The Last of Us Creator Reveals Where He Thinks Joel "Went Too Far"

By Nathaniel Brail

HBO has released all episodes of the first season of their live-action The Last of Us series, and the season finale definitely had everyone talking. The Last of Us has already been renewed for a second season and has quickly outmatched the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon. During the latest episode of The Last of Us, we got to see a key moment from the game brought to life, and depending on where you stand, it may or may not be upsetting. Joel (Pedro Pascal) finally delivers Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to the Fireflies, and when he finds out what they intend to do to her, he kills everyone in sight in order to save her from what he believes will kill her. In the latest episode of The Last of Us podcast series, co-creators Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin, and host Troy Baker were discussing that big scene, and one of the co-creators revealed where he believes Joel went too far.

"When you watch this sequence, you're rooting for Joel," Druckmann revealed. "We're talking about it kind of with a smile, like we're excited for what he's doing, and at the same time, think about who he's killing. He's killing people that have dedicated their lives to helping mankind in this fucked-up world, and he's murdering them left and right to get to this girl."

"Anybody who's a threat, he kills them. And then at the very end there's one exception, which is Marlene, who puts her gun down; he shot her; she already can't chase him; he's got the car; and he still goes back for her because he can't even take the chance that she will regroup, change her mind, and come after him, and that's the part where I think for me I hope I would have the willpower that Joel has in that same situation. I don't think I would, except for the Marlene part," Druckmann continued. "To me, that's the part where he goes too far. He's probably correct. In that, we've seen Marlene. the sacrifices she's willing to make. This isn't going to stop her."

Craig Mazin, the Emmy-winning creator of HBO's Chernobyl, produced The Last of Us alongside Druckmann, the creator behind the hit video game series. In an interview earlier this year, the writer said The Last of Us is the "greatest" video game story ever told. "It's an open-and-shut case: this is the greatest story that has ever been told in video games," Mazin said in an interview with Empire Magazine. "[Joel and Ellie] didn't shoot anything out of their eyeballs. They were just people. And that, in and of itself, is remarkably rare in games. The fact that they kept it so grounded, and really made you feel – I had never experienced anything like it, and I've been playing video games since 1977."

Joining Pascal (Joel) and Ramsey (Ellie) include Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Original game stars Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, having played the part of Ellie and Joel in both video games, are also set to appear.

All episodes of The Last of Us are now streaming on HBO Max. The show's first season is set to last nine episodes in total with new episodes rolling out on a weekly basis.

What do you think about this? Did you enjoy the finale of The Last of Us? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!

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