Warning: Contains SPOILERS for HBO's The Last of Us and The Last of Us gameParallels in the deaths of side characters in The Last of Us act as foreshadowing for Joel and Ellie's ending. The video game-based HBO series has taken its creative liberties with expanding on the events of its source material to provide more emotionally impactful narrative. While these choices have succeeded in producing strong television episodes, they also appear to be foreshadowing later events that will be taken directly from the game.
The core focus of The Last of Us is the relationship between Joel and Ellie. Their relationship has continued to grow through every episode, allowing Joel's initial abrasiveness to subside and shift into a fatherly warmth. A full season of television with only two characters would be nearly impossible to pull off, so episodes have benefited from having guest appearances, not too dissimilar from a villain/plot of the week sort of format. The one-off episode characters have been strong for the show, but their real impact is the parallel they have to Joel and Ellie's relationship. The deaths in episode 5 of The Last of Us are the latest example.
The Last Of Us Keeps Killing Characters Who Parallel Joel & Ellie
The Last of Us episode 3 saw the touching story of lovers Bill and Frank, while episode 5 highlighted the emotional journey of brothers Henry and Sam. Both stories ended with one of two members of each duo suffering a tragic fate, and the other taking their own life, not feeling they could go on without their companion. These stories parallel Joel and Ellie, and foreshadow the conclusion of their story, in which Joel will have to decide whether to save Ellie. In revisiting the dynamic of protector and protectee, The Last of Us sets up a choice where Joel will have to sacrifice himself to save his pseudo-daughter.
It isn't just the care dynamic that mirrors Joel and Ellie. For instance, the story of episodes 4 and 5 also focuses on Kathleen, an original character in The Last of Us show, a person who has recently suffered the loss of her brother. The death of her brother causes her to become merciless and vengeful, fully blaming Henry for it and making his apprehension the priority of the resistance group. She questions whether she should show mercy and move on, which also parallels Ellie's arc following Joel's death in The Last of Us: Part 2. These short arcs from the show's side characters have laid the seeds perfectly for Joel and Ellie's later decisions.
The Last Of Us' Big Deaths Explain Why Joel Dies But Ellie Survives
Joel keeps his emotions close to himself in The Last of Us, but episode 5 showed glimpses of his fatherly love for Ellie. His experiences and cynical world views prevent him from being too reactive to these deaths, but their stories carry on with him. As Joel's love for Ellie grows, his ultimate purpose becomes to save her, since he couldn't save Sarah. Bill couldn't save Frank and Henry couldn't save Sam, but Joel knows he has to save Ellie, even if it means later consequences for himself that would eventually lead to his death, and for the potential of a cure.
Episodes of The Last of Us air Sundays on HBO