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How The Last of Us Impacted Me: A Character Study of Joel


Remilia Scarlet

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This is some deep analysis

 

You have the point, quote, comment system and everything

 

If this was an english essay, you'd get an A

 

Thanks a lot! I'm glad you didn't mention my fuck up in the title xD I just thought that with the surprising lack of character analysis on the Internet for Joel, I should do one. Considering the insane coverage the game STILL gets two years later, you'd think a psychologist or SOMEONE would do one, seeing as how Joel is the perfect model for it.

 

On the note of my title for the topic: Could a mod or someone put The Last of Us between How and Impacted please?

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Thanks a lot! I'm glad you didn't mention my fuck up in the title xD I just thought that with the surprising lack of character analysis on the Internet for Joel, I should do one. Considering the insane coverage the game STILL gets two years later, you'd think a psychologist or SOMEONE would do one, seeing as how Joel is the perfect model for it.

 

On the note of my title for the topic: Could a mod or someone put The Last of Us between How and Impacted please?

 

No problem, and I didn't actually notice the error in the title

 

If you click edit on your original post, click full editor, you can then edit the title

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No problem, and I didn't actually notice the error in the title

 

If you click edit on your original post, click full editor, you can then edit the title

 

*facepalm* Of ocurse. Silly me xD It must be my sleep deprivation. I've been up all night working on this and trying to make it good. I've been reading all kinds of wiki pages and going over scenes in the game because I really wanted to make Joel real here, you know? He's one of my all time favorite game characters.

 

And holy balls 9 users, 2 guests, and 5 likes already? OMG

Nice overview of Joel, I can admit that he is one badass man. Definitely can't wait to play TLOU on PS4! 

 

Thank you! And you totally need to! It's even better than the PS3 version! Uncompressed audio FTW!

Edited by AnimeDreama
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Interesting post and a very good read - nice job! However, I feel that you missed out on Joel's most important, morally bankrupt moment of all: When he saved Ellie at the end of the game. 

 

Joel was essentially sticking a middle finger up to the world that had taken so much away from him; he'd been seemingly powerless to avoid loss throughout his life, but whenever he was in the position to save Ellie he seized it. He sacrificed potentially saving humanity to selfishly protect the one thing in the world he has left to care about. Joel is a father again in his eyes, and he's using Ellie as a way to atone for the past in which he failed to protect his own daughter.

 

Bear in mind that he went against Ellie's wishes to keep this facade alive, even going as far as to blatantly lie to her and tell her there's no hope for a cure. Joel passes on his own thoughts of what the world is to Ellie at the end of the game: Depraved, broken and not worth saving, much like Joel himself.  

 

That's my interpretation of Joel and his actions by the way, not fact. Joel really is a fantastically layered character.

 

Anyway, great post and I hope you write more stuff down the line.

 

Yet, it's obvious Ellie knows this, but she accepts what Joel says without question. It'd be interesting to know how this affects their relationship in the future, should Naughty Dog release a sequel. Never have I seen a more complicated ending than the one at the end of The Last of Us.  

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Really nice post. I also agree that the part where he says he has been on both sides literally gave me chills. The other part I like that is really telling about his past is when he meets back up with Tommy at the dam. It's clear that Tommy was disturbed by Joel's actions that he took to survive saying that he has nightmares from those days. I imagine Joel being like the hunters and gunning down innocent people to gain supplies, food, etc. and Tommy being completely against that means of survival. 

 

Not too stray too much off the topic, but I love the title of the game - The Last of Us. I think the game paints such a good picture of how the last people left on earth would most likely be filled with bad people. Mostly hunters, ruthless survivors, corrupt military and even brutal resistance members like the Fireflies. This really stands out to me when, in the hospital at the end of the game, the Firefly who is escorting Joel out tells him, "Give me a reason (to shoot you)." Even this guy who just saw a man bring them the cure for all mankind is still such an angry guy that he wants to execute Joel over just escorting him out. One example of how "nice guys" wouldn't survive in that world for long. 

 

Back on topic, Joel is the best character from any game I have ever played (including Ellie of course). I think she was totally necessary to compliment Joel and be somewhat of a replacement for Sarah but I agree that this game is mostly about Joel. Anyway, awesome post! Best game ever. 

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I feel so guilty for having not started TLOU yet.

 

I have had the game downloaded for about 4 months and have never so much as loaded it.

 

To be honest, your post was amazing, credit where it is due but I must confess to having skirted a lot of what you typed for fear of reading something that I shouldn't.

 

Now I have beaten LA Noire I will most likely start TLOU. Finally.

Edited by Rabid_lnfant
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Very good post and a great read.

 

Have to say this game was one of the best games I've ever played. I took my time playing through it and enjoyed every minute playing it.

 

I really hope ND make a sequel or some follow up on this.

 

 

Iceman

B)

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This was really great post, and I agree in everything you wrote. I was like you in the start, I didn't understand all the hype around the game, but at last I bought it (the remastered version, since I don't have a ps3 :S) and I don't regret at all, I regret more on that I didn't buy it earlier. The Last Of Us has become my favorite game and Joel one of my fave characters. Have to say that the developers did a really great job with the casting of Joel's actor too. Troy Baker is just amazing.:wub: The game itself made me wanna travel to USA even more (though it's set in a post-apocalyptic version with nasty zombies).

Edited by LCDR_McGarrett
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Obvious spoilers galore coming:

 

A moral scale doesn't exist. There is no good and evil in the world of The Last of Us, only survival. It's a theme that you see used often in post-apocalyptic settings, but the thing that made The Last of Us such a riveting piece of art to me was that you play as someone who isn't even thinking about being a moral arbiter. In most other forms of media, protagonists in post-apocalyptic settings still show some level of compassion for others outside their comfort zone. But not Joel. He kills for the same reasons everyone else wants to kill him: they're just in the way. Naughty Dog made the combat reflect this well. You ever notice that you can avoid combat in most of the encounters with the Infected, but you almost always have to kill when humans are involved? He can be such a loving person, but can also be incredibly heartless. Joel refuses to accept or even consider any other realities other than his own.

 

The scene that hit me hardest was when Joel captures 2 of David's henchman and tortures them into telling Ellie's location. Naughty Dog did a sensational job in that scene, thanks to phenomenal voice acting and mo-cap. You can see their fear of death by the eye movements, their bodies trembling, and their inability to even beg for mercy with a straight tone of voice because they're so terrified. Yet Joel, very much like a villain would, mercilessly kills them without thinking twice. Half of was me like "**** yeah Joel! Now go get Ellie!" and the other half was disgusted. But then 15 minutes later, he's embracing a traumatized Ellie and calls her "baby girl", what he used to call his own daughter. It's a complete 180 in character. 

 

In the end though, to me, Joel is a pathetic old man whose is driven solely by his own selfishness. We see this in the final scene when he effortlessly lies to Ellie, the one person he cares about the most, about what really happened with the Fireflies. He doesn't care about humanity, he only cares about his desire to have a child again, even if it means that said child must be ignorant about the truth (I know there are many suggestions that Ellie knows he's lying, but that's a whole different topic :D). That can certainly be condemned, but then again, humanity clearly showed itself that it doesn't deserve to be saved. Why should Joel want to save anything? He's just one man in this god forsaken world. Joel made the decision that made most sense for himself, so in that sense the ending, as far as I'm concerned, is perfect. 

 

This ran long and is invoking the feels. So here is a cute pic of Joel and Ellie moving via pallet:

 

ku-medium.png

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