Summary
A satisfying conclusion can be tough to pull off in any story, more so for a somber decade-spanning franchise likeThe Last of Us. While Naughty Dog lays the groundwork for the next entry inThe Last of Us, Ellie’s harrowing journey will wind toward its natural end, and a final act running parallel to the one inThe Last of Us Part 1’s Left Behind DLC could be the perfect cyclical narrative.
The Future of Naughty Dog and the Fungal Apocalypse
February 2024 has been a month of renewed anticipation for fans ofThe Last of Us. Ahead of the announcement thatseason two ofThe Last of UsHBO serieshad begun filming, Neil Druckmann announced at the end ofPart 2’s making-of documentary thatThe Last of Us Part 3has another chapter to tell. It could still be a while before players get their hands on the next entry though, as Naughty Dog is currently hard at work on its next single-player title.
Left Behind Foreshadows The Path Ahead
Left Behind originally came in 2014 as part of a paid expansion forThe Last of Us, a year after the game was released. It was half prequel, contextualizing Ellie, highlighting the days leading up to her being infected with the cordyceps infection, and the ensuing revelation that she had a natural immunity to it. The other half fills in a gap in the main game’s second act, as Ellie attempts to gather supplies and care for a wounded Joel as they survive a bitter Colorado winter. The prequel section ofLeft Behind is considered the genesisof the series' sweeping narrative, setting the story in motion, and a proper encapsulation of the entire journey could involve coming full circle to that moment.
Both bitten by an infected, resigned to their grisly fates, Riley and Ellie make a pact to spend their final waning hours together in the abandoned mall where that fate befell them. Ellie discovers her immunity in a gut-wrenching fashion, kicking off her morally complex anti-hero journey, while Riley succumbs to the infection.The Last of Us Part 3could be the capstone to a trilogy or part of a larger sagainThe Last of Usuniverse, but in either case, Ellie’s character development across the first two games seems to be building toward her eventual martyrdom in the third entry, which could be patterned after her character’s origin story in Left Behind.
The Through Line of The Last of Us
During the dual-protagonist storyline ofThe Last of Us Part 2, Abby and Ellie both have moments where their revenge-obsessed motives could be sated. In each case, however, they choose to spare the other, breaking a generational cycle of violence. At the game’s outset, as Ellie returns from California to a Dina-less homestead, encumbered with trauma and shame and a trail of blood cast in her wake, she is left to pick up the pieces. Whatever is next for Ellie, her priorities have fundamentally shifted andThe Last of Us Part 3could spend its opening chaptershaving Ellie reconciling with that shift as she makes amends for the damage wrought by her quest for vengeance.
How To Close the Loop
A popular conclusion for redemption arcs in all forms of media is self-sacrifice. Whether to protect Dina from some imminent doom, an unbeknownst figure meant to take up the mantle forThe Last of Us Part 4, or Abby by some ironic twist, Ellie dying while another central figure lives on would be a perfectly patterned ending to her journey. A scene set up likeRiley’s death in Left Behindcould stick the landing and close the loop on one of gaming’s most cherished and emotionally resonant tales.
