My wife and I watch The Last of Us for the FIRST time || Season 1 FINALE 

The Giraffe did an amazing job as a Giraffe in the game. Really great casting, nailed the scene really.

Bill firshadowed this episode in his letter to Joel. "Our job is to protect someone and God help any m***erf***er who gets in our way. "

Funny how you say Anna sounds like Ellie when that is the original voice actor for Ellie

That was the easiest decision Joel made his entire life. No hesitation

The decision to kill Marlene does weighs heavy on Joel. That is why we flashback to the kill scene. He was thinking about it even while lying to Ellie in the car.

That last scene, and that last word in particular, might be my favorite piece of writing of all time. We’ve seen this relationship grow and blossom into something so beautiful and meaningful, but this is where it splinters. He has become a father to her, he’s protected her, he’s taken care of her. But she feels something’s off. She knows in her gut that he’s not being 100% honest with her. But the idea that he would take away the one thing she thought she had, her purpose in this world, is too painful. She decides in that moment to ignore her gut, ignore her senses, to believe him, because she can’t handle the alternative. But that’s not how trust works, and the trust between them is irreparably broken in that moment, despite her willingness to pretend otherwise. And all of that is conveyed in one, simple word. “Okay”. I think it’s absolutely brilliant.

Holden: "Awe... it's a Giraffe." Square with an edge Holden: "Actually that's a good source of food for you guys if we're being honest here."

“Anna is played by game Ellie” Is gonna become the new “did you know Vigo broke his toe when he kicked that head?” From LoTR 😂

FYI the actress who played Ellie's mother is the voice actress for Ellie in the game.

Little interesting fact for Holden , Laura Bailey who plays as Kid Trunks in Dragonball is one of the nurses when Joel rescues Ellie

The giraffe scene is one of the most beloved scenes from the game. They recreated it perfectly, even with the same music. They also used this piece of music in ep. 3 when, after their finale dinner, Bill wheels Frank into their bedroom.

On Holden's comment about everyone Joel killing before Marlene being "faceless people". One thing to keep in mind for the future of the show: EVERYONE is the subject of their own story, and you never know who the people you interact with could be.

Joel made the only decision he could have, but honestly he forced a happy ending for himself even if it meant destruction for everyone around him. The fireflies, Marlene, even Ellie who he cares for. their last conversation shows how weird their relationship feels now, and how hurt she is that her immunity means nothing.

We also have that moment with Joel in the car driving away from the hospital (when you aren't quite sure if he took Ellie or not). I think you can really see the weight of what he had done, specifically to Marlene, coming down on Joel. They also flash to the moment he first shoots her while he's explaining "what happened" to Ellie. Structuring the scene that way works to build the tension, but I think it also shows how much Joel is trying to grapple with his decision.

Great catch by Jen with that call back to Joel carrying Sarah! I hadn’t even thought about that. Joel learned with Sarah and had his gun at the ready with Ellie. He wasn’t going to get caught unprepared twice.

personally I always saw the "no hesitation" kill of marlene to be in the same vein of marlene killing ellie's mom - the quicker you shoot her, the less you have to think about it because you know if you don't make the decision quickly, you may turn back, and he knew he couldn't do that for ellie's safety, so he went numb to all emotion and just did what he felt he had to do.

Half the comments are just to say Ellie’s mom was played by the voice actress for Ellie 😂

I think the decision to kill Marlene does weigh on Joel and they show that in his dialog with Ellie in the car, when he stops talking and you hear the gunshot in his flashback.

for some reason, the same ending from the game had a bigger impact on me than this TV show ending. And even if I go back and rewatch the game ending it still does more to me emotionally.

In terms of Marlene's death, I think Joel's coldness could show his character development surrounding Ellie. Before, he had hang-ups about killing people. But now that he's spent so much time with her and genuinely cares for her like a daughter, his love for her supercedes his moral code. Rationality means nothing to a parent protecting their child. And I think he feels even further justified after seeing the effect David had on her. So personally, I think him knowing Marlene meant nothing to him. All he saw was someone trying to kill his daughter.

Gonna play devils advocate here and say that I love how this story challenged people to think about how people in general, really are. We are all so accustomed to think that “oh hes the MC so hes probably the good guy” so in this episode they made Joel look really bad for killing lots of people. They wanted to show that Joel isnt the good perfect loving dad that we all want him to be. This will be made more known in the second season of the show. That there will always be different sides to every story.

I think Joel being so cold to Marlene was showing how much he cares about Ellie to the point where he’s just gonna kill anyone who he think will be a threat to her,the letter with bill at the start of the season with him saying to Joel that they’re protectors and need to do whatever they can to protect the ones they love I think really stuck with Joel

Hope yall play part 2 and dont wait for season 2

3:32 I recommend getting some covers for the seats that way the dogs can lay of them with actually having contact with the seats!

12:58 When you're out of ammo, you gotta go melee, as grisly as it might be. Jen's reaction captured it perfectly!

Congratulations on the chairs and sponsorship. So many awes. I call this the “AWEPISODE”. The original Ellie as Ellie’s Mom was perfect!

The woman who plays Ellie's mother is the lady that voiced Ellie in the game, which is why she sounds like her. Also, in the version of the first game that you guys are playing they redesigned the Ellie character to look like her, so that's also why she looks like Ellie.

Maan didn't want this to end. The show reminded me of the summer in 2013 when the game came out 😢

The amount of parallels in this episode is phenomenal.

So fun fact, during the game's final playtesting, it was a 50-50 split on whether or not players agreed with Joel’s decision. However, 100% of them that were parents said Joel was in the right, it’s all a matter of perspective.

Joel and Hopper has a lot of similar situation, both lost their daughter named Sarah, met a girl named El (Ellie and Eleven) both of them having special abilities, Ellie is immune, Eleven has telekinesis powers, both men shut themselves from the world, and emotionally unavailable

The great thing about the ending to this story is that there is no right or wrong answer! It's almost exactly like the "trolley problem" philosophy theory! While I understand both sides, I will always stand by Joel's decision regards if it was selfish and monstrous. He essentially did what any person who loves their child or loved one would've done. It was a very human reaction, especially after he lost Sarah and wasn't going to relive that experience against. I agree with what Troy Baker (the original Joel from the games) essentially said. "People say that Joel doomed the world, but if anything he saved it. He saved his world (Ellie)."

I KNEW that you guys wouldn't see exactly eye to eye on all of the philosophy behind the ending and it really makes you guys so interesting to watch on this channel! 😂 I really agree with Holden about the lack of infected. I know the focus of the world is the conflict between the people that exist in this universe, but the context of the story and the actions of the Fireflies is the urgency to create a cure for humanity and the lack of infected didn't really portray a world where the infected really are such an existential threat to humanity anymore. In my opinion, there's really no question that Joel did the right thing in the ending. I think it's a real stretch for this random surgeon to be able to synthesise and mass-produce a cure for a fungal infection from a single procedure with Ellie, even Marlene sounded uncertain and they aren't following any scientific process. But, if you really suspend your disbelief and accept that he would have succeeded in making a cure, then there's really no reason that any other equally or more qualified medical professional or scientist in the world wouldn't be able to do the same, even in Jackson. In that sense, I don't believe that Joel doomed humanity by rescuing Ellie because a cure can still be made for as long as Ellie still lives. I don't even think the medical choice should be given to Ellie at 14, she's still very impressionable and in just the previous episode we saw a paedophile convince her to lower her guard in just a single conversation. In my opinion, she's navigating a lot of loss and trauma at a very young age and is desperate to find meaning in her life and shouldn't be given a decision on her own mortality until she's older. As her de facto surrogate father, I think Joel absolutely had the right to decide her fate on her behalf until she was old enough to make that choice for herself, free of coercion. I'm not even sure Joel had a choice and chose his selfish desires over humanity, I think he was acting purely on instinct alone and there's no alternate reality where he would've ever been able to stand aside and choose to let Ellie be killed.

Remember Joel's comment about all the horrible things he and Tommy had to do to survive? There you go! This is one of the best season finales I've seen in a long time. This series is everything The Walking Dead SHOULD HAVE been.

The voice actor for joel isn’t the preacher, david, but was david’s right hand man with the beard that ellie kills with a cleaver

The unknowing "She looks a lot like her" was lovely... The actor playing the mom is the actor who gave Ellie her voice in the game.

Ellie's mom played by Ashley Johnson kinda sounds like Ellie, because she played Ellie in the game

The mother (Ashley Johnson) actually played Ellie in both games which is why she sounds like Ellie

I think Joel killed Marlene the way he did because deep down he was trying delude himself into thinking it was the right decision. You can see when she says it’s what Ellie would have wanted that he knows she’s probably right. I see him killing Marlene as killing that idea and instead of wallowing in his decision, like he did with Sarah (and ultimately attempting to kill himself), he could live the life he felt both he and Ellie deserved. I think you can see the turmoil (like Jen mentioned) with his expression in the car. But I think he pushes it down and that’s why his demeanour is a lot more open and upbeat when they head back to Wyoming. He’s spent so long letting the world get him down, he’s chosen to try and be happy, even if that comes at the cost of everyone else. (Just my two cents!)

To Holdens point about how Marlene was killed, Joel also mentions in the first episode that she turned Tommy against him so I don’t think he really cared for her to start. I do think it weighed on him a bit but not that much tbh lol

Also one of the nurses in the operating room is Laura Bailey. She voices a character in part 2. She is also the voice of MJ in the 2018 Spiderman game.

It's very possible in seasn two we'll have more infected stuff, but the last of us will always be a story about humanity in dire circumstances. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the series! I'm looking forward to more of jen playing through the game, and maybe even playing the second game down the line in preparation for season 2, whenever that is scheduled to release.

Hope you guys end up playing part 2 before the show comes back on. Would be awesome to see you guys go into the next couple of seasons having played the games. Just as it was awesome to see you guys play the first game having already watched the show.

The fact is that we have plenty of clues that Joel is a stone-cold killer... His estrangement from Tommy, the way Robert was afraid that Joel might be coming after him, even in the beginning when he orders Tommy not to stop, or his actions overall. In fact it was one of the reasons a certain event in Part II is so contentious among that game's detractors... But the reason he comes off as not as cold is Ellie. Ellie orbiting him made him gentler, and make him worry that all that violence was affecting her... His parental instinct so to speak. But make no mistake, if you rewatch the show and pay attention to the the game, you'll see Joel was always violence prone, cold and selfish... But also an extremely loving and protective person.

"scissors, tape, everything he needs." That cracked me up.

If you rewatch the season, their use of music is superb. The music only plays during hopeful positive moments, when the music stops is when something is wrong. At the end there when Ellie was doing the jokes in the med camp, the music stopped a bit before the guy snuck up with the flash grenade.

You have to admit, audiences are on the whole much more shocked and appalled whenever women are killed (or even just hurt) on screen than when men are killed. Dozens of guys who, though armed, never fired a shot at Joel get gunned down (even a dude who puts down his weapon with his hands up)…”Meh, had to be done…”; yet that last shot that ends Marlene always horrifies people

The slow head turn after "Talk about getting blown away by an ending" absolutely killed me lol

Love the new seats, missed the more of the classic My gf watches setup.

Season 2 was confirmed after episode 1 was released I think!

Like Troy Baker was Joel in the last episode, the pregnant woman at the beginning is Ashley Johnson, the voice of Ellie in the game!

The episode implies that Ellie has been infected since birth, and that this is the reason she is immune, but there's evidence in the episode that disproves it. Ellie was bit twice, both wounds were shown side-by-side, the first bite showed scars from the initial infection, but the other bite mark (which is older in this episode than the first bite was when we first saw it) shows no signs of infection at all. I don't think that makes any sense unless the bite in the mall was the source of her mutated cordyceps, as it implies she was only immune for the second.

Jen's reverent whisper 'giraffe' and her horrified face 😳 when you said they should eat it 😂 OMG I laughed so hard. I'm going to watch it again. 🦒🧡

I think the little issue Holden is having with Joel’s decision is the entire point of the show and the game. The question itself of is this okay or not okay is the main thesis of the whole thing. It’s meant to make you question Joel’s actions and thought process completely. So that feeling of questioning it is I think is an appropriate reaction.

“Cover the babies ears” *proceeds to just ignore her and let an infant hear a gunshot basically point blank*

Ashley Johnson, who played Anna, was also the waitress saved by Captain America in deleted scene in the original Avengers. Oh she was also Chrissy Seaver in growing pains. Little monstah!

GREAT Office reference in the intro before the reaction. Perfect.

A season 2 was announced early on in the show and apparently the plan is to cover Part 2 over “multiple seasons” so at least 2 more seasons are planned

The music that plays during the giraffe scene is the same from the game. When I played, I didn’t move on from moment for probably half an hour because of how tranquil it was.

Great reaction ❤😊I have been conflicted ever since watching this episode. Your reaction has help me take the episode in a better light. thank you!

The actor that played Joel in the game was James ( Buddy Boy ) in the show. Nolan North played David in the game. 😁

Love the content! You guys should watch " The Mist "

12:26 When the Mando voice starts is like when the Doom music kicks in...

You guys have to remember Joel was in Desert Storm before the out break so ofc he is gonna be good with weapons and how to maneuver 🫶🏻💪🏻

The original Ellie artwork for the game character was created and had the likeness of actress Ellen Paige, for which she had a hissy fit over due to the game creators not having her permission. Because of this, they adjusted the likeness more to Ashley Johnson who actually did the voice for Ellie in the game (actress playing ellie's mother here).

You will really enjoy the rest of the first game and the second game. Ashley Johnson as Ellie and Troy Baker as Joel are such an amazing duo that you have to play the game if just to see that. Also, Ashley Johnson was the actress who played Ellie’s mother in this episode.

Joel decided that Marlene was going to die the second she chose to kill Ellie. It was an instantaneous calculation. That was the Joel that Tommy ran away from. The Joel that lead to his Ptsd and anxiety attacks in earlier episodes. The Joel that he was afraid to let out. Joel and Tess were feared by everyone. Including the Fireflies. Marlene even said "I know what you two are capable of." Pedro's blank, checked out far away stare as he rampage was evidence that no one who threatened his baby girls life was getting outta this place alive.

I’m so happy the giraffe came back to reprise his role for the live action series.

From what I remember from the game they changed the story for Bill and Frank. Its been so long since i played the first last of us but I think that there was just the survivalist and he was still very much alive when Joel and Ellie got there. Then again game is a different medium where there is a bigger emphasis on gameplay and hence in the game there was a lot more of killing of zombies and humans in general than in the tv series.

Holden - You’re forgetting two things: Ellie is Joel’s priority and he still blames the Fireflies for putting Tommy in danger. He & Merle (leader of a faction of the Fireflies) weren’t friends.

Anna’s actress (Ellie’s mom) is Ashley Johnson - aka Ellie from the video game! She did the voice and motion capture and Neil Druckmann has even said that they made Ellie look more like Ashley in the second game. So cool that she looks like Bella too!

"The fallout from that will be terrible" you have no idea

Since so many people have said Ashley Johnson who plays Anna Ellie's mum was the voice and mo-cap for Ellie in the games, I'm going to point out that she was also in the first Avengers film as the waitress Captain America saved.

Ifyou missed it , there multiple voice actors from the game that guests in different episode actually 3 vA IN THIS

I understand Holden's opinion about Joel's coldness towards killing Marlene not really being in line with his character thus far, because it is coming from the perspective of only seeing the show and not playing the game yet. The show has portrayed Joel with more emotional vulnerability and less coldness and brutality than his character in the game. Personally I believe Joel's game character is better than the show's. Overall I view the game as superior to the show, in regards to writing, cinematography, acting, and even editing. Being able to control the characters in between cutscenes is just an added bonus, lol.

God it felt so good hearing Ashley Johnson’s voice. It’s been so long

The lovely Ashley Johnson who played the mom voices and does the mocap for Ellie in the game

The guy who voiced Joel was not the pastor in a previous episode. He was that guy's right hand man, the character James. The one that got the cleaver in the neck.

The one who played Ellie's mom in the beginning was Ashley Johnson from Critical Role, who voiced Ellie in the game, that's why she sounded like her!

One additional cameo is Laura Bailey from Last of Us Part 2, she plays one of the nurses in this episode. Who she portrayed is obviously a spoiler.

I love how the guy who was told by Marlene to cover Ellie's ears before she shot her mom didn't listen AT ALL. He just let Ellie's ears get blown out. It's also nice that y'all got the couple chairs for final episode.

One of the things I love about this story is just how complicated it is. All the character's motivations make perfect sense to themselves. Then the whole question the show asks you at the end "is what Joel did ok?" is so masterfully done. People largely are split on the decision and both people I think can be right. That is sort of the point. Whatever morals you bring to the story will alter how you feel about Joel's actions. Then ending right on the beat of Ellie basically saying "ok... I'll accept this lie." is fantastic. It's a truly interesting study in character and I can't wait for them to tackle the morality of the second game.

Anna (Ashley Johnson), Ellies mother here (serie) is the real Ellie from the two games (voice actor and motion capture aswell).

Ashley Johnson was portraying Ellie's mother she was the Actress who plays Ellie in the Video Game so we have had both Ellie and Joel from the Game playing Different characters in this show interesting

Not the pastor but James who was the right hand man of David plays the voice actor and mocap of Joel in the game. Also Ellie's mocap and voice actor is the woman in the beginning of episode 9! Love the reaction guys keep up the great content 🔥 can't wait to see u guys finish the game! 🙌🏾

Correction to Holden: Joel's voice actor in the game (Troy Baker) didn't play the evil Pastor guy. He played the 2d in command to the evil pastor guy that Ellie kills by stabbing him in the neck. Ashley Johnson who voiced Ellie in the video game played Ellie's mom in ep 9. And one of the nurses in the end was played by Laura Bailey, a voice actor easter egg for TLoU 2 video game (no spoilers!).

Joel has said many times in this show that he’s “not a good person”. He may have been a good person once upon a time. After his daughter’s death, his failed suicide attempt, and the end of the world, Joel changed. He became a person who kills, who doesn’t care about other people, and who takes care of himself and the (very few) people he does care about. Ellie is the one who saved him from this version of himself. This episode brings that point home, I think. Joel becomes a terminator, basically. The human cost of keeping Ellie alive doesn’t matter to him. He loves her so much he’ll pay any price to keep her alive. His past trauma won’t let him watch her die, and he fell back into the cold, heartless, bad person Joel to save her. That’s why he seemed so unfazed in his killing of Marlene. Her life was a threat to Ellie, and he has to end it to keep her safe. I do think Jen is right, though, in that he does regret he had to do it. I think the car ride shows he regrets it, but also that his demeanor after the ride and the fact that he succeeded in keeping Ellie safe means he’d do it again 10 times out of 10.

It's been a decade now, and with Part 2, we STILL have people arguing about Joel's decision... And the ramifications it has later, which is another can of worms it introduces. The one critique I get and understand, is the lack of infected. Too much infected, and it gets monotonous, but a little more, especially during the David episode, especially it can help convince Ellie to trust him more fully, like in the game. Hope the next season remedies that, that depends if they go chronological order, or Part 2 structure which is more POV. Until then, a storm is approaching when Part 2 gets adapted, God help the actors playing Abby, and maybe even Lev too.

yeah Season 2 was already announced and I read somewhere that since the part 2 game is much bigger it might even be 2 season thing

As a parent, I'd definitely do what Joel did. He made the parent choice.

Also, the actress that played the female nurse voiced Abby in the 2nd game.

I think that the fact that Joel said to Marlene "You'll just come after her" was why it was harder for him to kill her than any of the other random soldiers. He could've just shot her instantly without having to say out loud a justification for it. I think it was to justify it to both her and himself to help him pull that trigger.

It was crazy to witness that ending back in 2013. You didn’t know if they would make a sequel and it was by all means a perfect ending. Even up until the sequel released there was a lot of doubt on whether a sequel should even exist

Joel's voice actor from the game was James the cannibal priests right hand man

Scorched earth kind of love. Gotta love it.

"she pooped it out" ahh the Americana education system at it's finest hehe.

Not the pastor guy (David), but his right hand man James… that is Troy Baker

As a new first time Father the intro to this episode made me cry uncontrollably

The thing about it is that Joel wasn't supposed to take her the entire way. His growing attachment was just a happenstance.

I think the level of zombies is faithful to the game. The game is about one third fighting zombies, one third fighting humans, and one third heartfelt emotional trauma. So having 3/9 episodes focus a lot on infected tracks.