Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of The Last of Us.It's been a long journey for Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) on The Last of Us, but it's time for their story to come to an end—at least for this season. We've seen Joel and Ellie lose friends, make enemies, and fight their way almost entirely across the United States in order to get Ellie to the Fireflies to potentially find a cure for the outbreak that has ravaged the world. When we last saw these two in Episode 8, "When We Are in Need," Ellie had just killed her first human, the monstrous cannibal David (Scott Shepherd), and Joel was right there to tell her everything would be okay. As they make their final steps on this journey, a bond has been formed that will be almost impossible to break.
Meet Ellie's Mom
As our final episode of Season 1 begins, we see a pregnant woman (Ashley Johnson, who played Ellie in The Last of Us games) as she runs through the woods, trying to outpace the infected we hear in the distance. She makes it to a farmhouse but finds that the people she was looking for aren’t there. As she climbs up the stairs, she sees that her water has broken, and she barricades herself into a second-story room. The baby is coming, but so are the infected, who have busted into the house and are trying to knock the door down on the room she’s in. When an infected woman busts in, the pregnant woman fights her off, reaching for her dropped switchblade—the same one we’ve seen Ellie with. The pregnant woman grabs the knife and stabs the infected to death. The woman also realizes that in the scuffle, not only has she given birth to her baby girl, but she’s also been bitten on the thigh by the infected.
The woman cuts the umbilical cord with her knife and holds her baby, knowing they won’t nearly have enough time together. But the woman relishes these few moments, kissing her child and showing it love while she can. The baby is crying, and her mother says, “you fucking tell them, Ellie.” She holds baby Ellie close and she calms down, but the new mother begins to cry—a combination of the joy of seeing her child, and the pain of realizing she’ll be saying goodbye far too soon.
Later that night, we see a group of three Fireflies, including Marlene (Merle Dandridge), coming to the farmhouse and finding it locked. As they enter and search the house, they hear the new mother—who is named Anna—singing. They find Anna in the same room, holding Ellie in one hand, and holding a knife to her neck with the other. The bite already looks bad, and Anna tells Marlene she didn’t want to nurse the hungry Ellie because of her bite. Anna lies and says that she cut the umbilical cord before she was bitten and when Marlene seems to question this, Anna doubles down on the statement. Anna tells Marlene she wants her to take Ellie to Boston, and find someone to bring her up, and make sure she’s safe. Marlene says she can’t do that, but Anna keeps going, saying she wants Ellie to have her switchblade.
Anna says her name is Ellie, and yet Marlene continues to say she can’t do this. But Anna asks how long they’ve known each other, and Marlene replies “our whole lives,” to which Anna says, “so you pick her up right now, and then you kill me.” Marlene takes Ellie and leaves her lifelong friend, saying that she can’t kill her. Anna pleads for her to as Marlene walks away — but knowing what she has to do, Marlene hands Ellie off to another Firefly and tells him to cover the newborn's ears. Marlene then walks back into the room, quickly and with purpose, and shoots Anna before she can second-guess the choice.
To Salt Lake City
As Marlene takes back the crying Ellie, we cut back to Ellie in the present day. Ellie is in her own little world as Joel calls out to her, excited to show her that he found some cans of the Chef Boyardee he knows she likes, and a game of Boggle he thought they could play. But while Joel seems almost like an excited puppy showing Ellie his finds, Ellie can hardly muster any excitement, and she’s also uncharacteristically quiet. Joel tells her that they’re getting close to the hospital, and it may be the one they’re looking for. They keep walking down the interstate, and Joel points out that a nearby RV he checked out had a guitar, and while this one was smashed up, Joel thinks that maybe he should find one. He hasn’t played in forever, and maybe, he could teach Ellie. She smiles faintly, and when Joel asks if she’d like to learn how to play guitar, she’s lost in her head again, then gives a delayed response saying that would be great. Joel knows something is off with Ellie, but he’s not sure what.
They make their way into Salt Lake City, and Joel says here’s what he was thinking, but before Joel can give his plan, Ellie finishes his thought, saying they’ll get into a building, find a skyscraper, go up it, and have a look around. Joel says no, he was thinking of blowing up the rubble in their way with some dynamite that he found in the RV. Ellie looks at him, and he states, just kidding, the plan is to go into the building, find a skyscraper, go up it, and have a look around. But even though Joel is more open and joking around, there’s still little response from Ellie.
They make their way into a building, and Joel says he’ll give Ellie a boost to a ladder on the next floor (a common mechanic found in the games), but Ellie isn’t paying attention. Joel asks if she’s doing okay, noting that she’s been extra quiet. Ellie apologizes, Joel says it’s fine, and they continue on their way, as Joel helps Ellie up to the next floor. Ellie grabs the ladder but gets distracted by something, runs away, and drops the ladder to Joel’s floor. Joel gets up to the next floor, but Ellie is on the move, telling Joel there’s something he has to see. He follows her up several flights and finally catches up to her as we see what got Ellie so excited: a giraffe walking around outside. Ellie and Joel stand at a hole that has been blasted out of the building, where the giraffe is eating some of the nearby leaves. They’re both in awe of the moment, and Joel pulls off some leaves for the giraffe to eat, handing some to Ellie. The giraffe eats Ellie’s leaves, and we see her almost immediately become a kid again, laughing at his black tongue as she feeds him, while Joel watches and smiles—glad to have this moment with her.
As the giraffe leaves, Ellie chases after her, and the pair goes up another flight of stairs. Out on an overgrown stadium, we see a herd of giraffes roaming, as Joel and Ellie watch from above. As in the second episode, “Infected,” Joel asks, “so, is it everything you hoped for?” and Ellie replies, “it’s got its ups and downs, but you can’t deny that view.” In the moment, it’s as if Joel remembers how far they’ve come since they shared that moment. Joel says he doesn’t know about the hospital, but there’s always been something bad out there. Ellie says they’re still here though. Joel says he knows, but he’s just saying that there’s risk, and that they don’t have to do this. Ellie asks what are they supposed to do, and Joel says nothing, they just go back to Tommy’s and forget about everything. But Ellie says that after everything they’ve gone through, after everything she’s done, it can’t be for nothing. She knows he means well, and that he’s protected her, and when they’re done, they’ll go wherever Joel wants: Tommy’s, the sheep ranch he said he dreamed about, the moon—Ellie will follow wherever Joel wants to go. But there’s no halfway with this, and they have to finish what they started. Joel accepts this, and they head out toward the hospital.
Shot and Missed
On the way, they find an outdoor medical center that has been abandoned and torn to pieces. Joel says this wasn’t FEDRA — this was the Army, who put up these emergency medical camps in the days after the outbreak. Joel says they put him in a place like this, and Ellie asks if he was there with Sarah, and Joel says no, that she was gone already. Just the fact that he’s now willing to talk about Sarah with Ellie so openly shows how deeply he cares for her. Ellie asks what was wrong with him, and Joel says it was for the scar next to his temple. Ellie mentions what Joel said before, that it was from the guy who shot and missed, and that she figured it would’ve happened later. But Joel says nope, it happened on the second day, and that he was the guy who shot and missed.
Joel and Ellie sit down, and Joel says there’s no story—Sarah died, and he couldn’t see the point anymore. Simple as that. And he wasn’t scared, he was ready—he couldn’t have been more ready. When he went to pull the trigger, he flinched, and he still doesn’t know why. Joel gets ready to tell Ellie why he’s telling her this, but Ellie says she knows why. Then Ellie says “time heals all wounds, I guess,” and Joel responds, “it wasn’t time that didn’t,” and they both understand that Joel meeting Ellie is what finally helped heal the wound. Joel wipes away his tears, and Ellie looks at him, understanding how much she means to him. Changing the tone as they move on, Joel says he’s in the mood for shitty puns, and Ellie is prepared with her No Pun Intended Volume Too book. As Ellie tells her terrible jokes, and Joel critiques them, we see men moving behind them, and Joel and Ellie realize a flash bang has been thrown at this a moment too late. The men take Ellie and knock out Joel with the butt of a gun.
Welcome to the Fireflies
When Joel wakes up, the first thing he sees is the Firefly logo, and then hears “welcome to the Fireflies.” It’s Marlene, and Joel is laying in a hospital room. Marlene says the patrol didn’t know who they were—hence the gun to the head. Joel asks where Ellie is, and Marlene says she isn’t hurt, and she was mostly worried about Joel. He asks Marlene again, and she deflects again, asking how Joel was able to get Ellie across the country. Joel says it was all her, and Marlene praises him, saying she would’ve been dead on day one. She says Joel is the one person she never wanted to be in debt to, but Marlene owes her—they all do.
But when Joel asks to see Ellie again, Marlene says he can’t, she’s being prepped for surgery. Marlene says that their doctor thinks the cordyceps have grown with her since birth and that it doesn’t attack her because it thinks she’s also a cordycep, which is why she’s immune. The doctor is going to remove it from her, multiply the cells in a lab, and produce the chemical messengers that have kept Ellie alive all this time. He believes that could actually be a cure. Yet all that sticks with Joel is the idea of Ellie going into surgery, and his realization that cordyceps grow inside the brain. Marlene agrees, and while she doesn’t say it, Ellie will save the world, but she’ll die in the process.
Joel tells Marlene to find someone else, but Marlene says there is no one else. But they didn’t tell Ellie what was happening, and that she won’t feel any pain. Joel demands to be taken to her, but a Firefly hits him with a gun, knocking him to all fours. Joel begs, says please, that Marlene doesn’t understand. Marlene says she does understand—she was there when Ellie was born, and she promised her mother that she’d save her child. Marlene is the only one that understands, and she apologizes, but she has no other choice. But Joel states that he does have a choice. Realizing what he means by this, Marlene tells the Fireflies to take him to the highway, leave him his pack, and give him Ellie’s switchblade. If Joel tries anything, they should shoot him, as the men lead him away.
I've Got You, Baby Girl
The two men push Joel along through the hospital, as Joel seems to be trying to figure out what his next move is. As they walk down the stairs, Joel stops, hits one of the men, grabs the gun, and shoots the other. He then shoots the second man in the leg and asks where Ellie is. When the man responds “fuck you,” Joel says he doesn’t have time for this and shoots the man in the head. Joel grabs his bag, Ellie’s knife, and some ammo from the dead soldier, as Joel works his way back through the hospital, shooting every living person he sees, determined to find Ellie. Joel doesn’t ask questions, he doesn’t even accept when people surrender, he simply makes his way through the hospital shooting, stabbing, and making sure there’s no one left to get in the way. It’s a massacre, and a reminder of the man Joel used to be before Ellie was around.
Finally, Joel finds the Pediatric Surgery section of the hospital, and he sees Ellie through a window as she’s being given anesthesia and getting prepped for surgery. The doctor and the nurses haven’t heard Joel enter as he demands they unhook her. But the doctor grabs a scalpel saying that he won’t let him take her. But Joel doesn’t hesitate and shoots the doctor in the head. Joel then tells the nurses to unhook her, and once they’re done, he tells them to turn around. Joel gently picks up Ellie and carries her out of the operating room and to the elevator. He’s got her, she’s safe.
They make it to the parking garage, but Marlene is waiting for him. She says Joel can’t keep her safe forever, as Marlene holds a gun on her. No matter how many people he kills, she’s going to grow up, and he’ll die, or she’ll leave, and what then? How long before she dies in this broken world that she could’ve saved? Joel says maybe, but it isn’t for Marlene to decide. But Marlene counters, “or you,” and asks what Ellie would decide, because Marlene thinks she would want to do what’s right—and Marlene says Joel knows this. At that moment, it’s like Joel remembers her saying it can’t all be for nothing, and Marlene says it’s not too late, they can still find a way.
Joel looks at the unconscious Ellie in his arms, and then we cut to Joel driving down the road. At first, it seems like he might be alone, but then we hear Ellie waking up in the backseat. Joel says it’s all right, she’s with him, and that the drugs are still wearing off. Ellie asks what drugs, and Joel says they were running tests on her—and some others. Joel lies and says it turns out there are more immune people like her, dozens of them. Joel says the doctors couldn’t make it work. As Joel continues his life, we cut back to the parking garage, where we see that Joel ended up shooting Marlene. Back in the car, Joel says that the Fireflies have stopped looking for a cure. Ellie asks where her clothes are, as she’s still in the hospital gown, and Joel again lies, saying raiders attacked the hospital, and he barely got her out. Ellie asks if people were hurt, and Joel finally tells the truth, simply saying “yes.” When Ellie asks if Marlene is okay, he avoids the question, saying he’s taking them home. As she goes back to sleep, Joel says, “I’m sorry.”
It Can't All Be For Nothing
Back in the garage, we see Joel put Ellie in the car, but Marlene isn’t dead. Joel goes to her, where she’s bleeding out from the shot to the gut. Marlene pleads with Joel, asking him to let her go. But with the same determination that Marlene had when killing Anna, Joel says, “you’d just come after her,” and shoots her in the head.
Joel and Ellie get all the way back to Wyoming before the car dies, as Joel says the car got them close enough, and they start walking the five-hour hike to their destination. As they walk, Joel reminisces about how he and Sarah used to take hikes all the time. Now, Joel can’t quit talking about Sarah, he’s finally completely open. But Ellie is quiet once more, and we can tell she’s still mulling over the situation of what happened in Salt Lake City. Joel says Sarah would’ve liked Ellie, but they’re definitely different. Ellie asks how so, and Joel says Sarah was girlie, taller, and she had a killer smile. Joel makes sure Ellie knows this doesn’t make either one of them better, making sure Ellie knows that doesn’t mean she also doesn’t have a great smile—almost like a father ensuring both his daughters that he loves them equally. But Joel says that Sarah would’ve liked Ellie because she’s funny, that Ellie would’ve made Sarah laugh. Joel says he thinks Ellie would’ve liked her back, and Ellie agrees that she probably would have, but Ellie still seems uneasy around Joel now.
As they keep walking, they see Jackson in the distance, and while Joel seems happy to be at their new home, Ellie seems almost worried about the situation she’s now in. Joel keeps going, but Ellie stops him. Ellie tells Joel about the time she first killed someone, and that when she got bitten at the mall, she admits she wasn’t alone, that her best friend Riley was there, and she got bit too. They didn’t know what to do, and Riley said they could just wait it out, be all poetic and just lose their minds together. Riley did, and Ellie had to kill her.
Ellie says that her friend’s name was Riley, and she was the first to die. And then it was Tess, and then Sam. Joel says none of that’s on her, that life sometimes doesn’t work out the way we hope, and that sometimes things come to an end, and you don’t know what to do next. But if you just keep going, you find something new to fight for.
But Ellie cuts Joel off, asking him to swear to her. Swear to her that everything he said about the Fireflies is true. Joel swears that it’s true without hesitation. As Gustavo Santaolalla’s gorgeous score swells in this integral moment for this relationship, we close in on Ellie’s face, as she tries to figure out if he’s telling the truth or lying, and regardless, whether she should continue to follow him, now that their journey is seemingly done. But Ellie accepts Joel’s answer, nods, and says “okay,” as the episode—and the first season—comes to a heartbreaking end.