Of course, I watched it. Neon’s The Last of Us turns out to present gruelling, confronting, sometimes devastatingly tender stories of brute survival, heroism, and the terrible power of love. We soon find out what the Infected and looting, murdering survivors, the raiders, are capable of. For those clinging to their humanity, it’s more of a slow burn. Our anti-hero, Joel, has been unable to save his daughter. He is, in his own way, the walking dead. He ends up on the road with young, orphaned Ellie, who has lost everyone. As played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, their tentatively deepening relationship as they become family amid ruins and carnage is subtle – this is not your average zombie series - and unforgettable. Spoiler alert: there are giraffes. You will cry.
More spoilers: Ellie, born amid horror when her mother is attacked by an Infected, is immune to the disease. Her body may contain an answer. With Joel she sets off to find the Fireflies, a group that spends its time rebelling against the inevitably fascist government. The Fireflies also seek a cure. Spoiler alert: the price for Ellie, with her valuable immunity, would be high. Will she be given a chance to decide her fate? When does trying to save someone become an act of betrayal?
The series ending has set off a heated debate. Thought experiment: how far would you go, dear Lord, to save your child? Experts have weighed in. A neurosurgeon questioned the science of the presented scenario where finding a cure involves great sacrifice. A bioethicist has said that sometimes the sheer number that might be saved morally counts. Random dude on Twitter says, “I am sorry but f*** Joel.”
It’s a television show. Does any of this matter? In a world where apocalypses of various stamps seem less and less hypothetical, these discussions may morally count. Covid presented many ethical dilemmas, from potential rationing of care, lockdowns versus let-it-rip, vaccine distribution, mandates ... Climate change presents more. Soul searching over ethics when facing an existential crisis isn’t going away.
Ultimately, and more intimately, The Last of Us is about how our profound primary relationships, like that of parent and child, make us hostages to fortune in unimaginable ways. No wonder Joel resisted for so long taking on Ellie. Do his increasingly desperate choices make him a character we can still travel that blasted road with? Roll on season 2.