The Last Of Us is considered by many to be one of the greatest video games ever made, and for good reason — the narrative, gameplay, characters, and graphics are some of the few reasons this game was widely lauded by many upon release. Naughty Dog had truly knocked it out of the park with this title, which felt completely different from their Uncharted series and still had all the trademarks of a Naughty Dog game.
A central aspect of the narrative was the group known as the Fireflies — a collective that seemed to be a safe haven for Ellie... only for the player to realize that Ellie would be killed in their compound in a bid to research the cure. At a glance, this might turn the Fireflies instantly into villains... but there's way more depth to the nature of the Fireflies that need to be discussed. Keeping this in mind, here are five reasons the Fireflies were villains in The Last Of Us, coupled with five ways in which this wasn't the case.
10 WERE VILLAINS: Manipulated Joel And Ellie
One of the major reasons why the Fireflies are so reviled by the fanbase is that they manipulated Joel and Ellie into doing their bidding.
They disguised their intentions under the guise of wanting Ellie to live a better life when the reality was anything but.
9 WEREN'T BAD: Helped The Duo Escape An Inhuman Quarantine Zone
That being said, one must wonder whether the actions of the Fireflies were genuine or not. Perhaps they'd really deluded themselves into thinking that they were actually working to better humanity.
The fact that they actively engaged in helping Joel and Ellie escape the Boston QZ could imply that their actions weren't completely selfish and they were actually working to further what they believed to be a noble cause.
8 WERE VILLAINS: Their Actions Would've Killed Ellie
However, there's no denying the fact that the Fireflies couldn't really justify their actions all that well, given the fact that trying to figure out the formula for a cure implied killing off someone who was really close to Joel and the player.
Simply put, no one would've wanted a precious soul like Ellie to die simply because she was immune to the Cordyceps infections.
7 WEREN'T BAD: Researching A Cure Could've Saved Humanity
Emotions can be quite a mixed bag, with the very thing that makes us human clouding our sense of judgment when it comes to ensuring our survival.
Any rational being would agree with killing off one person in order to save millions, and that was exactly what the Fireflies wanted. Yet, Joel's emotions blinded his survival instincts, and he risked his neck to save his second chance at being a father.
6 WERE VILLAINS: Ellie's Death Could've Been In Vain
While Joel's actions can definitely be questioned, his quest to save Ellie is somewhat redeemed by the fact that the research for this cure could've borne no fruit whatsoever.
Basically, the Fireflies were going to kill off Ellie based on a slim chance that inspecting her brain would reveal the cure. Things would've been different if this was sure shot... but if that isn't the case, then perhaps killing off a human for experimentation purposes is definitely quite inhumane.
5 WEREN'T BAD: They Revolted Against Military Oppression
During a time of pure chaos when the military had absolute power and could do whatever they wanted to citizens under the guise of wanting to prevent the infection from emerging in quarantine zones, there was a need for a group to arise that would fight against this oppression and not allow the military to do whatever they wanted with impunity.
This is exactly what the Fireflies managed to do, making the military think twice before doing something especially harsh.
4 WERE VILLAINS: Inspired Bloodthirsty Rebel Groups
However, while standing up against the military can prove to be helpful at times, it could also serve as a bad inspiration of sorts if the group fighting against this oppression isn't perfect in itself.The Fireflies might've weakened the military's hold over the people somewhat, but this came at the cost of inspiring rebel groups that misunderstood the goals of the Fireflies and ended up using some rather unsavory means to survive.
In fact, areas where the military was overthrown by both the Fireflies and the rebel groups ended up with the former being kicked out because the rebels didn't want to be under anyone's thumb anymore, devolving society into following a "survival of the fittest" system.
3 WEREN'T BAD: Raised Hope In A Bleak Society
Credit should definitely be given to the Fireflies for raising hope in areas where morale was at an all-time low.
People didn't have to begrudgingly follow the rules of an oppressive system anymore — they were reminded about the fact that they had a voice, and that voice deserved to be heard.
2 WERE VILLAINS: The Means To Their End Wasn't Justified
The Fireflies might've had a noble goal of fighting against military oppression and researching a cure for the infection, but the means they took to reach this end goal were anything but justified.
From bombing places to killing off young people for a cure that might not even exist — the Fireflies wanted to fight against savage practices... but ended up becoming savages themselves in the process.
1 WEREN'T BAD: Did Everything For The Greater Good
Regardless of what one might think of the Fireflies, one can't deny the fact that all their actions served a single unrelenting purpose of wanted to better the state of humanity and helping them survive in a bleak era.
Their actions might've been too extreme, but at least they strived to do something in a world where pretty much everyone had given up for good.