Was Joel right in The Last of Us? Even if you've, somehow, never played the game before, you have almost definitely stumbled across this debate. The debate was revived once again with the HBO show, inviting an even larger audience to weigh in on Joel's actions at the end of the first game.
For those of you still scratching your heads, here's the spoiler-filled recap. The Fireflies think there's a shot at curing the Cordyceps infection, but that would involve killing Ellie. Joel decides to shoot his way through the Fireflies to save her, destroying the chance of finding a cure - a divisive move for obvious reasons.
Now, IGN put the moral dilemma to the series co-creator himself, Neil Druckmann - and he has very clearly made up his mind.
Joel Was Right, Says Neil Druckmann
The crew behind the TV show agree with him too
"I believe Joel was right," Druckmann answers. "If I were in Joel's position, I hope I would be able to do what he did to save my daughter."
Craig Mazin, who co-created to TV adaptation alongside Druckmann, is also on this side of the debate. "I think that if I were in Joel's position, I probably would have done what he did [...] But I'd like to think that I wouldn't.
"That's the interesting push and pull of the morality of it. And that's why the ending of the first game is so provocative and so wonderful."
Many people argue that the cure wouldn't have actually worked. However, I don't think that was a major factor in Joel's decision-making...
As it happens, pretty much the entire cast of the show has Joel's back too, or at least finds his choice sympathetic. True enough, this is a common answer in the fanbase; Joel might not have made the right decision, but it was a decision most of us would have made. Or, as Bella Ramsey puts it: "He saved his world, just not the world."
