoned Farm the main events of The Last of Us take place in 2023 and we know Ellie is 14 years old so we can guess that this is roughly the year 2009 or six years after the pandemic notice the Firefly logo on The Silo indicating that this is a firefly safe house the first words Anna says as she enters are it's me suggesting that she and the fireflies had plans to meet however no one's there there after her water breaks she holds herself up in a child's room with kid-friendly decorations and drapes ironically it mimics the location where Ellie was supposed to die the Pediatric floor of a hospital filled with quaint images of elephants and monkeys both of which can be found in the game the symbolism of Anna giving birth underneath the image of a tree isn't lost on us either as trees literally flower and produce life just like Anna's about to do but on the other side of that door is death an infected who breaks their way in faster than me at an all-you-can-eat buffet that man ate all our shrimp and two plastic lobsters it is no man it is a remorseless eaten machine Anna uses her switchblade to fend off the attack the same switchblade that will one day come into the possession of Ellie the American dream Comics depicts this moment where Marlene passes on her mother's knife to her along with a note from Anna herself there's no note in the show but the note gives some added context as to why she'd give her daughter a knife we can make out the words worth living fight and make me proud so a switchblade seems an apt gift in this violent and cruel world after successfully killing the infected she looks down to see that she's given birth note to any pregnant women out there looking for an effortless birth just sick and infected on you and voila unfortunately Anna's been bitten but this new piece of information could explain how Ellie got her immunity Ellie was still connected to the umbilical cord when Anna was bitten something she lies to Marlene about this could mean some sort of resistance carried over but hey I'm no doctor Anna tells Ellie she's so tough foreshadowing her daughter's rough and tough demeanor meanwhile Marlene and the fireflies are in the forest with their flashlights making them look like well fireflies there are Firefly people with Marlene calling out for Anna it's clear these two not only know each other but they were supposed to meet Marlene will later say they were delayed getting out of the qz and it's a good thing they got here when they did Anna was ready to kill herself her infection has spread and it's only a matter of hours before she turns and kills her newborn if you remember from the poster from episode 1 a bite to the leg can have someone change anywhere from 12 to 24 hours Ellie is hungry but Anna's been afraid to breastfeed her fearing it could pass on the infection Anna's dying wishes for Marlene to take Ellie to Boston and find someplace safe to raise her we know that Marlene will do this but she'll give Ellie over to ephedra orphanage where she'll later be shipped at the age of 13 to join the federal military school in episode 1 we found out she did this because it was the safest for her Marlene is the head of the fireflies and being raised by her wouldn't be the safest of choices we also find out that Anna and Marlene have known each other their whole lives which makes it extra difficult for Marlene to do what she and Anna knows has to be done Anna must be killed one thing this scene didn't address was Ellie's father in the game there's not much we know about him but the show suggests that he's either dead or not on good terms with Anna or else Anna would have asked Marlene to bring Ellie to him Marlene's life is filled with making difficult but necessary choices killing Anna here is but a precursor to the more difficult Choice you'll have to make later in the episode whether or not to sacrifice Ellie in the effort to find a cure now this is an interesting difference I found from the game the show calls it a cure and the game calls it a vaccine they likely made the switch due to the political baggage that comes with the word vaccine nowadays a close-up of baby Ellie transitions us 14 years later to present day Ellie wears the same Red Top from the game and is zoned out and is barely able to hear Joel you hear me no did you hear me no this is likely because she's still traumatized over the events of last episode where she brutally killed David the cannibal we aren't exactly sure how much time has passed since episode 8. in the game the David chapter ends in Winter and picks up sometime in Spring but worry not Joel has found some delicious Chef Boyardee the stuff Ellie scarfed down in episode 4. and I know what everyone wants answered do Joel and Ellie ever get to Play Boggle really Joel is trying to get Ellie's mind off things he's never been the greatest at talking about emotions but as we'll see throughout the episode his connection with Ellie leaves him open to being vulnerable to the point at the very end in which he openly discusses his daughter something that was unimaginable at the beginning of the season of note is Joel wanting to teach Ellie the guitar in fact I was thinking maybe I could teach you yeah once we're done with this whole thing I'm gonna teach you how to play guitar remember in episode 6 he told Ellie he wanted to become a musician the guitar plays a larger role in part part two and we briefly saw a music shop tetan Tunes while in Jackson so expect this for season two for most of the season it's been Ellie wanting to learn things from Joel and now the shoes on the other foot with Joel offering Ellie he said he found a broken guitar in a nearby RV in the game you can actually Venture into this RV to make a chilling Discovery a photo of a family with the backside reading forgive us the parents shot and killed their kids then themselves but uh back to Boggle here we can see the Reno and Salt Lake City Highway markers just like in the game and like in episodes 2 and 5 the plan is to find a skyscraper get a lay of the land and find the safest route to Saint Mary's Hospital the supposed location of this secret Firefly base they were alerted to in episode 6. in the game this leads the two through an abandoned bus terminal while the show changes this location to a building that was supposed to be demolished and in both versions Ellie leaves Joel hanging oh my god well this leads us to one of the most memorable scenes in the game which has been secretly foreshadowed throughout the entire season and this of course is the giraffe scene hidden giraffes can be found all throughout the show from the streets of Boston Ellie's room in Jackson her and Riley's room at the Academy and even on the wall of the Pediatric unit there are way more giraffes in the game as well but I may save that for its own Easter egg video fun fact the giraffe here is real production had one brought in front of a green screen where Pedro and Bella actually could feed the animal to get their genuine reactions and take a look at Joel here experiencing this moment through Ellie's eyes it's a genuine father-daughter type moment a few moments later we'll see Joel walk into the sunlight it's one of a few times in the show where we see him bathed in light and it makes sense considering this episode is called look for the light in my other videos I've theorized the word light is a synonym for Ellie when we first see Ellie in episode 1 she's bathed in light and episode 2 she's in the fetal position covered in it so even though the episode is called look for the light it might as well be called look for Ellie which is exactly what Joel does it also ties into the Firefly motto when you're lost in the darkness look for the light look for Ellie a motto that is clearly on display in front of Joel in episode 1. Joel has been looking for this light ever since his daughter died and only now recognizes that what he's been looking for is this connection one he's developed with Ellie in fact he tells Ellie that when it seems you've come to an end and there's nothing worth fighting for you just keep going you find something new to fight for the giraffe-filled baseball field is named after the game's level designer's wife Bethany Claire field and he had this to say on his official YouTube channel always put as many Easter eggs in your games as you can because they're fun it's nice to see that this made its way into the show as well now you might be asking yourself where did these giraffes come from well the game offers us a clue with this advertisement for the Salt Lake City Zoo now if there are any zoologists out there let me know if giraffes could feasibly survive a Utah winter or infected Mormons there's a fun CALM Act to episode 2 and the game when Ellie and Joel remark on The View you can't deny that view but man you can't deny that for you you can't deny the view though now Joel gives Ellie the chance to turn back here they don't have to go through with whatever's ahead they can go and live their lives back with Tommy in Wyoming but Ellie doesn't want everything they've gone through to have been in vain Tess Sam and Henry all died to get her where she is today only after they're done can they get that sheep Ranch Joel wants or or go to the Moon a call back to Ellie's love for space along the way they come across a military medical Camp not to be confused with fedra these were put up in cities across the country after the initial outbreak and Joel opens up about how he got that scar on his face something that was referenced in episode three how'd you get that scar on your head what is it something lame uh actually it was a suicide attempt after Sarah's death Joel tried to kill himself but at the last minute he flinched and the bullet grazed his face in the game he thought about killing himself but there's never a mention of him actually attempting it it's great to see Joel finally open up about his feelings for most of the show he's been bottling them up and in one of my favorite lines of the episode Ellie remarks that time heals all wounds but Joel retorts it wasn't time that did it it was her the show also excludes this moment where Ellie gives Joel a picture of her and Sarah this photo was given to her by Maria back at the hydroelectric Dam I think this was a pretty good choice as including it may have come across as preachy especially considering Joel blurts out the moral of the story instead of having the viewer take it in on their own no matter how hard you try I guess you can't escape your past that bastard will Livingston strikes again with more shitty puns it's an attempt to lighten the situation and contrast their sudden capture by the fireflies in the game this plays out rather differently on their way to the hospital Joel and Ellie must Traverse an underground tunnel filled with bloaters and infected eventually leading to Joel and Ellie almost drowning to death before being captured what makes it even more terrifying is that Ellie can't swim this is why Joel has to carry her around using water pallets in the game her inability to swim is briefly hinted at in episode 2. well I I don't know how to swim seriously the game shows us Joel performing CPR on Ellie before being knocked out by fireflies the show's version is much more simplistic with Joel Nelly hit with some sort of smoke or flash grenade they could have easily cut to Black here after Joel is knocked out but instead they cut to White to keep in line with the look for the light theme Joel awakens in the hospital separated from Ellie and across from him is Marlene the leader of the fireflies who we haven't seen since episode 1. fun fun fact the actress who plays Marlene is the only one who plays her character in both the game and show she's lost half her men just trying to get here and is amazed he and Ellie made it it was her she's far like hell to get here I'm sure she felt like hell to get here Marlene and the fireflies oh Joel a great debt and now that he's brought Ellie to them he can go the last time Marlene saw Joel he begrudgingly took Ellie but now that they forged this bond this has transcended Beyond a simple transaction I'm pretty sure that Joel who referred to Ellie as simply Cargo in episode 4 would not consider that today especially considering what he's about to do although Joel wants to see Ellie he's not allowed she's being prepped for surgery one of the doctors believes Ellie's immunity has been with her since birth her body produces a chemical messenger that makes normal cordyceps think she is cordyceps hence her immunity if they can remove this from Ellie they can reproduce it in a lab and give it to everyone it's a cure but we know cordyceps grow in the brain so removing it would lead to Ellie's death I'll go more in depth as to who this doctor is and why he's so important later on in my spoiler section Joel will not allow Marlene to go through with this they have to find someone else but as Marlene tells him there is no one else Ellie is their only chance this is the exact opposite of what Joel tells Ellie at the end of the episode when he States they found multiple people with immunity he even doubles down at the very end when she asks him to swear that he's telling the truth this sets the foundation for part two and raises some serious questions about choice and bodily autonomy on the one hand you have Marlene's point of view she doesn't want to kill Ellie but believes doing so will save Humanity it's a necessary sacrifice for the greater good and on the other hand you have Joel who wants to save Ellie even if it means a cure may never be found no matter which side of the debate you fall on one thing is for certain Ellie has no say in the matter Ellie was never given the choice not by Marlene or by Joel and by no means is this an easy decision for Marlene she has watched Ellie from afar her entire life promised her mother to keep her safe and we even catch her shedding a tear in the game version there is no mention of Ali his mom this is one aspect that the show decided to delve much deeper into Marlene gives Joel Ellie's knife with plans to escort him to the edge of town where he'll never see Ellie again but that's not what happens as he's escorted by two men it's only one in the game he takes a brief moment to examine the hospital directory trying to locate what level Ellie could possibly have been taken to in his mind he's already decided that he's going to save her and save her he does in what is arguably one of the most brutal sequences in the entire show Joel channels all his anger and shows no remorse in taking down the fireflies killing even those that surrender he is not going to allow the same mistake that happened to his daughter so you have to ask yourself is Joel's decision to save Ellie a selfish one Ellie's the one that's given him this will to live and by Saving her it might also Grant Joel this sense of redemption that's the beautiful thing about this story that among the blood and horror are real human conflicts that raise profound on questions about what it means to be human as Joel makes his way closer to Ellie in the game we get a few tape recordings that offer more insight into what the fireflies are doing here one from the doctor himself who says this about the surgery with Ellie we're about to hit a milestone in human history equal to the discovery of penicillin more importantly are the recordings from Marlene which provide greater context into her decision to kill Ellie and how she struggled with the decision in a particularly disturbing recording she speaks to Ellie's dead mother I you to know that I've kept my promise all these years here's a chance to all of us is what we were after what you were after and we also learned that Marlene was asked to kill Joel but refused they asked me to Kill The Smuggler I'm not about to kill the one man in this facility that might understand the weight of this Choice Maybe and forgive me I miss you after Jill destroys nearly every living soul in the building he makes his way up to floor six pediatric surgery and there's just something super creepy about a man who's just murdered countless people walking past children's wallpaper depicting happy animals it's like when I buy a Happy Meal and find out I'm still sad one noticeable difference is the iconic Firefly logo outside the operating room is not in the show version Joel makes his way inside and there on the operating table is Ellie having just been put under and this doctor here like in the game won't give Ellie up and picks up a scalpel don't come any closer I mean it well that went exactly as I thought it would in the game version Joel runs carrying Ellie as fireflies descend on them and there's this cheeky eye chart that says the word run on it in the elevator you can just see in Joel's face the weight of the decision he's just made but in order for Joel and Ellie to escape he must get past Marlene she makes a last-ditch attempt to change his mind Joel can't be Ellie's protector forever there will come a day when he's gone and she'll be torn apart by infected or killed by Raiders because in this world the world of Joel's decision there is no cure Humanity goes on in this post-apocalyptic mess but let's say Ellie could save the world it's still not up for Marlene to decide but what Joel fails to realize is that it's not up for him to decide either it's two people making a decision about what a woman can do to her body so basically American politics Marlene puts down her weapon it's not too late for Joel and them to find a way to fix this but we then cut to Joel driving away it's a brief moment for those who haven't played the game to wonder if Joel left Ellie with her but that's far from the case a groggy Ellie wakes up and has no clue what happened she wasn't even informed that they were giving her drugs to sedate her and here is where Joel lies like his life depends on it he fabricates this entire story that the fireflies perform tests on multiple immune people and came to the conclusion that a cure is impossible Raiders that attack the hospital and Joel grabbed her and they escaped so not only does he lie about there being a multiple individuals who are immune but he omits the part where he murders dozens of fireflies including Marlene to save her and that the fireflies have given up a search for the Cure when Ellie asks if Marlene is okay he simply doesn't respond but what I found really interesting here as Ellie turns to go back to sleep is Joel Whispering I'm sorry is he sorry about what he did that he didn't give her a choice that he was being selfish that he lied it could be a mixture of one or all of these things but I do feel he's genuinely sorry for deceiving her we get one final flashback depicting Marlene's last moments she pleads to Joel to let her go but he knows that if he lets her live she'll just come after him in both versions as Joel and Ellie's car breaks down Ellie examines her scar it's this bite that started the whole journey and now we're coming to its end luckily the two are a five hour hike to Jackson enduring their hike Joel mentions how although they are two different people Ellie and Sarah would have made great friends in the game here you can also collect the last Savage Starlight comic something we saw Sam Read in episode 5 and Ellie in episode 7. for the most part these stories from the comics mimic whatever Joel and Ellie are going through check out what the final comic says here The Travelers have been crippled for now The Travelers represent the infected daniela's daring plan and her seemingly miraculous Escape back home have made her a galvanizing figurehead to the last watch Daniela is Ellie and she also escaped back home the last watch of the fireflies who want Ellie and finally Captain Ryan's sacrifice has made him a martyr an illusion Daniela won't dispel but how long can she keep what really happened a secret Captain Ryan is Joel and his sacrifice is that of humanity he sacrificed a cure in exchange for Ellie's life and this comic suggests deep down Ellie knows this which is why the final line reads but how long can she keep what really happened a secret in the distance we can make out Jackson and it's here Ellie opens up to Joel about who she killed in episode 4 she mentioned there was someone she shot and now confirms this person was Riley when she eventually turned infected her name was Riley she was the first to die her name was Riley and she was the first to die finally Ellie asked Joel to swear that everything he told her about what happened with the fireflies was true and he doubles down and swears it both the game and show end on Ellie accepting his answer but there's this seed of doubt this is not the face of someone who is completely reassured which leads us to our spoiler section be warned the next few minutes will reveal details about part two Joel's decision here sets the stage for The Last of Us Part 2 which is set five years after the events of part one Ellie develops a distrust of Joel and the two grow farther apart until Joel's eventual death Spurs her on a quest for Revenge this Quest pits her against Abby Anderson the daughter of Jerry Anderson the surgeon Joel killed in Salt Lake City in the show this doctor is simply credited as surgeon so there's no telling if he'll be making an appearance in season 2 as the actual Jerry Anderson or if the writers intend on changing things up remember in episode 6 the the name credited for the girl who everyone believes to be Dina was put down simply as staring girl this allows the showrunners the ability to recast or shake things up should they desire now part 2 does begin in the winter time and with season 2 already greenlit it would be amazing if they could start shooting sometime this upcoming winter but what did you think of the Last of Us season one I want to hear your thoughts in the comments below consider liking and subscribing I'm always coming out with more videos and have a few Last of Us ones in the pipeline for more bad takes you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at thinkstoryyt until next time remember [Music] foreign

Channel: Think Story

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Id: 4mXTlx_hN8g

Length: 23min 7sec (1387 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 12 2023