The Last of Us shock episode ending is pure perfection

I previously said that I’d be more than willing to eat my words, and here I am doing just that.

If you’re a regular around these parts, you’ll know that I’ve been hugely enjoying season two of HBO’s The Last of Us, particularly as The Last of Us Part II is my favourite story of all-time. Yes, not just my favourite game, but story across all artforms. It was following last week’s ‘Day One’, though, that I raised my first major concern with this season. You see, while Bella Ramsey is doing an incredible job at bringing Ellie to life - and I hope to see them in contention come awards season - this is definitely a paired back version of the character compared to video game Ellie.

Throughout the entirety of day one, in the game at least, Ellie is baying for blood. She’s driven by her rage and an animalistic desire for revenge; eager to kill off as many members of the WLF as possible. That’s not exactly true of the TV show’s Ellie, or at least it wasn’t throughout the ‘Day One’ episode. Certainly, Ellie saw off at least one WLF soldier but only in the name of survival. Game Ellie, however, didn’t need to be in a life or death situation in order to enact violence; it rapidly became second nature.

Ramsey’s Ellie, and this comes from the show’s writing, has thus far been guided by a steadfast determination to avenge Joel rather than a primal yearning for revenge, which is actually what the story calls for. Why? Well, as I said in my analysis of ‘Day One’ last week, Abby’s eventual redemption is impossible to pull off without Ellie’s downfall. As such, I made it pretty clear that I was hoping we’d see Ellie’s turn to the dark side, if you will, arrive sooner rather than later.

“Of course, I don’t know what the bigger picture is and I could be eating my words in a couple weeks time,” I began. “I could very much see Ellie’s darkness gaining traction in the next episode, building up to the boiling point of that awful aquarium scene the week after. It’s at that point that I’ll likely be remarking how nicely Mazin and Druckmann have paced things.”

Well, here I am. Congratulations Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, you were right on the money with your pacing and I’m prepared to eat my words. In ‘Feel Her Love’, Ellie’s anger has finally been unleashed in a shock episode ending that is easily one of the series’ most gut-wrenching and effective moments yet.

What mayhem awaits Ellie, or those in her path, in the final two episodes of the season?

I originally spent a lot of time pondering what there was to gain from slowing down Ellie’s emotional and moral downfall, but I totally get it now. Had Mazin and Druckmann opted for the game approach, it might’ve come across on television as a tad one-tone. Of course, in the game, you share Ellie’s yearning for revenge as you’re actively involved in the combat, carrying out those violent deeds. The more you come under pressure from the WLF and Seraphites as the game progresses, the more of a desire you have to ‘get the job done’, if you will. All of that struggle, it can’t be for nothing; that’s the kind of mentality that takes control of both the player and Ellie.

Would watching several weeks of an angered, rage-fuelled Ellie have been so effective on TV? Well, probably not. Ellie’s anger has certainly been present this season since Joel’s death, but it’s far more sensical that it’s something that’s slowly exacerbated week by week. In ‘The Path’, that’s where that steadfast determination emerged that I’ve referenced on multiple occasions, and then in ‘Day One’, I suppose Ellie and Dina were really coming to terms with the reality of the task they’d embarked on. In ‘Feel Her Love’, we finally see Ellie embrace that wholeheartedly in a shock ending that’s perhaps one of my favourite moments the series has ever pulled off. ‘Feel Her Love’ spoilers lie ahead.

I say “shock”, game fans always knew that this chapter of the story would end in Ellie violently murdering Nora. It’s the moment within the game that you very rapidly realise that Ellie’s sense of humanity has hit rock bottom, and it’s just as effective here. Bella’s tone of voice so seamlessly transitions into one that is equal parts ruthless and cold; I was blown away. The week prior I’d been left wondering how Ellie would believably reach these depths, especially after the levity that her scenes with Dina brought towards the end of ‘Day One’. That’s the thing though, Ellie’s encounter with Nora is the first time that she’s really been left to her own devices since arriving in Seattle.

It’s incredibly impactful because if it wasn’t clear already, this is a reminder that it’s Dina and her sunshine-like levity that keeps Ellie’s penchant for trouble and darkness in check. With Dina back at the theatre out of the picture, Ellie lacks any positive guiding force. You know, when I look back over the series, it makes perfect sense now. It was Dina who heard the infected back in episode one before they entered the supermarket, just like it was Dina throughout ‘Day One’ that planned the recon mission to the TV station. She’s constantly the one pulling on Ellie’s arm, warning her not to head straight into danger. Of course, an unleashed Ellie was only going to emerge when she didn’t have her conscience, of sorts, guiding her.

What truly made the episode’s ending scene with Nora so effective though is that Joel reveal. In the game, Ellie kills Nora and the screen fades to black. When we emerge, Ellie has arrived back at the theatre. What we receive in the TV show though is far more of an emotional gut-punch. After Ellie delivers the killing blow, it's a very short flashback scene featuring Joel that pops up. “Hey kiddo,” says a warm, fresh-faced Joel back in Jackson. “Hi,” Ellie smiles from bed, before the episode cuts to credits.

Dearest reader, I smiled and I cried. Mazin and Druckmann, how dare you?! You see, Joel’s presence is something that I always felt in the game. Throughout Ellie’s journey in Seattle, you’re constantly cutting to flashbacks that feature our favourite father and daughter-esque duo. In the TV series though? Nothing. The last we saw of Joel was Ellie crawling over to his bloodied corpse in episode two, ‘Through The Valley’. ‘The Path’ and ‘Day One’ were totally Joel-less, and it looked as if ‘Feel Her Love’ was set to be the same. Ending the episode with Ellie’s most extreme act of violence to date juxtaposed with this wholesome fleeting moment between the duo is both genius and totally diabolical; it was the most effective reminder of everything that Ellie has lost, arriving at a time where it would feel the most painful for the viewer.

I really wasn’t expecting it, and it’s a moment that’s left me with more than a few questions. Is this the morning of the museum trip? Is Ellie’s rage fuelled by one of her most treasured memories? Is it in avenging Joel that she feels closest to him and that’s why this memory springs to mind? Either way, I’ve rewatched this episode’s ending a couple of times now and it doesn’t get any less powerful. The video game fans amongst us knew that Mazin and Druckmann were holding back the museum scene which surely now looks set to land in the next episode. To have withheld such a wholesome and pivotal scene so that it coincides with Ellie’s darkest days in Seattle is truly evil, and I love it. Bring it on.