What Makes A Man? A Study of Joel in The Last of Us Part 2 [cinematic discussion]

[Music] i was supposed to die in that hospital my life would have [ __ ] mattered [Applause] but you took that from me after playing through this game multiple times it's been difficult to figure out how i want to go about discussing it the story that naughty dog is telling is much more complex than i ever expected and much deeper than i thought it'd be with multiple timelines and characters all with their own stories motivations ambitions there are so many threads being woven at once so for this video i'd like to just focus on one

of those threads and do a little study on the character of joel [Music] specifically how he's presented in the last of his part two though there is a lot to learn from him in the first game there's so much in the second that i think it definitely merits its own standalone video so with all that being said what does the character of joel have to say about what it means to be a man [Music] somehow the lord gave me a second chance at that moment [Music] i would do it all over again [Music] now right

off the bat let me explain that this video is not meant to try and show how joel is a perfect man or even a good man or that he's the type of man that someone should aspire to be no one is perfect especially not joel but i believe by looking at his character his choices his words his actions we can find traits and values that i think every man should have there are absolutely other necessary qualities than what we'll discuss here as well and the qualities that we do discuss are of course things that women

can also have but i'll just be speaking in terms of men since joel is the framework that we're viewing all of these things through and with the setting of the game the post-apocalyptic hellscape ruled only by survival and death and the characters we've come to know and love i've found these traits are illustrated in a pretty powerful way [Music] starting chronologically the event that kicked off the whole game joel rescuing ellie from the fireflies is a beautiful portrayal of many things one of the most important ones being righteous anger and i'm so glad that naughty

dog revisited exactly what happened from a slightly different perspective at the start of this game we obviously already knew the events that took place in salt lake city but getting to hear joel tell them to tommy gives us even more of an insight into his thoughts and how he saw and judged his own actions after the fact jesus christ joel what do you do i saved her just to reiterate some of the context that i'm sure we're all aware of joel has traveled across the entire country with a little girl he now very much sees

as his daughter she's not merely just a replacement for sarah as some might say but a child that joel as a loving father to his core now feels responsible for and is compassionately driven to guide and protect with all that being the case he's just been informed that there is a group of people that are about to take her life now it's at this point that there is obviously some division in how people see and understand this moment and whether or not they agree with joel's decision but in my opinion the reason that the fireflies

are about to take ellie's life which is to try and make a cure for the virus doesn't matter at all it's invalid for multiple reasons i don't know if we need to go into all of those reasons now but the bottom line is that what the fireflies were going to do to ellie is murder whether ellie would have agreed to it or not and regardless of joel's relationship with her taking her life without her consent is not something that should have been allowed to happen no matter what and when you add on top of that

the fact that this is effectively joel's adopted daughter about to be killed you can start to understand why he did what he did any father that loves his child will be filled with a very correct and righteous anger when that child's life is threatened and i really love that naughty dog gave us the view of his face as he enters the surgical suite the look he gives jerry anderson is one filled with determination with resolve and with a fatherly rage that you do not want to be on the other end of moving on from righteous

anger we will now go to the opposite side of the spectrum and look at joel's gentleness i know that might be an unexpected trait to give him especially after all the non-gentle things we've seen him do but i actually think that it's the coexistence of these two opposing qualities that makes up a very important part of not only joel's character but the character of a man you see to be a man you have to be both tough and tender being only tender you lack the ability to protect those you love you may be welcoming and

kind but lack the strength to truly affect change when needed and being only tough means you cannot lovingly care for those that are close to you you're unable to properly see to their needs or be their haven their safe place the righteous anger as well as the quiet gentleness are both required and knowing how to balance them is a skill that is not easily learned but as we can see in the last of us part 2 not only has joel learned to balance them he demonstrates both sides exactly as needed this is shown multiple times

throughout the flashbacks we're given in the game but the one that i want to focus on the most where we can so easily see his gentleness is of course the birthday surprise for ellie at the museum holy [ __ ] joel we're here oh my god it is a dinosaur and it is joel surprise this is the second flashback we get to see of joel and ellie and while being one of the most emotional segments of the game it's also the one that i believe we get to see the raw and powerful height of their

relationship unfortunately i believe at no point before or after these moments are they ever as close as fulfilled or as happy and as they explore the museum study the dinosaurs and blast off into space we see a side and nature of troll that we haven't quite seen before not only did he find the time to explore the region locate the museum and ensure it was safe for ellie he went through all kinds of unknown lengths to find the recording of the space launch as well everything he's done in this moment and even the way he

speaks to her in the shuttle the timbre of his voice shows that his heart is full of nothing but love gentleness and care for his daughter i do okay are you [ __ ] kidding me you're welcome kiddo [Music] continuing on i would say that one of the most vital and emphasized qualities that joel portrays throughout the game is his seemingly unending patience it's two years prior to the present day when ellie finally discovers the truth about what happened in salt lake joel out of his desire to protect her and keep her safe has kept

it a secret for two long years before that but the need for him to come clean has caught up to him and his naughty dog so painfully makes it obvious this moment this confession is completely heart shattering for both of them just say it joel making a vaccine would have killed you so why stop them [Music] oh my god it's in this instant that joel feels as if he's now lost his daughter once again because of the evil in the world his decision to save her and the lie he chose to tell her after his

admission breaks their already worn bond of trust and the relationship is severed thankfully ellie agrees to stay in jackson which leaves joel with hope and it's that hope that fuels his unending patience for the next two years now we really don't know much about what happens during those next two years especially when it comes to joel and ellie specifically but based off of the conversations that ellie has with dina and then with jesse i think it's safe to assume that it's not much if anything at all and so we realized that over the last two

years joel has been silently patiently loyally waiting and hoping for an opportunity an opportunity for them to be reunited for him to at least begin to regain her trust and rebuild the bond between them and this patience is so crucial to who joel is his character and his lasting effect on ellie you see by waiting for her by distantly staying by her side not being pushy or overbearing or forceful in any way but truly patient he retains his spot he's there ready and available when after two years ellie finally starts to open to him once

again and i don't think it was anything specific that joel did that caused her to at least want to begin to forgive him i think it really was just a matter of time as they say sometimes that's just what the heart needs time and the only thing that can allow for that is patience when it comes to family when it comes to someone you love whether it's romantically familial platonic whatever it might be every man has to have an endless reserve of patience because it's that patience that allows for and respects the pace that those

around you choose to live their lives at their understanding their learning their shortcomings and respective growths none of them can happen or be appreciated without patience and at the very end of the game we see that the patience joel demonstrated as he waited for ellie gave her a gift something so important a life-changing skill that you can only learn by choosing it at each available opportunity forgiveness i don't think i can ever forgive you for that i would like to try [Music] i like that [Music] okay [Music] i'll see you around yep [Music] and finally

we come to what i believe is the most difficult trait to possess for any person let alone a man but the way that joel illustrates it and one of the many examples he gives shows the full extent of what selflessness truly means you see when abby found herself being overrun by a horde of infected it was the selflessness of joel and tommy that saved her life we don't know the exact circumstances that led to them being in the same place as her but they could have easily left this stranger this woman that they didn't even

know behind and prioritized their own safety and survival but it was in that moment that joel saw someone in need and decided to risk his own life to save hers and it's that action that shows the full extent of his selflessness because it's that action that eventually cost joel his own life now i've seen people discussing how they believe this is not something that joel would have done that because abby was a stranger he would have been more guarded maybe ignored her or left her to die that he wouldn't have so easily trusted her and

her friends putting himself in danger but i think those that say that are missing who joel now is his character's development and his growth over the last four years because it's over those last four years that he has become a new and different man because of jackson and what it's given him his life has resembled what he had before the outbreak more than ever before family community and friends hobbies steady work to set his hands to and most importantly a daughter are all things that he's now cherished for some time and because of that being

surrounded by these things he can no longer remain the lone ruthless smuggler he once was those rough edges have been worn away with time and as we've been discussing all throughout this video he has many qualities that he did not used to possess it's his appreciation for human life his dedication and compassion his love and respect for others that motivates him to act to step in to take responsibility and grab abby's hand saving her life and trusting that she like him values the little good that is left in the world there are many opinions on

the story of the last of his part too on what happened to joel the character of abby the choices that ellie makes throughout the game but after experiencing it many times and as someone who has always loved troll probably more than any other fictional character i truly believe that in the story they wanted to tell naughty dog wrote an absolutely beautiful ending for his character and paid him the utmost respect by allowing him to powerfully love cherish and care for those around him leaving a lion-hearted legacy that would change the lives of others for years

to come as every man [Music] should [Music] you