The Last of Us: Paradox (SPOILERS GALORE!!!!)

[forevercloud3000]

The Last of Us Paradox

Who are the true Villains and Heroes of TLOU?!

Case for Joel...

 This man has been through quite a lot. From the onset of the Outbreak he lost the one most dear to him, his daughter. Yet if you take note to the situation, he had not lost her due to the infection, rather the actions of a frantic Human. This speaks leagues about the type of person Joel becomes. Yes, it is the infection that causes the problem, but it is the way humans react to the infected that becomes the true disease., and in turn the destruction of the Human race. 

Joel understands that Infected are a threat, but he doesn't hate them. It is people, the desperate and depraved, that he despises. It took him a while just to warm up to Ellie. After almost a Year of their travels together, their lives being place in each other's hands multiple times, he finally started to reconnect with someone.

So to him, the ordacity of Marlene, and the rest of the human race, to try and take that from him? Death on all their houses. This girl was innocent to the core. She never knew of the world that once was, Joel seemingly wanted nothing more but to finally give that to her by game's end. Does the well being of the many out weigh the very few? Joel begged to differ. He loved that little girl like his own, and nothing would come between them.

Yet how selfish of a conclusion was it too? Everyone could have benefited(except Ellie of course). All it would take is the one small sacrifice of an innocent life. Joel thought of nothing but his own desires, wants, and personal happiness. How different is he really than the soldier that had to make the executive decision of killing him and his daughter at the end? Or David who ran the group of Canibals? They  weight the situation of personal benefit superceded how it would effect others.

And then he lies to Ellie about what transpired, which many are quick to call Foal. Yet was he wrong to do so? Some go by the fantasy that "you don't lie to those you care about" mantra. I call BS. We most definitely lie to those we love/care. It is most commonly done because we care of the particular person's opinion of us and we don't want to dissappoint them. Other times it really is to protect them from things they might not be able to process.

 

 

The Case for Marlene......

This Woman was trapped in a tireless battle for survival. As leader of the Fireflies, she could see that the way everyone lived in the QZs(Quarentine Zones) was not actually "Living". She and her team aspired for more from humanity. So....when this ..."way out" shows itself, how could she not take it?

It is not as if the decision did not weight heavy on her too. She raised this girl. Loved her like her own. She was very close with the girl's parents and promised them that she would always keep them safe. How could she have known that the girl she chose to protect was the key to everything. So now, she is saddled with the question on what to do with this knowledge. The fate of humanity is teetering on the decision she makes. This is a lot of pressure for anyone.

So she tries to surpress all emotion, any personal opinion she may hold, in ode to the greater good. She would sacrifice her wants, her beliefs in hope of saving everyone. This is by far the most selfless a person can be. She made the toughest of decisions. It really reminds me of Torchwood:Children of Earth, when Jack sacrificed his own grandchild in effort to save the entire planet. Can we really fault her for this?

 

So let us discuss....