Revisiting The Last of Us: The Story (Part 1)

*Please note that this post will be full of spoiler, so if you intend to experience this game for yourself, this is where you should stop reading and go play the game for yourself, or at least watch the playthrough on Youtube.*

On last week's post, I promise to write about the story of The Last of Us and how it catharsis )or the lack of it serves to enhance the overall experience for the player. So, without further ado...

Prologue

Joel having fun with Sarah

The game starts in 2013, during the night of the outbreak. It was Joel's birthday and his daughter, Sarah had bought him a watch. Little did he know, this watch will ended up saving his life later that night. During the outbreak, in an attempt to escape the pursuing runner, Joel carries Sarah and they ran into a soldier. After consulting his superior, the soldier shot at Joel and Sarah. The watch given to Joel by Sarah earlier deflect the bullet, but Sarah was not so lucky, she was shot in stomach, after struggling for a few moment, she died.

Joel and Sarah ran into a soldier

At this point, without showing the consequence, the scene was cut away to the title sequence which showed the events that happened in the following 20 years. The players (myself included) are left in shock and given no time to reflect on what just happened. This is a great example of the intentional lack of catharsis in this game, and it is just the first of many to come.


20 years later

Summer
 

Joel and Ellie looking at the Massachusetts State House

In order to get their weapons back, Joel and Tess had to escort Ellie to the Massachusetts State House, a designated rendezvous point for the Fireflies. It was worth mentioning that before they arrive, they was a very poignant moment when Joel stole a glimpse of Ellie, and it reminded him of his daughter. Then, he unconsciously look at the watch given to him by his daughter. The watch that saved his life.

Tess showing Joel the bite mark

When they got inside the state house, they found out that the Firefly team there was already dead and Tess was infected with the Cordyceps virus. Tess convince Joel to continue this mission without her, to bring Ellie to the Firefly headquarter. Reluctantly leaving the infected Tess behind to fend off the arriving FEDRA soldier. The next time we see Tess, it was from a balcony faraway upstairs,  she was already dead, lying in a pool of her own blood. Whenever Tess was mention again by any other character, it was always stopped short by Joel.

Ellie trying to cheer up Sam

The same thing happens again outside the suburbs in Pittsburgh. When the infected Sam attacked Ellie, Joel reach for his gun, only to be stopped by Sam's elder brother, Henry. In the end, it was Henry who shot the infected Sam. Feeling guilty for what he had just done, Henry killed himself and the scene cut to black. Once again, there was no time for reaction and explanation. We just move on to the next chapter. Life moves on.

Fall 

Fall started sometimes after Henry's suicide, Joel and Ellie already reach Jackson County, Wyoming. While Ellie did try to talk to Joel about what happened in Pittsburgh, Joel refused. Later in the chapter, when Ellie discovered Joel was about to hand her off to his brother, Tommy, a former Firefly member, she ran away to a nearby ranch house. Following her track, Joel and Tommy was able to found Ellie and confronts her.

Ellie confront Joel about his daughter

The fact is, Joel realize he had grew attached to Ellie as a surrogate for his daughter and he can't afford to lose Ellie again like he had lost his daughter all those years ago. So, he chose to do what he has always done, bury his emotion and run away from his problem. Just like what he did with his own daughter, with Tess and with Henry and Sam. As the confrontation get to the climax, it ends abruptly and anticlimactically with Tommy interrupting them to tell them about incoming thugs. Thankfully, Joel changed his mind later, and decided that he would escort Ellie to the Firefly lab after all.

Joel and Ellie arrive in University Eastern Colorado

When they arrived at University Eastern Colorado (Go big horns!), Joel and Ellie explored the campus expecting to find Firefly scientists, instead they found only a dead scientist and a digital recorder with the scientist's last journal entry.

The scientist commited suicide after he was infected

Then, they got attacked by a group of thugs on a supply run. In a struggle with one of the thugs, Joel got pulled over the balustrade and fell to the ground floor, impaled by a reinforcement bar. Losing a huge amount of blood, Joel barely makes it out of the university with the help of Ellie. His fate remain unknown as the scene cut to black.

Ellie helping Joel escapes the science building

As illustrated by all the scenarios above, the game intentionally left out some of the most important / exciting / climatic part, choosing instead to let the player fill in the blanks themselves. This lack of a "ready-to-experience catharsis" forced us to make our own conclusion. In this aspect, Neil Druckmann's script has a certain confidence that was rarely seen on any media nowadays, it doesn't look down at it's audience, it doesn't panders to the lowest common denominator, it keeps you guessing, making you examine all the implicit, hidden little details.

And most importantly, it can generates discussion among everyone who has experience it. I will show you why this is so as we examine the Winter and Spring story on next weeks post.


Picture credit: theradbrad's The Last of Us Remastered Walkthrough on Youtube