If Roles Were Reversed, Would Ellie Save Joel? The Last of Us Star Answers the Intriguing Question

What is the price of the life of a single loved one? Is it worth sacrificing the whole world? This theme is not something new in popular media. We have seen many times that characters, mostly villains, tip the scales of the universe just to save or bring back the ones who were special to them. The Last of Us presented the same stakes but with a huge twist.  

Naughty Dog’s magnum opus, The Last of Us, is a benchmark in the world of gaming. It brought up themes that were very rare in games prior to it. Renowned production studio HBO saw the potential in the story and produced a television adaptation that was deemed one of the best series of the year.  

The television counterpart closely followed the source, respecting the original story. The iconic climax of the first game was almost exactly adapted into the show. In the ultimate act, the aforementioned stakes were present, but instead of a villain, the protagonists, Joel and Ellie, were presented with the choice. 

Bella Ramsey thinks it would have been “more stupid” if the roles between Joel and Ellie In Last of Us

In the season finale, Joel was presented with the choice of saving Ellie or humanity. And without a second thought, Joel took the gun in his hand and dropped the bodies that tried to come between his newfound daughter and the last hope of humankind. In a single blow, Joel saved Ellie but doomed the future of human beings.

The main cast featured Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. In a recent interview with Lofficiel, Ramsey was asked what Ellie would have done if she were in Joel’s shoes. To this, they answered, “I think she would have saved Joel, which would have been even more stupid because Joel’s pretty old.”

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In the end, we could debate for hours if Joel had done the right thing. From a critical standpoint, in literature, there is no good or bad. It all comes down to the perspective of the audience. If the audience sees the ordeal through Joel’s eyes, then protecting his daughter was the right thing to do, but the sentiment would be the exact opposite if it were seen from the Fireflies’ POV, who tried their best to save the world. 

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