The Last of Us: Part II has been announced, and it's prompting all kinds of speculation. Speaking as part of a panel at PSX 2016, writer Neil Druckmann was kinda coy about the narrative for the sequel, but he did stress that the theme would be "hate" and that we'd be playing as Ellie throughout the entire campaign. And that's led to some… Out-there fan theories.
The theory is that Joel is dead in the new game. The trailer shows Ellie playing guitar, before the father-figure ghosts into the room and asks her what she's going to do next. The bloodied heroine angrily retorts that she's going to find and kill "every last one of them". What is it that would put the typically good-natured Ellie in this kind of mood? The loss of her adopted parent, perhaps?
We know that Joel will be in the game, of course – but many think that he may appear merely as a portion of the protagonist's fractured psyche. It's all a bit Sixth Sense, but this narrative technique was used to excellent effect in Batman: Arkham Knight, and could be similarly powerful here. It would fit with the idea of this entry being even darker than its predecessor, too.
And it's not like Joel doesn't have enemies: he stole back Ellie at the end of the first game remember, and has no doubt spent the five or so years that separate the two games looking over his shoulder. We even caught a glimpse of the Fireflies logo in the trailer, so we can safely assume that they're still at large.
It's an interesting theory. Druckmann's said that he doesn't envisage The Last of Us without Joel and Ellie in it, so it would be bold to kill one of the characters off in the second game. But, y'know, what – we don't think that this is as crazy as it sounds. We'll probably be waiting a long time to get confirmation of Joel's mortality, but that ain't going to stop people from speculating.
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well the game its called "The Last of Us" one may think of the name refering of humanity in general but perhaps they were hinting that Ellie is the last one standing.....
I saw people speculating that as soon as the trailer dropped but I just can't see it to be honest. I'd probably be disappointed if they decided to go this route, considering the relationship between the 2 characters is what I loved about the game. The more I think about it, the more I dislike the idea actually.
That's what I thought the second time I watched the trailer, that Joel was dead and Ellie was out for revenge and he'll just appear as an apparition from time to time.
Then I thought, no, Naughty Dog love making you traipse around in groups of at least 2 for the majority of their games, and I can't imagine a ghostly Joel following you around helping you lift ladders etc.
Maybe Ellie is just p*ssed off they tried to dissect her brain?
Language - get2sammyb
Whatever route the story does take, I hope Druckmann continues to be coy about it so we can experience the surprises when actually playing the game. Too many studios these days give away what they're doing in the 1 million interviews leading up to launch.
I truly doubt ND would go that route. I believe that the teaser trailer is from the beginning of the game and that the firefly attacked joels brother little community looking for ellie and revenge on Joel killing most of the people in the attack and after living there for five years ellie is understandably pissed.
It's certainly a fascinating trailer that throws up a number of possibilities as to what the context is. I'm not sure I buy the "Joel is dead" theory but something sure has pissed Ellie off
I think Joel and Ellie join a group who are hunted by the fireflies. The boss of that new group dies during an attack by the fireflys and clickers, Joel is seriously injured and Ellie goes on a mission into firefly territory to get revenge. It all goes wrong and Ellie is led into a trap. Joel comes after her and on securing her safety dies. Ellie then on gaining super trust within her group goes on a suicide mission to kill every last one.
That's what I would write.
Joel might be dead - the way he talked suggested he knew what she was going to do but clearly she had just made up her mind.
My guess is that someone has put a bounty on Ellie's head and people she cares about have died in the crossfire. Maybe Joel too. Her resolve is to find and kill them. Though I wonder if she knows about what's joel did at the end of the first game. Is that a reveal or does she know?
@get2sammyb After the way the last of us began, no one character is safe, Joel included. Could this new story of revenge stem from Ellie being lied to about what happened in the operating room where Joel took her and killed that head of the fireflies in the process. In the ending I chose (only played it once, my bad lol) Joel lied to Ellie. He's going to do all he can to protect her after all. Maybe she finds out, maybe she doesn't, maybe......I'm out lol, it really could be anything. Let's just wait, play the game, learn for ourselves lol
He probably is and she probably will. Hopefully she ends up dead too so we can have the new story with different characters that everyone was asking for.
Mmmmm...revenge. I wish more games had that as the main character's central motivation. Like...God of War, and Mass Effect 1 (the whole game for me was about getting back at the Council for belittling me).
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