The Last of Us turns Joel into Rambo – and in doing so destroys his own finale

Some zombie apocalypses sound like a lot of fun. Dodge lame undead, loot empty malls, rebuild cities with a few other survivors. The Last of Us has nothing to do with it.

In the acclaimed adaptation of the video game series of the same name, the infected are fast-paced and/or bloody scary, other people turn out to be murderers or cannibals, and life ends in the blink of an eye. At least that’s what the first eight episodes of the series suggested to me. But of all things the long-awaited season finale in episode 9 breaks me with Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) Rambo act.

Warning, spoilers follow for the complete first season of The Last of Us.

Joel blasts his way through The Last of Us finale but doesn’t hit my heart

In the final episode of the series, Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) finally arrive at the Fireflies’ medical facility, for which they traveled halfway across the United States. A doctor from the rebel organization wants to examine Ellie’s immunity and use it to create a vaccine against the fungal infection that turns people into monsters.

But then it turns out that the teenage girl would not survive the operation. Joel, for whom his companion has become a surrogate daughter, cannot allow this. He massacres anyone who opposes him on the way to the OR -including dozens of soldiers, a doctor and his acquaintance Marlene (Merle Dandridge), the leader of the Fireflies. And as much as I enjoy watching Joel in action mode, one thing really bothers me about it.

This is what our colleague Yves says about The Last of Us finale:

The series stages Joel as an indestructible one-man army. With superhuman precision and incredible luck, he kills a large group of enemies without suffering the slightest injury. In some shots he doesn’t even bother to seek cover. That’s not Joel, that’s Rambo. This reminds me more of an unstoppable Sylvester Stallone on a quest for revenge than a middle-aged man who recently had an infected stomach wound. This destroys a lot of the atmosphere of the series for me.

In Episode 9, The Last of Us forgets how fragile and highly dangerous its zombie world is

Because The Last of Us keeps reminding you, how easy it is to lose your life in the Cordyceps dystopia. Simple flour turns your favorite granny into a monster. In a few hours the world will sink into a chaotic abyss. In a split second, Joel loses his daughter. He, Ellie and the rest of the people in this hostile world must always grope their way carefully over several episodes because a minimal moment of inattention is enough to die.

Nor does The Last of Us stage the remnants of human society in a more positive or safer way. Without exception, every chance encounter begins with drawn weapons. Joel and Ellie narrowly survive an encounter with Abby’s (Melanie Lynskey) militia and are forced to hide for days. Few seconds fight with looters from the cannibalistic cult of David (Scott Shepherd) injure Joel so badly that the survival of the pair is in limbo for days.

This staging of the deadliness and ruthlessness of the zombie apocalypse is important because it makes us tremble for the characters. We feel the most for them when they could die at any time. But who never bites the dust? Exactly Rambo.

Joel is no Sylvester Stallone hybrid – and that’s a good thing

Joel’s effortless carnage in The Last of Us finale belies the entire eight-episode build of a murderous world. When it comes down to it, this one-man army will overcome any opponent. Why was I even concerned if Joel and Ellie were being attacked by clickers or militia wanted their head? Pedro Pascal just needs enough ammo to make the threats of this dystopian serial world look harmless – and therefore boring.

I fell in love with Pascal’s and Ramsey’s dynamic duo. But Rambo is an action franchise, The Last of Us is a horror drama. Give me Pedro Pascal, the mad-eyed man doing whatever it takes to save his Ellie and put her safety ahead of the rest of humanity. But please not like that! You have to be with a group of Fireflies don’t shoot up the whole atmosphere right away.

Podcast: The 5 best zombie series in the stream

Whether you watch The Last of Us or not, the zombie series genre is more diverse than meets the eye. That’s why we’re introducing you to five representatives in the podcast stream that you shouldn’t miss. They can be streamed on Netflix, Disney+, Amazon or even free of charge in the Arte media library.

Each of the zombie series presented makes something special in its own way. Be it that it takes you to a historical setting, approaches the topic with humor or, as a social drama, deals with how ex-zombies can be reintegrated into society.

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