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My Two Cents on Joel's Death

I've been seeing alot of criticism about how Joel's death was handled. And what's funny is that I've been seeing like a bunch of different perspectives of how it was handled.

Some people said it was good and that he deserved what he got. And that for someone like Joel, he didn't deserve a heroic death because they say he was basically the bad guy of the first game, just because of what he did at the ending of Part 1. And also, they say the game was trying to be a bit realistic, as in the real world death is sudden and you don't get to choose what kind've death you get.

And some people jump in and get mad at the people who didn't like this game and say well, you don't like it cause your straight white male character died. Which is so far from the truth!

Other people say that the way Joel died was a disrespect to his character and it felt like Naughty Dog was giving the middle finger to the fans. They say that he should've gone down in a blaze of glory. They also say the lead up to his death makes no sense cause Joel wouldn't have gone into that room as it was shown in the 1st game that he was very cautious, very untrustworthy and very smart and the writers made Joel stupid just so this scene could happen.

How do I feel about it? Well, I did say in my thoughts about Part 2 that Joel did deserve better. And I still stand by that but I wanted to go into more details about it. And this is from someone who kinda likes the game. (Although right now I'm having a love/hate relationship with the game)

So, let's get on with it.

Okay...so....I'm gonna put this out there:
No, I'm not mad that Joel died.
Honestly, I was expecting it to happen. But what I am mad about is how he died and how early in the game he died.

His death scene felt more like it should've been either at the middle or towards the end of the game, not at the fucking 2 hour mark of the damn game. Where it's placed feels more like for shock value than to tell a story. It also felt rushed like the game wanted to hurry and move along the plot.

When I first got to this scene and the moment Abby shot Joel in his knee, I ain't gonna lie I started crying. And when she gave that final blow to his head with a fucking golf club, I bawled like a baby and I couldn't stop.

I even stopped the game when I got to Ellie's 1st day in Seattle, and contemplated whether I wanted to finish the game or not because his death upset me that much. And it still upsets me.

And yes I know that's what Naughty Dog was going for, they wanted me to feel like Ellie, but the thing is...after thinking about it...his death really didn't make much sense.

How is it that a man that noticed an ambush right away just by looking at one guy holding his stomach and pleading for help then ran over that guy as a bunch of hunters come out of their hiding place is the same one who just walked into a room full of people and allowed himself to get surrounded.

And before anyone comments and say He had gone soft from living in Jackson for 4 years We are actually shown in one of the flashbacks that he was still precocious when he tells Ellie to put on her mask. She even was like "Do I have to? It's just us." And he says "What if we run into someone?"

Plus I don't think living in one place for 4 years erases away your 20 years of living in the zombie apocalypse. And also he was shown to be untrustworthy at the very beginning of the first game when Tommy drives up to a family on the side of the road and Joel told him to keep going. And this was Joel the night of the Outbreak!

Now if we were shown, in the game, that Joel had gotten soft then maybe I would've believed it. But we weren't. Neil said in an interview that he had gone soft and I think he explained it but here's how I see it.

When you make a game, show or movie....SHOW, DON'T TELL!!

It doesn't look good when you have to explain some stuff in an interview or outside of your product when your product is supposed to do that for you, especially a video game.

Instead of having a character develop off screen, show us his development!

And for people that say Joel was the villian, go screw yourselves because he's NOT a villian. But yes he's not a hero either.

I always saw Joel as the anti-hero. He is someone that's not the good guy but he's not a bad guy either. He does things that only benefits himself or people he cares about. Like Punisher, John Wick, Deadpool and one of the best anti-heroes, Walter 'Motherfuckin' White AKA Heisenberg.

But back to Joel, yes he has done bad things but in the world he lived in for 20 years, you have to do questionable and bad things to survive or you will die! Unfortunately, you can't live a peaceful life in the zombie apocalypse, you have to fight or you will die.

Plus let me ask you people that say Joel is a villian this, if someone you loved turned out that they are immune to a zombie-like virus and the only way they can get the cure is to kill the person you love. Would you let them kill the person you love? Or would you do everything in your power to make sure that person was alive?

I'm sure you guys would say "Oh I'd let them die to save mankind". Which is bullshit, cause if you were put in that moment, you guys would do what Joel did.

When I first finished the 1st game, I was conflicted. I wasn't for sure about the choice Joel made, but after thinking about I understood it and kinda agree with it.
Cause I know if it was my little brother or sister on that table, I'd have done the same!

Plus we aren't even sure if the cure would work! Yes I know there's a recording of the doctor talking about it and saying there's a chance for a cure. But thats the key word a CHANCE. Plus how do we know if the cure did work that the Fireflies wouldn't use that as a power play.

Cause sorry, human beings can be horrible and once they discover something that big and understand it, they want to weaponize it or do a power play and be like Oh look what I've got! Oh you want it too, well you have to do something for me first.

Anyway, I also didn't like that the game put Joel in a villainous light and it basically said that what he did was wrong, even though at the end of the 1st game it was being ambiguous and morally gray. There was no right or wrong answer to it, so I don't know what the hell happened there.

It feels like Neil Druckmann had succumbed to hating Joel and wanted him to suffer. It also feels like he hates Ellie too but that's a whole different conversation. Almost like he resents the things he has created.

And look yes, I do believe the consequences of your actions will come back to haunt you but there could've been a better way to handle Joel's death. He could've been captured and tortured in Seattle and maybe Ellie tries to save him but at the last minute he dies in some form or fashion, I'm not sure.

Or how about this?

Have Abby beat the shit outta Joel and then be like "you know what? I want you to die right here, right now....but that would be too easy. So..." then she turns around and kills Tommy in front of Joel.

There you can still have your revenge plot and a story with Joel and Ellie!

I mean, I don't get why it took them 7 years to come up with a story and this game was the best that they could do and yet here I am, a random fan fic writer with no professional skills and a fan of the first game, came up with a better idea.

You know, it's just....I don't know, I wish I was like a very famous or popular person and was able to interview people cause I would definitely interview Neil Druckmann and ask him what the hell was going through his mind when he wrote this game?

Anyway, like I said there's so many ways to have dealt with Joel's death or with the whole story of the game but as for now thats all I've got to say. I'm sorry if it reads like I'm rambling but alot of thoughts kept floating through my head.

Let me know what you guys think and what are your thoughts on Joel's death?

Do you think it was good? Or are you like me and think it should've been handled better?