The Last of Us’ porch scene epitomises Pedro and Bella’s joint magic

Like many other fans of The Last of Us Part II, the so-called ‘porch scene’ is amongst one of my very favourites in the game. It’s both comforting and utterly heartbreaking, which, to me, is the delicate balance that The Last of Us Part II strikes so perfectly that makes it as special as it is. You see, it’s the scene where we finally discover that Ellie was willing to begin embarking on a path of forgiveness with regards to Joel’s actions in Salt Lake City. Of course, the tragedy is that neither Ellie nor Joel knew it was their final night together.

This scene is all the more emotionally devastating as it falls at the very end of the game; there’s a relief following all of the turmoil that you, as Ellie, have just been through in knowing that Joel died understanding that the duo had somewhat rekindled their relationship and yet, it’s simultaneously an incredibly painful reminder of the brighter future that was taken away from them. It’s one of the game’s quietest and most simplistic scenes, but it’s these very human moments that tether and ground the violence.

It takes a village to put such a scene together but you have to, of course, give props to Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson who deliver such beautiful performances. Troy brings a delicate stoicism to Joel, while Ashley convinces you beyond belief that there's still a prevailing moral dilemma within her concerning the act of forgiveness. As the scene is so special, I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it could be topped in HBO’s The Last of Us and yet here I sit having watched ‘The Price’, season two’s sixth episode, knowing that it’s somehow done just that.

There’s only one episode left to go.

When I say that the scene has been bested, I’m certainly not comparing performances. Both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey absolutely nail this scene, and it’s a huge part of why I think it was so successful, but I want to make it clear that I’m not saying they outperformed Troy and Ashley; all four performances are astounding. It’s perhaps more the fact that while HBO’s version is a wonderful recreation of the original, it also manages to take the edge by pulling at the threads of this scene even further, offering additional insight into exactly what it is that Joel and Ellie are feeling.

In part, that’s simply down to the structuring differences between the game and the TV show. In The Last of Us Part II, it’s on a journey back to Salt Lake City that Ellie discovers the truth of what it is that happened. Here, in the TV show, it’s not until the porch scene that she confronts Joel with what she’s always suspected to be true. It’s because of this that we get this incredibly emotional moment of a distraught, soundlessly nodding Joel confessing to his actions. It’s a far cry from the repressed emotion we get from him in much of the second game. Pedro Pascal’s iteration of the character has always worn his heart on his sleeve a tad more and it makes for a Joel who is all the more, well, human.

There’s a softness in this heartbreaking moment; you can see that Joel is too broken to verbally admit what it is that he did. The scene moves on to that familiar dialogue when a more stoic Joel, a level of emotional repression returning, exclaims that he’d do it all over again. But actually admitting to lying and murdering those Fireflies, including Marlene? Joel just can’t do it, and I was in floods of tears watching him grapple with the consequence of having the person he loves most confront him with those painful truths.

It culminates in this tragic moment of, “And I’ll pay the price”. The Last of Us Part II’s Joel shares the TV version’s resolution, but it’s never really explored what game Joel imagined the consequences of his actions would be. Here, Pedro’s Joel is admitting in an outpouring of emotion that he did what he did in Salt Lake City knowing full well that it could turn Ellie against him. The subsequent confession of, “Because I love you,” is the final twist of the knife in the hearts of viewers. It’s always been abundantly clear in both versions of this story that Joel does what he does out of his love for Ellie, but to actually have a version of the character here that’s strong enough to say so, yeesh, I bawled.

Ellie striving for forgiveness the night before Joel’s ultimately death is one gut punch; with the added “I love you” from Joel, the moment achieves maximum devastation. As the credits rolled, all I could think back to was Joel’s death scene. Ellie must always have spent that moment feeling guilt over having not forgiven him sooner, but I can only imagine that feeling is tenfold in the TV iteration with Joel’s confession that he did everything out of pure love, not selfishness as Ellie assumed.

Of course, there’s also that clever reference back to the flashback of Joel’s father, with Joel admitting that he hopes Ellie does a little bit better than him with her children, should she have any. I can’t keep using the word devastating but that’s exactly what this moment is; it’s Joel’s final night although, yes, he doesn’t know that, and he’s admitting that he doesn’t think he was good enough of a parent?! Dearest reader, I’m about to make myself cry all over again. Joel is as perfect of a parent as you can get and it’s so painful knowing that, within this moment, neither Joel nor Ellie realises that.

There is so much that I wholeheartedly adore about HBO’s The Last of Us but this scene reminded me of just how much Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann struck gold with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. The connection between them here was unfathomably beautiful; in fact, it’s my favourite scene the duo have shared on screen. The fact that it’s also very likely the last is something I’m not quite ready to accept, but if this is Joel and Ellie’s onscreen swan song, all I can say is bravo and thank you for so exceptionally bringing our Joel and Ellie to life.