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The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained: How Does It Set Up Season 2?


The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained: How Does It Set Up Season 2?
Credit: HBO

One of the most beloved shows that released this year has just ended and thankfully, it has been renewed for another run but that ending left everyone divided on Joel's decision on Ellie. Here's what happened in The Last of Us Episode 9, explained.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us. Read at your own risk!

The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained

The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained
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Credit: HBO
The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained

The finale of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9, Look For The Light, it starts with Ellie still processing everything that happened to them throughout their journey as they near their destination -- St. Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

There are also a lot of callbacks from the game such as the iconic giraffe scene where Ellie is amazed to see how the world is healing on its own while humanity seems to be just getting by with two decades of dealing with the apocalypse.

The dialogue between Ellie and Joel are also straight from the game where Joel seems to be hesitating whether Ellie should continue but Ellie is already decided with her whole heart to continue the journey and end it as it should be.

The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained
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Credit: HBO
The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained

Upon reaching the hospital, the Fireflies attacked Joel and Ellie with a flashbang, and when Joel wakes up, there's Marlene waiting for him, and explaining to him the cost of saving humanity -- Ellie's life. To get the cure, Ellie's brain has to be taken out because her immunity lies there.

It turns out, Ellie's mother was scratched before giving birth to her, thus, the cordyceps got into her system the moment she was born and that gives her immunity because her brain contains a mutation of the cordyceps that signals to the others that comes in that Ellie is like them.

Well, Joel complies with Marlene's orders at first, but on his way down, Joel fights back and massacres the Fireflies to get to Ellie. When reaching the operating room, Ellie is already sedated and Joel did not hesitate to kill the doctor. He takes Ellie and looks for a car.

The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained
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Credit: HBO
The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained

There, Marlene is waiting, and Joel still kills Marlene because he knows that Marlene will just continue looking for Ellie. Joel rides off the horizon with Ellie and when Ellie wakes up, Joel crafts a lie that there are others like her and the doctors stopped with the cure. Also, there were raiders as per Joel.

As their car overheats, they are a few hours away from Tommy's place. Ellie confronts Joel and makes him swear that what he told her was the truth, seemingly implying that Ellie is doubting Joel and Joel assures her and swears, even if he knows himself that it is a lie.

The ending of The Last of Us Episode 9 is similar to that in the game where Joel lies to Ellie about what ensued at the hospital. Ellie's world is shattered, as if her purpose has been stripped away from her and she wants to have some kind of assurance that she served her purpose right.

The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained
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Credit: HBO
The Ending of The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 9 Explained

Meanwhile, Joel was put in such a difficult situation. If you put yourself in Joel's shoes, you'd immediately understand his choice, even if it costs the last saving grace of humanity, because he already treats Ellie as his daughter, much like that of Sarah, whom he could not fail anymore.

It is as if Joel has been given a second chance with a daughter through Ellie and he could not risk losing her, even if it means losing the only possible cure that the rest of the world would benefit from. He's a father who would do everything for his daughter.

READ MORE: The Last of Us Showrunners Debunk Why The Show Lacked Zombie Action Compared to the Video Game

How Does The Last of Us Finale Set Up Season 2?

How Does The Last of Us Finale Set Up Season 2?
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Credit: HBO
How Does The Last of Us Finale Set Up Season 2?

This sets up the second season of the series as the finale brings everyone to the end of The Last of Us Part I, much like in the game where Joel chose the same thing -- the selfish choice but that one which keeps Ellie alive.

The Last of Us Season 2 is set to start with The Last of Us Part II where Joel and Ellie would be living in the same commune as that of Tommy and Maria, the same place where Ellie finds love with a character that was teased in Episode 6.

However, with the arrival of The Last of Us Part II comes the inevitable doom of Joel, because in the game, Joel died in the hands of Abbie who is a daughter of someone Joel killed and she put vengeance on him through killing him.

How Does The Last of Us Finale Set Up Season 2?
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Credit: HBO
How Does The Last of Us Finale Set Up Season 2?

The finale of The Last of Us also sets up another start for Joel and Ellie. Without a mission to fulfill, they now have the chance to be like a father and daughter in real life. They both know that those are what both of them are looking for and this time, they finally found each other's complement.

The Last of Us is already renewed for a second season just after the second episode of the series aired. In fact, the series even have multiple seasons lined-up as hinted by the showrunners of the series in an interview with GQ magazine.

Druckmann said, “[The Last of Us] is more than one season.” Mazin added, “You have noted correctly that we will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct.”

How Does The Last of Us Finale Set Up Season 2?
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Credit: HBO
How Does The Last of Us Finale Set Up Season 2?

So far, the game has released only until The Last of Us Part II and that storyline is expected to be stretched for the upcoming seasons of the series. One season alone is not enough to showcase everything that happened in the second part of the game. It might be as fast as the first season if so.

All the episodes of The Last of Us Season 1 are already available for streaming on HBO Max. There is no release date yet for The Last of Us Season 2.

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