Did Joel’s Actions in The Last of Us Really Prevent a Cure? Shocking Showrunner Revelation!

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Let me rephrase that for you: It seems we may have underestimated Joel’s actions in Salt Lake City from The Last of Us. We previously thought his harsh self-judgment was unwarranted, given that he did brutally kill 19 people. However, it now appears that our initial skepticism towards the Fireflies potentially creating a cure for the Cordyceps infection may have been misplaced. The showrunners of the series confirm that in the world of The Last of Us, the Fireflies indeed had the capability to create a cure using matter from Ellie’s brain. This new understanding forces us to reevaluate Joel’s actions and their impact on the fate of the world.

WOAH. Let’s see what they had to say.

The Fireflies COULD Have Made a Cure on The Last of Us

Neil Druckmann, who is responsible for both the HBO TV series “The Last of Us” and the Naughty Dog video games, recently addressed a question fans have been wondering about – whether the Fireflies could have developed a cure using Ellie’s brain. On the “Sacred Symbols+” podcast, he stated, “As for our intention, they would have created a cure, which raises the most intriguing philosophical dilemma regarding Joel’s actions.

You can check out the interview in full below.

Wow, if Joel hadn’t sacrificed the Fireflies to protect Ellie, the global catastrophe caused by the infection might never have been stopped. That’s quite an overwhelming responsibility on top of the existing tension in the world.

Did The Last of Us‘ Joel Make the Right Choice When He Killed the Fireflies and Prevented a Cure, But Saved Ellie’s Life?

In summary, during The Last of Us season one, Joel escorts Ellie across the country upon request from Maureen, a member of Firefly. Their destination was Salt Lake City, where they aimed to create a cure based on Ellie’s unique immune system. However, when they arrived, it became clear that to produce the cure, the Fireflies would have to perform surgery on Ellie’s brain, which ultimately meant her death. This realization deeply troubled Joel, who had grown to care for Ellie as if she were his own child.

In a nutshell, Ellie, driven by her conviction that finding a cure is her destiny, might not have willingly chosen to risk her own life, had she been aware of the danger. However, Joel takes it upon himself to make decisions, eliminating all Firefly soldiers and the doctor at Salt Lake City, thus silencing anyone who knows about Ellie’s immunity. While he protects Ellie’s life in this act, he also effectively ends her happiness and sets a grim stage for his own storyline in season two.

The moral quandary surrounding Joel’s actions in “The Last of Us” has long been a point of discussion – whether his choices were justified or not. However, with the revelation that the Fireflies had the potential to create a cure for the infection, the narrative shifts significantly. If Joel was willing to let Ellie die for a remote chance at a “The Last of Us” cure, it now seems less questionable that he prevented such a scenario from unfolding. Yet, considering a cure could have been possible, his decision appears, in Ellie’s words, self-centered.

Initially, when I believed that the Fireflies had little chance of developing a cure, I found myself sympathizing or at least comprehending Joel’s actions in the final episode of The Last of Us Season One. However, having experienced a pandemic personally, it’s hard for me to fathom that he would take away the world’s only hope for a cure. I’m not one who advocates for giving up everything you care about for an ungrateful world, but even from this perspective, his actions seem astonishing.

There Are No Easy Answers on The Last of Us

One thought-provoking concept The Last of Us presents is the question of whether a cure might have been possible if Ellie had not survived – this is just one of the many intricate ideas the show challenges us to ponder. Filled with deep dives into complex topics like revenge, family bonds, sorrow, and more, it’s no wonder we are so captivated by it!

Joel chose his path, deeply cherishing Ellie. He found it hard to imagine a life without her. Although he wasn’t aware that a cure would definitely be discovered, when Joel talks to Ellie on the porch in their final moments together during the last season of The Last of Us, it appears as if, deep down inside him, he had already made up his mind about it. Joel lived with his choice and even died for it. Through this character, we are prompted to ponder philosophical dilemmas that hopefully we’ll never encounter in real life. And in the end, that is what great television is all about.

The Last of Us season two is now streaming on Max.

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2025-05-29 18:33