‘The Last of Us’ Connected Everything in One Grand Finale

Love can be selfish, cruel, and catastrophic, as Joel (Pedro Pascal) proved in the bombshell Season 1 finale of The Last of Us, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s stellar adaptation of the hit PlayStation video game. Faced with a choice between saving the world and saving Ellie (Bella Ramsey)—as well as himself—the battle-scarred father figure opted for the latter, refusing to sacrifice the one thing that has given his life meaning.

At once heartening and heartbreaking, his choice serves as an ethically compromised punctuation mark on the pair’s journey of regeneration. Ultimately, it’s the very moment the show was setting up with each step along its post-apocalyptic path.

Warning: Spoilers for the season finale of The Last of Us below.

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