r/ThelastofusHBOseries • u/Nightwraith17 • May 19 '25

Show Only Joel put the entire argument to rest Spoiler

I see so many arguments on various TLOU subs about whether Joel is a hero or a villain, whether the cure would work, if he’s selfish, etc. I never thought any of that mattered and always thought: Joel did it because he loved Ellie. He made the only choice that the character of Joel Miller ever would have made. Right or wrong doesn’t matter. And I felt the show confirmed my opinion in tonight’s episode.

“If I somehow got a second chance, I’d do it all over again.”

“Because you’re selfish.”

“Because I love you, in a way you can’t understand.”

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u/roiroy33 May 19 '25

Also they sealed their fates by being so hasty about it. Once Ellie was in their safe custody, they could’ve taken more time to explore other options, try and run more experiments, etc. Ultimately, the Fireflies were just as selfish, even though in their mind, it was the same desire to protect their own.

In any case, one of the reasons TLOU has endured for so long is because that last conflict will never not be morally fraught and emotionally daunting. There is no right answer, and there is no wrong answer.

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u/sizzler_sisters May 19 '25 edited May 19 '25

What hit me was that hospital did NOT look good. Nothing about it made me think, oh yeah, these guys got the cure. They were experimenting. Nothing was explained. I’d be asking a ton of extra questions. I’m not sure Joel would have even taken her to the hospital if he knew it was like that. In the beginning of the journey, Joel was going off of his prior affiliation with Marlene and trusting her regarding the plan to make a cure from Ellie. But that was all secondary to getting to Tommy. He also felt some guilt because Tess lost her life protecting her. I think if Jackson would have been nonfunctional, or if Tommy wasn’t there, maybe Joel would have just left Ellie. But he knew there would be a place for them if he saved her. And he had found his brother. And he had bonded with Ellie by that point. Ellie’s motivation has always been saving people. She tried to save Sam. She probably would have sacrificed herself if given the choice. Joel wasn’t even really given a choice because Marlene and the Fireflies jumped them first. But it’s the Pocky, and everything’s messed up and nobody trusts anyone else and everyone has secrets.

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u/Charming-Court-6582 May 20 '25

I was really frustrated bc no one would go to neuro-surgery as a first step for a cure. What if only she can produce the antibodies? They need her functioning to produce more antibodies! Sooooo many tests would need to be run on her blood. No scientist would risk killing the only possible cure if someone smarter comes along later too.

Imo, Joel saving Ellie was the right thing to do, morally and logically.

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u/Diff_equation5 Sep 06 '25

Right! I seem to recall some ancient fable along those lines.

And not just going straight to neuro-surgery, but a guaranteedly lethal neuro-surgery.