Upon the 2013 release of The Last of Us, critics and players alike quickly realized Naughty Dog had created something truly special with its brutal post-apocalyptic tale. Fans relived the masterpiece once again the following year when it was remastered for the PS4. The growing relationship between the two protagonists, Joel and Ellie, is now recognized as one of the medium's best stories.
Despite Joel being the playable character and hero, he engages in some nasty business during the campaign. He cannot be fully condemned for everything he does, however, since many instances were in the name of survival.
10 Kills His Neighbor
The game starts with the player controlling Joel's daughter, Sarah, at the start of the outbreak. soon after finding Joel, her dad locks the sliding glass door to the house where the recently infected Coopers are trying to break through. Jim Cooper bursts through the glass and Joel shoots him as the infected neighbor lunges at him and his daughter. Maybe in some ways this was more of a favor, however. Better to quickly bite it as an infected than become a clicker.
9 Leaves People By The Side Of The Road
Shortly after Sarah and Joel unite with Tommy, they drive into the city. While on the road, a group of people try to wave them down. Tommy at first slows down to try and help, but Joel immediately interjects and tells him to keep going, confident somebody else will come around and help. The player will never know if another car assisted the strangers.
8 Attacks Robert
Robert is an associate of Tess and Joel who rips them off and sends people to attack Tess, which kickstarts the game after the twenty year time jump.
Tess and Joel hunt Robert down and beat some answers out of him until he admits he gave the guns owed to Joel and Tess to the Fireflies. Afterward, Tess puts him down for good with a bullet. While Joel did not pull the trigger, he certainly did not lift a finger to stop Tess.
7 Everything Between The Time Jump
When Joel finally reunites with Tommy, he mentions all the things he did to help the two of them survive during the early years of the outbreak. Tommy says he still has nightmares about it, ultimately believing it was not worth it. It is difficult to imagine what exactly Joel did to survive through those trying times with Tommy, but it is enough to make his younger brother think it would have been better to die than live with the guilt.
6 Tries To Kill Sam
Joel and Ellie team up with two siblings, Sam and Henry. Tragically, Sam is infected and hides his bite from the rest until it is too late. After he attacks Ellie, Joel immediately reaches for a gun, but Henry stops him. Eventually, Henry ends his own brother's life and then kills himself. Maybe it would have been better for everyone involved if Henry had let Joel do the deed.
5 Torture
Ellie is captured by David's gang while trying to find medicine for Joel's injury. Once Joel wakes up, he neutralizes two bad guys and tortures them for information about Ellie's whereabouts. The first one he chains to a radiator and beats up, while his cruel ingenuity shines with the guy he straps to a chair. He puts a knife through his leg and drags it down to his knee. After obtaining the necessary info, Joel kills both of them.
4 Kills The Fireflies
To save Ellie during the final chapter, Joel kills almost every Firefly in the hospital, including a doctor preparing to operate on her. Crafting a vaccine from Ellie's immunity would result in her death, and by the end of the game Joel would do anything to save Ellie. The Fireflies maybe are not as heroic as their cause implies, but his actions potentially doom humanity's last chance for a cure to the virus.
3 Tries To Leave Ellie With Tommy
Joel has warmed up to Ellie a bit by the time the two reach his brother Tommy, but he is still trying to make her someone else's responsibility. Ellie senses this and grows upset, taking a horse and riding somewhere secluded.
Tommy and Joel chase after her, leading to a tense conversation between Ellie and the protagonist. Fortunately, Joel changes his mind and decides to finish the journey he started.
2 Kills Marlene
Marlene's death is a particularly cruel execution. She first turns her gun away from Joel to calm the tense standoff, but he takes the opportunity to shoot her in the stomach. Then, Joel kills her while she begs for her life and promises to let him go with Ellie after reasoning that she would just come after the two of them eventually.
1 Takes Away Ellie's Freedom To Choose
Marlene feels that Ellie would want to go through with the operation even if it meant giving up her life. Joel cannot possibly stand loosing somebody else, however, especially someone he came to see as a daughter, so he takes away her freedom to choose by killing all the Fireflies and leaving with her before she wakes up. Protecting the one you love by doing something against their wishes is a tough moral quandary.