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How would you have written the ending for The Last of Us?

Wouldn't change a thing.

Then again, I'm not even sure i'd be good enough to get it to that current ending at all

Ellie and Joel are driving away from the hospital. He has saved her, and murdered the fireflies.

In the rearview mirror, Joel sees a car approaching. He lightly hits the gas pedal, trying to put a little distance between him and the car that follows. The car keeps gaining on him, it pulls up beside him.

Joel looks out the window and sees the last person he wants to see right now.

It is Vin Diesel. A relic from Joel's dark drift racing past.

Vin gives Joel a look that only says one thing. This challenge is on baby.
giphy.gif


Joel knows what he must do, Ellie has never seen him like this. The blood of a racer courses through his veins.

"I know you can do this Joel. The blood of a racer courses through your veins."

With Ellie's encouragement, Joel slams on the gas. He races Vin Diesel. Joel is faster than Vin Diesel. In fact, he is better than Vin Diesel in lots of ways.

He wins the race.

Ellie and Joel embrace, victorious. He holds her close, and whispers in her ear.

"You know, Elllie, we really are 2 fast 2 furious."

They cry.

Perfection.
 

Alfredo

Member
I would've made it so that the Fireflies, or whatever they were called, don't knock out Joel. They let Joel speak to Ellie one last time, Ellie tells Joel that she wants to undergo the operation. They say goodbye.

Then Joel goes crazy and murders everyone, like he does in the actual game, and the game plays out like normal. Joel saves Ellie, lies about it, blah blah blah.

I don't know if this is more effective storytelilng or not. I might not even be remembering the ending correctly. I just remember being pissed off because I thought the Fireflies were stupid for not letting Joel say goodbye to Ellie. Instead, they're like, "WHOOPS, she's already out and you'll never see her again. lol, too ba-- OH GOD WHY ARE YOU MURDERING ME."
 
I think that's how it had to end after the way Joel opened up to her towards the end. She was clearly his adopted daughter. You think someone who still wakes up from nightmares 15 years after his daughters death is going to let someone take his new daughter and first real emotional connection after all these years away from him? Nah. Hell naw.

That said, I didn't like the end-end. That is, it simply ended with him lying to Ellie. I'd rather he not answer the question at all. That would have been more of his M.O. Or, maybe keep it that way but it just not end there. Let them walk off or Ellie make some stupid joke that cuts the tension as the camera pans up or...idunno. I just didn't expect the credits to roll right then.

Unforgettable story though. And I too just played and finished this week. Played it on hard and the Sniper scene almost made me say "fuck Naughty Dog". How fucking obnoxious. I had to play it from 2/5ths HP because that's where my game save put me. I must have died in that sequence 25 times before finally getting behind the snipers house. And what a grand feeling it was to fuck him up after all those deaths.

That scene and the one when you're playing as Ellie as the house is being invaded were the only points in playing (I started on Hard) that genuinely made me frustrated. Other than that, nice story, nice pacing.
 

Clinton514

Member
I'd
sacrifice her
. We already have enough stories with some selfish bullshit decisions that ruin the world. Or in this case,
leave the world in ruins

Yup, I said it. :) The ending as is, is cool anyway.
 

NoWayOut

Member
I also finished it few days ago and loved the ending. Toward the end I was expecting a cliché ending like the one the OP described, but I was very happy when that didn't happen.

As for the doctors,
I killed all three without esitation and have no regrets about it.

Overall I consider TLOU (remastered) one of the best, if not the best story driven game I have ever played.
 

Azriell

Member
I thought the ending was perfect. I really thought that they were going to go with a "mature" sad ending which resulted in Ellie dying. I was fully convinced that was where we were going, and it made Ellie surviving even sweeter as a result. Joel protects Ellie from the truth, and in turn is finally allowed some sort of happiness and healing from losing his daughter. The ending left me completely satisfied.

I can't remember if the ending involves Joel's brother's town or not. I think it does, or maybe that was just my wishful thinking. If it doesn't, I like the idea of Joel and Ellie settling down in the camp with Joel's brother and wife. With the dam back online, life can finally get back to some degree of normal. Joel is finally back with his brother, and with Ellie with him, he finally has a family again.
 
I thought the ending was perfect. I really thought that they were going to go with a "mature" sad ending which resulted in Ellie dying. I was fully convinced that was where we were going, and it made Ellie surviving even sweeter as a result. Joel protects Ellie from the truth, and in turn is finally allowed some sort of happiness and healing from losing his daughter. The ending left me completely satisfied.

I can't remember if the ending involves Joel's brother's town or not. I think it does, or maybe that was just my wishful thinking. If it doesn't, I like the idea of Joel and Ellie settling down in the camp with Joel's brother and wife. With the dam back online, life can finally get back to some degree of normal. Joel is finally back with his brother, and with Ellie with him, he finally has a family again.

I agree with this. It gives Joel an arc, and leaves the player with mixed feelings (or should).

If they had gone all maudlin by having tearful goodbyes and "greater good" sacrifices, it would've been both predictable and shallow. It ended how it ended because there was no other way to end it. If a writer has strong characters and stays true to them, the characters write their own endings.
 

Ossom

Member
Agree, that I didn't want to harm the doctors and tried to just melee them and not shoot them, but you still kill them.

I expected one of them to die and it was a pleasant surprise that neither of them did. It's not like we were deprived of an emotional death scene so I am happy as it is.
 

Astrates

Member
I imagine I'd write it like everything else I've written, badly.

It's a great ending and exactly as I'd want it but not as expected. I spent the last 30 mins expecting it to get worse, one more twist. Glad it never came frankly.
 
The only thing I would have changed is made it so you could have knocked out or intimidated the doctors in the room instead of being forced to kill them. Other than that, I thought it was virtually flawless.
 
My ending would be: It turns out Ellie isn't immune at all; she just has higher resistance. After Joel saves her, she turns into a zombie. At this point, Joel can easily kill her, but he chooses to let her infect him, turning him into a zombie.
 

Renzoku

Banned
Brought to you by Cormac McCarthy's infinitely superior, The Road.

You may now proceed to be a pseudo-intellectual and lose your shit at how good this game is, Ellie.

Cut to black.


Credits.
 

Asbear

Banned
The only thing I would've changed is that after Joel says "I swear" he'd continue: "Ellie... we really are the Last of Us"
 
Brought to you by Cormac McCarthy's infinitely superior, The Road.

You may now proceed to be a pseudo-intellectual and lose your shit at how good this game is, Ellie.

Cut to black.


Credits.

Hey guys, he uses big words and reads books. We'd better not disagree with him or we're just pretending to be as intelligent as he is.

Damn, his logic is impenetrable!

The only thing I would've changed is that after Joel says "I swear" he'd continue: "Ellie... we really are the Last of Us"

This is the only "we really are the last of us" that I've laughed at since that thread.
 

Renzoku

Banned
Hey guys, he uses big words and reads books. We'd better not disagree with him or we're just pretending to be as intelligent as he is.

Damn, his logic is impenetrable!



This is the only "we really are the last of us" that I've laughed at since that thread.

If you consider any of the words I used in that post to be "big", then you're just underlining my point.
 
Nathan Drake would swing in, foreshadowing the new rope mechanic of Uncharted 4, and they'd all hop in karts to begin the glorious trilogy of Naughty Karting.
 
I would write it exactly how it is because it's probably the best ending in all of gaming.

People get defensive about this, but Joel is the villain in The Last of Us. This is part of what makes the ending so incredible and people don't even realize it. People think just because Joel is sympathetic and tragic he isn't the bad guy. They say "I don't think Joel would have killed those people" or "lied like that" and because they're too hung on on how they feel about Joel as opposed to who Joel is.

Joel is the ultimate antagonistic force in Ellie and Marlene's story. Joel comes into THEIR story and takes Ellie away from their own goals and dreams for his own selfish reasons. You can sympathize with these reasons, and that's part of the experience, but there is no emotional payoff because Joel deprives Ellie of that. All the medical researchers, all the Fireflies, Tess, Marlene, Ellie's mother, Ellie: Joel betrays all of them, and Denis all their desires and destroys everything they believe in for his own selfish needs.

This isn't an opinion or a perspective. This is Last of Us.
 

10k

Banned
Ellie dies to so that a cure for the infection is found. Statues are built of her. Joel becomes a depressed.
 
I would've ended it at the scene with the giraffes. Ellie is staring out at them and Joel walks up to her.

"Ellie, we really are the last of us."

Cut to black, acoustic guitar plays, directed by Neil Druckmann.
 
SPOILERS

So I finished The Last of Us a few days ago and while I easily see why it got so much acclaim (it does take a little longer to get going but easily one of the best games I've ever played), I found the ending unsatisfying and too open-ended.Yes, the ending was very unique but I don't think it provided enough of an emotional payoff considering the journey that Joel and Ellie went through.

How would you have ended it? Personally, I would have liked to see Ellie become a sacrifice/sacrifice herself consciously for a cure. Maybe Joel makes it to the operating room and while he initially tries to stop the procedure, he eventually gets to talk to Ellie and finds out that Ellie herself wants to push through with the procedure to make a cure, that she wants to help mankind and not let the sacrifices of everyone that helped them along the way (especially Tess) be in vain.

Alternatively, maybe Joel gets bit in the process and Ellie's blood can help him by slowing down the infection but they'd have to go through with the procedure to produce an actual cure (which they do) and Joel wakes up all cured.

How would you have ended it?

Edit: sorry, typing on my phone.

No offence mate, but I'm really glad you didn't write The Last of Us.
 
I have read the whole thread so sorry if this is a repeat but It would have been interesting if they had given the player the choice of saving or not saving Ellie at the hospital.
 

J.T

Banned
Their ending is perfect but I would've had it been more dark. Joel dies at the end of Fall. When David is about to eat Ellie and she bite him now he's effect too or w/e she said is true. He get infected and she escapes yada yada vidya game. She makes to the hospital and is sacrifice.
 

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
Brought to you by Cormac McCarthy's infinitely superior, The Road.

You may now proceed to be a pseudo-intellectual and lose your shit at how good this game is, Ellie.

Cut to black.


Credits.

If you have such a problem with games being inspired by books/films then I can't imagine you enjoy playing many games.
 

Kimosabae

Banned
I have read the whole thread so sorry if this is a repeat but It would have been interesting if they had given the player the choice of saving or not saving Ellie at the hospital.

No it wouldn't.

How many games in the passed 15 years have you played that have done the same shit? The fact that you don't have a say in the matter is the point of the ending.
 

Korten

Banned
I would write it exactly how it is because it's probably the best ending in all of gaming.

People get defensive about this, but Joel is the villain in The Last of Us. This is part of what makes the ending so incredible and people don't even realize it. People think just because Joel is sympathetic and tragic he isn't the bad guy. They say "I don't think Joel would have killed those people" or "lied like that" and because they're too hung on on how they feel about Joel as opposed to who Joel is.

Joel is the ultimate antagonistic force in Ellie and Marlene's story. Joel comes into THEIR story and takes Ellie away from their own goals and dreams for his own selfish reasons. You can sympathize with these reasons, and that's part of the experience, but there is no emotional payoff because Joel deprives Ellie of that. All the medical researchers, all the Fireflies, Tess, Marlene, Ellie's mother, Ellie: Joel betrays all of them, and Denis all their desires and destroys everything they believe in for his own selfish needs.

This isn't an opinion or a perspective. This is Last of Us.

Not even really she he's the "bad" guy. No one is good in the situation, the Fireflies are also a bunch of dicks. I would say it's more grey all around. It's high likely that even if they did get the cure, that the Fireflies would just abuse it to gain power. Deciding who gets it and who doesn't. Basically becoming the government they fought against.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
My guess is because if that were a way to get tags, every thread would devolve into people desperately trying to get tags.

People already do that, anyway. And besides, how often does the Druckmann praise people work and consider it superior to his own?
 

Cloudy

Banned
I liked the ending. Wish it hadn't ended so abruptly though. Would have liked to see them return to the dam

I would have been upset if Ellie became a sacrifice. Would have been too sad and robbed us of the chance of a sequel with her in it

PS: How is Joel a villain because he didn't want to lose a 2nd daughter over some unproven crap
 

DedValve

Banned
Joel saving Ellie is completely out of character. He would have NEVER sacrificed Ellie for anything.

Now Joel using Ellies immune blood to bring back Sarah? That's completely in character and how it should have ended.

Sarahs back, Joels excited, Ellies excited.
 

Ermac

Proudly debt free. If you need a couple bucks, just ask.
It bugs me when people say it's SUPPOSED to be disappointing and unsatisfying. OK fine, that doesn't make it immune to criticism because it was the intention. It was still a boring ending and too abrupt. It's like they wanted an ending where no one died, so they had to made the weak-ass resolution. Druck I know you're reading this, don't turn U4 in tlou.

Also Ellie plugging the DLC and Joel saying you gotta find something to be FIGHTTTINGGG FORRRR. It still surprises me to this day how terribly the ending is written compared to the rest of the game.
 

Freshmaker

I am Korean.
I'd have them do everything the same, but at the end in the forest, Joel would stop, drape an arm on Ellie's shoulder and say, "You know, we really are the last of us."

PS: How is Joel a villain because he didn't want to lose a 2nd daughter over some unproven crap

It's not unproven. It flat out doesn't work. The medical logs say that they've dissected other people who were immune and they learned nothing. Those doctors were systematically killing off humanity's best chance for long term survival while chasing a pipe dream.
 
How would I write the ending? I'd take Neil Druckmann's script, copy it word for word, then rest easy knowing I just authored the best written video game ever made.
 

pottuvoi

Banned
Ellie sacrifices herself for the medicine.
Doctors cannot find cure immidiately and will most likely have to work for years to get it to work in any level.
Joel becomes a booze going recless bum which works for Fireflies as atonment for Ellies death and for hope it was not for vain.

Leaves an opening for next game in series and shows that one can die in the series, even a main character.
 

Kimosabae

Banned
It's not unproven. It flat out doesn't work.
The medical logs say that they've dissected other people who were immune and they learned nothing
. Those doctors were systematically killing off humanity's best chance for long term survival while chasing a pipe dream.

What?! Where did you find those? That doesn't sound right at all, and kills the integrity of the ending if true.
 

Dunkley

Member
I would have written the guns out of the final fight and instead had Joel reveal that after all the shit went down with Sarah he actually spent five years in professional luchador wrestling instead of facing his grief, having left the career for good after being beaten and demasked in the title bout. He tears his clothing off revealing his luchador suit, leaves his bag and guns behind and instead wrestles his way all to Ellie, suplexing and body slamming the guards and tearing their masks off to leave them in shame.

After getting to Marlene with Ellie in his muscular wrestling hands, Marlene offers Joel to let him go with Ellie in case she gives him an autograph, saying that she remembers him. He promptly accepts and drives off. The remaining concious Fireflies eventually catch up with Marlene and proceed to ask her as to why she let Ellie and thus humanity's last hope go.

Marlene just turns her back to them, puts on her luchador mask, and replies: "They'll be back when he remembers.", and walks away with her luchador champion belt clearly visible for anyone to see.
 
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