‘I’m confused about it morally’: The Last of Us showrunner on finale’s divisive ending

‘When you love something unconditionally, logic goes out the window,’ said Craig Mazin

The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin has defended the divisive ending to the show’s first season.

HBO’s epic video game adaptation came to an end with the episode “Look for the Light” on 13 March in the UK, finishing up at the exact same point as the original game.

In the episode, Pedro Pascal’s Joel decides to save Bella Ramsey’s Ellie from the Fireflies, who want to operate on her brain – a fatal procedure in this case – to try to find a cure for the Cordyceps infection ravaging the human race.

After interrupting the operation, savagely killing Marlene (Merle Dandridge) and saving an unconscious Ellie, Joel lies to her about what actually happened, telling his surrogate daughter that the Fireflies had found other people who, like her, were immune, but had failed to create a cure. He tells her they’ve now given up on finding one completely.

Ellie is suspicious, but Joel vows to Ellie that he’s telling her the truth. “I swear,” he says, in the final line of the season.

While many loved the episode, many others said they didn’t agree with Joel’s decision to save Ellie at the expense of everyone else in the world.

Mazin defended the ending, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “When you love something unconditionally, logic goes out the window and you will do really horrible things to protect the ones you love. And there’s a lot of examples worldwide of this happening all the time.”

Bella Ramsey in ‘The Last of Us’ ( Liane Hentscher/HBO)

He continued: “There are greater and greater sacrifices Joel has to make for Ellie, and likewise what she’s going through to protect him.

“I’m confused about it morally. I think it’s a difficult choice. I go back and forth. I think a lot of people will go back and forth on it.”

The first season of The Last of Us, which has been renewed for a second run, is available to stream in its entirety on HBO Max in the US and NOW in the UK.