Warning: spoilers ahead!
The Last of Us’ protagonist Joel is, for lack of a better term, sus. Fans of both the video game classic and the popular HBO series have long been split over one question: Can Joel really be trusted? Played by Pedro Pascal (who, for all his charm, can’t make the gruff antihero completely loveable), Joel is a hardened survivor shaped by deep trauma, and his bond with 14-year-old orphan Ellie (Bella Ramsey) paints him as a reluctant father figure. However, his morally fraught choices continue to spark fierce debate.
Ahead of the global release of The Last of Us Season 2 — streaming on Max starting April 13 — we’re revisiting some of Joel’s most controversial decisions, and what they reveal about the man fans love, hate, and can’t stop arguing about.
He Has A Very Shady Past
Although both the video game and the series only make subtle allusions to who Joel was after the cordyceps infection took over the world, he does explain that he used to be a hunter. In the world of The Last of Us, this means that he was more than willing to brutally attack and kill anyone to steal their food, clothes, and supplies. In the game, when asked if he killed innocent people, Joel replies with a vague, non-committal answer, suggesting that he was guilty.
At its core, The Last of Us explores the idea that people, whether in an apocalypse or not, are deeply flawed. Joel’s past, however, adds another layer to his character, making him morally ambiguous. His experiences before meeting Ellie have shaped him into someone more likely to make decisions rooted in self-preservation, even if those choices aren’t always morally just.
He Massacred The Fireflies
It goes without saying that killing a whole group of people in cold blood is a very… bad choice, but perhaps some context is needed. At the climax of the video game and the show’s first season, Joel delivers Ellie to the Fireflies, a militia group that hopes to use Ellie’s immunity to the cordyceps fungus to produce a vaccine that could put an end to the apocalypse. However, things go awry when Joel learns that, in order to make the vaccine, the Fireflies’ doctors will need to take a sample from Ellie’s brain, likely killing her in the process.
Joel then does what any loving parent would do when faced with the potential loss of a child: He goes berserk. Joel methodically massacres every doctor and nurse in sight, before turning his gun on the militia group’s leader Marlene. He walks out of the hospital with an unconscious Ellie, hands bloodied.
He Lies To Ellie
Upon waking up after the hospital massacre, Ellie asks Joel what happened. Rather than tell her the truth, Joel chooses to lie to his adopted daughter and tell her that no vaccine was made and that there is no hope for a cure. By lying, Joel shields her from the harsh reality, choosing to prioritize her life over the possibility of saving humanity. His actions, though selfish, stem from love, revealing that protecting Ellie outweighs any greater cause for him. But again, let’s not forget that he lied to her and killed a bunch of people.
He Dooms Everyone
Joel’s moral quandary is essentially a large-scale version of the Trolley Problem. Should he choose to save humanity, but sacrifice Ellie in the process? Or should he damn humanity and save Ellie? We now know that he chooses the latter, and while some philosophers may laud him for the choice, many fans of the game and series often point out that the world of The Last of Us turns significantly darker and more tragic because of Joel’s choice. Let’s wait and see how the show’s second season shapes the narrative, but based on the game, we know that Joel’s massacre sets off a chain reaction of grief, revenge, and so much more violence.
