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    The Last of Us

    Game » consists of 11 releases. Released Jun 14, 2013

    Joel and Ellie must survive in a post-apocalyptic world where a deadly parasitic fungus infects people's brains in this PS3 exclusive third-person action-adventure game from Naughty Dog.

    One Thing That I Still Question About the Story (SPOILERS)

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    RonGalaxy

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    #1  Edited By RonGalaxy

    I recommend not reading this thread until you beat the game. So here's my final SPOILER warning

    I've been replaying The Last of Us recently, mostly to freshen my memory for GOTY deliberations and as a test to see if I still like it as much coming back to it 6 months later (hint: I really freaking do).

    Okay, so I'm at the part where you find Ellie after she ran away from Tommy's settlement. One thing that still confuses me is this...

    They're fighting because Joel wants to leave Ellie with his brother, Ellie brings up Joel's dead daughter (saying she isn't her), but that she wants him to bring her because she feels safer with him and that he's the only person who hasn't abandoned her (in one way or another). Then Joel drops a bomb and, coldly, says "you're right. you are not my daughter, and I sure as hell ain't your dad. And we're going our separate ways".

    That seems like a thing that would have really hurt their relationship, but then after riding with Tommy a bit, Joel flips a complete 180 and is caring again and decides to go with her. Everything is completely all right with them...

    I know Joel didn't really mean it, but in the moment he was a fucking cold bastard, and if I was Ellie I probably would thing differently of him after that. Also, the emotional transition was a bit awkward/bizarre and could have been handled a lot better. I really want to get more perspective on it though. Maybe someone could enlighten me to something I'm missing! Would really appreciate it.

    Also, sorry if this question has been answered before.

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    Darji

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    When you care a lot about a Person and don't want to getting hurt you sometimes say such stuff to protect "yourself" Getting to attached to Ellie was a very difficult and painful thing for Noel since he wanted to never experience a person he cared for to die again. And they made up so fast because they realized they don't want to lose each other.

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    Yummylee

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    #3  Edited By Yummylee

    Eh, I always just assumed that they were able to cool down once they got back to the dam. Plus, it only proves how much Ellie cares for Joel that she was able to let put his outburst behind them so quickly. And not to mention that since Ellie is very 'wise beyond her years', it seems plausible that she'd be able to truly emphasise and understand Joel's sensitivity regarding his daughter, especially when you consider the loss she herself has been through. After all the reason the situation blew up like it did in the first place was because Ellie was able to recognise that she's something of a daughter surrogate for Joel.

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    cornbredx

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    Joel is a bad person and he knows it. At that point in the story (when he says that) he wants nothing more than to be done with Ellie. His turn towards caring I think was more time based than anything. At some point you gain an attachment to other people, for good or bad. With Joel's emotional state he's become somewhat of a sociopath and despite his best efforts to keep Ellie unattached, she basically ends up becoming his psychological connection to his past away daughter and in a lot of ways becomes worse (psychologically) in the process. The comment that she's not his daughter is foreshadowing in a way as he does create that attachment by the time the game wraps up.

    Anyway, being together for a time causes it more than anything. The game jumps forwards in time so much, and so quickly, sometimes it's hard to keep track. I think the games inability to feel the weight of what happens at certain points is one of the down sides of its story.

    It's been awhile since I played TLOU but it's something like that.

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    HH

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    #5  Edited By HH

    i think Ellie knew he didn't mean it, it was a bridge Joel had to cross, and Ellie had to be understanding about it, and forgive the statement, because it was clearly disguising the truth - the very opposite of what he said. Men!

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    randyf

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    People say harsh things when they're angry. I've said harsh things when I'm angry and I've had harsh things directed toward me when others were angry. It doesn't mean I stop caring for those people.

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    MarvinPontiac

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    He changed his mind. It was a combination of searching inside himself and seeing the pain he caused her. I would call it a change of heart, but it really isn't – the whole story of The Last of Us is about Joel fundamentally needing Ellie, no matter what. At every turn it supercedes his personal motivations and better judgement.

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    csl316

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    If you've ever been in an argument, people can say some overblown stuff.

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    Immunity

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    I would say what @csl316 said has a lot to do with it. I will say it does feel kind of rushed and this is one of the points in the story that felt a little weird to me. However, I have thought about and come to a conclusion that makes sense to me. Basically Joel's outburst was his last effort to deny any kind of emotional attachment to Ellie, despite one already existing. Shortly after they get attacked in the house. I get the feeling that during the fight and on their way back to the dam, Joel realized that he didn't want to lose Ellie so he decides to go with her.

    As for Ellie, I can understand why she wouldn't be pissed. Joel is the only person she has left. The only person she has any real connection with and clearly she sees him as a father figure. It makes sense that she would overlook his outburst. If you were in the TLOU world you would have no problem forgiving one of the few people you trust for getting pissed off and saying something kinda mean. In the grander scheme of things it's a pretty minor issue.

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