We’ve come to expect finales as a grand statement of ending. It usually comes with heartbreaking revelations and explosive fireworks. To the audience’s dismay, HBO’s adaptation of ‘The Last Of Us‘ only delivers one out of two. The series finale, ‘Looking For The Light,’ is hard to root for despite its title.
Most of the finale runs on the despotic rulings of Joel (Pedro Pascal), who once again put the life of a loved one in danger by choosing to protect them instead of letting them serve their purpose. Let’s dive into the final step of Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) journey.
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‘The Last Of Us’: The Final Bend In The River
‘The Last Of Us‘ finale went out with a whimper, not a bang. Dealing with survivor’s guilt, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) starts to get a little distant from Joel (Pedro Pascal). He tries to cheer her up, even asking for the pun book to be read. But there’s a palpable stress both are sleepwalking through. Finally, on their way to a military hospital, they come across a living, breathing, and majestic-looking giraffe.
This moment from the video games colors the usually greyed temperaments. The moment of levity they earn here is out to good use. Both finally speak what’s on their mind, with Joel giving Ellie a choice to go back and Ellie wanting to see through her ability to cure what’s left of humanity. But they are torn apart once again before they can smell the flowers around them.
Cut to the beginning – a frightened pregnant woman dashes across the forest as she runs for her life. Any port in a storm will do, so she takes refuge in an abandoned house. With her motherly instincts at an all-time high, she stabs and kills an infected. She’s bitten and living on a few moment’s notice but manages to bring Ellie into the world.
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‘The Last Of Us’: Who Is Ellie’s Mother And How Did She Die?
This woman is Anna Williams (Ashley Johnson), the mother to Ellie Williams. Marlene (Merle Dandridge) is asked to take Ellie with her and become her protector. Then Anna asks her lifelong friend for one last favor of killing her. In the video games, Anna is a nurse who becomes friends with Marlene, the future leader of Fireflies. Her manner of death is similar in the video games, and the show is the same.
We come to Joel, who, through Marlene, learns the surgery would render Ellie dead. As Marlene explains, Ellie can save people through the vaccine made from her blood, but it comes at a price. Joel refuses to compromise, taking out an entire medical base. He brings Ellie with him too. Joel doesn’t mention what went down when Ellie was unconscious.
Like an aging person, he seems to give in to delusions. The man is dreaming the old dream again- to live a happy life with his brother ais daughter. He’s blinded by the vision of a life that will never be his. Having killed multitudes in his lifetime, Joel is not letting someone he loves die for a greater goal. As Joel and Ellie hike to Wyoming to live with Tommy, they struggle with the knowledge that things won’t return to the same again. The finale is not a loud, thundering blast but opts for muted violence.
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