The Last of Us is one of the best-selling Sony franchises, containing two original video games with various remakes/remasters, a series of comic books, and a live-action TV show. Everything in this incredible franchise leads back to the successful release of the original The Last of Us game on June 14, 2013. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this phenomenal post-apocalyptic adventure, we’ve listed off some of the most hilarious, heartwarming, and heartbreaking parts of Ellie and Joel’s journey. In no particular order, here are the 10 most unforgettable The Last of Us moments in celebration of its 10th anniversary.
Sarah’s Death
Anyone who has played The Last of Us will forever be heartbroken by the heavily emotional and traumatic scene that was Sarah’s death during the prologue of the story. Despite Sarah being a minor character in the game and having a short time on-screen, her fate was made that much more impactful by having the player take control of her as a playable character at the beginning of the prologue, giving them a chance to witness her personality as the sweet, innocent daughter of Joel.
After spending time in Sarah’s shoes and getting to view her imperfect yet very loving and close-knit relationship with Joel, most people found themselves quite invested in Sarah as a character. Tragically, just as you find yourself starting to take an interest in her character, she’s brutally ripped away from the world and killed by a soldier whilst trying to escape Outbreak Day, concluding the prologue on a devastating note.
Joel Finally Trusts Ellie With a Gun
Ellie spends most of her journey with Joel nagging him to let her use a gun, only to be shut down each and every time in stubborn response. While it’s true that Ellie is still a kid and that a gun may be dangerous for her, the longer she and Joel were on the road, the more threats they encountered.
Because of this, Ellie’s pestering starts to seem much more valid, and eventually, in a very special and touching moment, Joel entrusts Ellie with the responsibility of handling a gun and defending him in combat. Furthermore, after this combat concludes, he gifts Ellie her first pistol and teaches her how to use it, the two sharing a very defining moment that helps to establish the strength of their bond and trust in one another.
Ellie & Riley’s Kiss
Throughout The Last of Us Left Behind DLC, players can experience Ellie’s tragic backstory and witness the events leading up to her involvement with the Fireflies and the discovery of her immunity. During this backstory, Ellie and her best friend Riley sneak out for some fun together in the abandoned mall, having a ridiculous amount of fun exploring the remainders of the stores, participating in a photo booth, playing games at an arcade, and more.
There are some moments of angst and tension along the way, but the two end their night by making up for their fight and even sharing a kiss after dancing to music together. This was a very special moment in The Last of Us and one of the few times that players were able to witness Ellie seem genuinely happy. Ellie and Riley’s relationship earned The Last of Us significant praise as an LGBTQ+-inclusive game, a title that was much harder to find 10 years ago.
Riley & Ellie’s Infection
In classic, tragic, The Last of Us fashion, Ellie and Riley’s newfound happiness is unfortunately cut very short. Only a short moment after they share a heartwarming kiss and seem to establish a new depth, they’re met face-to-face with the Infected and forced to flee the mall immediately. However, neither of them escape unharmed, with both receiving bites in a saddening plot twist.
The two teens make the gut-wrenching decision to live together as long as possible until they turn, losing their minds together in a poetic manner. Of course, Ellie is unaware that she is immune, meaning that while Riley eventually succumbs to infection, Ellie doesn’t follow and is left with the awful task of killing an infected Riley.
Joel And Ellie’s Argument – “You Have No Idea What Loss Is”
The Last of Us has several memorable quotes spoken throughout, but none are quite as iconic as Joel’s “You have no idea what loss is” directed at Ellie. This line of dialogue occurs during an argument between the two after Ellie confronts Joel about his struggle to deal with the trauma of losing Sarah and the fact that they have genuinely started to care for each other in a father-daughter-like bond.
While Joel’s reaction to Ellie’s points is quite harsh and emotional in this argument, it is ultimately a huge wake-up call for him and the event that causes him to change his mind about leaving Ellie with Tommy, finally starting to let himself show that he genuinely cares for her.
The Death of Henry & Sam
If The Last of Us has a shortage of anything in the storyline, it certainly isn’t gut-wrenching character deaths. Henry and Sam are two characters that Joel and Ellie befriend during their journey through the city of Pittsburgh, which has been completely overthrown by a rebellion and is now led by a dangerous group known as the Hunters. After spending some time together during their great escape and barely escaping from Infected, the group of four rest up for the night, with Ellie establishing her first friendship of the game with Sam and Joel starting to warm up to Henry.
Unfortunately, the following morning it is revealed that Sam was bitten and had become Infected overnight. To save Ellie’s life, Sam shoots his own brother, and then in a moment of grief and disbelief at what he’d done, takes the gun and ends his own life right in front of Ellie and Joel. This is a very dark and jarring scene, and I can personally remember Ellie’s scream of horror at the incident very clearly, even years later.
The Giraffe Scene
Despite being a very dark and gritty game filled with violence and death, The Last of Us has a unique beauty to the story shown throughout a handful of warm and touching events. The most significant of these events is when Ellie and Joel stumble across a live giraffe on their way to the Fireflies base, with Joel even helping Ellie to feed and pat the gentle giant, strengthening their bond together. This moment is incredibly important to Ellie and shapes a love for giraffes that she continues to carry with her into her adulthood, as shown in her various journal doodles and scriptures in The Last of Us Part II.
Joel’s Injury & The Death of David
There’s no other way to describe this scene other than horrific. After another survivor seriously wounds Joel, Ellie is forced to dig deep and find inspiration through Riley’s philosophy, setting out to find food and medicine to get Joel back on his feet. However, after encountering a man known as David, Ellie soon finds herself trapped in a community of cannibals and facing serious danger from David’s ill intentions.
In the meantime, Joel has managed to recover from his wounds and knows something is wrong when he can’t locate Ellie, so he begins tracking her down. After a catastrophic fight is initiated and David attempts to assault and kill Ellie during her escape from the burning building, Ellie acts out of pure fear and adrenaline, slashing David with a machete over and over again until Joel finds her and is forced to pull the absolutely traumatized teenager off of the dead body, holding her close and comforting her with the same words he once spoke to Sarah – “It’s okay, baby girl.”
Joel Saves Ellie & Kills the Fireflies
After spending so long trying to avoid attachment towards Ellie, Joel finally acknowledges his deep level of care for the teen, even daydreaming with her about what they’ll get up to after the Fireflies finish their testing on her. Unfortunately, Ellie is ripped from Joel’s arms and put straight into surgery, with Marlene breaking the news that the surgery will kill her.
Refusing to lose another daughter figure following the loss of Sarah, all hell breaks loose with Joel navigating the building to commit mass murder, slaughtering every member of the Fireflies that he comes across, including Marlene and the surgeon, who was later revealed to be the father of Abby.
Most people who have played the game through can agree without a doubt that this scene is one of, if not the most powerful parts of the game, both in cinematics and gameplay experience. As I played the role of Joel, rushing through that hospital with Ellie in my arms, I felt every ounce of adrenaline and emotion tensing as I focused desperately on not messing anything up or getting us killed. It was so captivating that it was as if I was really living through those events myself, making this level/section of my absolute favorite video game moments of all time.
Joel Lies to Ellie About the Hospital Events
The conclusion of the game is quite bittersweet, combining both a strong emotional feeling of peace and happiness, contrasted by heavy emotion and the tragedy of hidden truths, which is precisely why it’s so memorable. During this scene, Ellie wakes up and questions Joel about the events that took place in the Hospital. Not wanting Ellie to have more survivors’ guilt than she already carries or to upset her with the lack of her own choice, Joel simply tells her that they had identified many other immune survivors and that; unfortunately, none of the tests were able to establish a cure.
Ellie is hesitant and asks Joel to promise her that he’s telling the truth, which he does. On the one hand, there’s much happiness in Ellie’s survival and the opportunity of life for both her and Joel at Jackson in the future. Unfortunately, Joel’s choice to lie would undoubtedly leave an underlying feeling of guilt in the background and strain their relationship further down the track, especially once Ellie discovers the truth during a flashback scene in The Last of Us Part II.
That’s it for the 10 most unforgettable The Last of Us moments in celebration of the 10th anniversary. For more lists, guides, and news, check out the rest of our content here at Twinfinite. We have a variety of different TLOU topics, including a fun quizz that you can take to or find out which character you are from The Last of Us.
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