The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 6 might just be one of the most emotionally intense episodes in the entire series. While the season has been following Ellie’s single-minded quest for revenge for Joel’s murder, this episode takes a step back. It goes into Ellie and Joel’s complicated and broken, but all-too-human bond through a series of heart-wrenching, emotional flashbacks. And in the process, it finally answers the question that has lingered since the end of Season 1: Did Ellie ever forgive Joel? And if not, why not?
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The Lie That Broke Everything
To understand why forgiving is such a struggle for Ellie, we must return to the Season 1 finale. Joel had chosen to save Ellie’s life instead of the Fireflies’, effectively ending their plan to extract a cure from her, which would have killed her in the process. Rather than being truthful with Ellie, he lied to her. He told her that the Fireflies had given up on trying to create a cure.
That lie changed everything. Soon, Ellie started to notice the inconsistencies in Joel’s story. She started to doubt and made a list of questions about the Fireflies, as we see in Episode 6.
But for a long time, she didn’t confront him until after that awkward encounter at the New Year’s Eve party. That night, watching Joel sit alone on the porch, Ellie finally decided it was time to get to the bottom of it. And Joel gave them to her.
He told her of everything that occurred in Salt Lake City. He confessed that he decided to save her life instead of the potential cure for humankind. It was brutally honest, his method of finally letting go of the act and being honest with her in every way.
“I Don’t Know If I Can Forgive You”
Ellie’s response to his admission was quietly shattering. She didn’t scream. She didn’t storm off. She just said, “I want to forgive you. But I don’t know if I can.” That sentence says a thousand words. Forgiveness is not something that you can just decide on the spur of the moment. Particularly when someone you love has lied to you about something huge.
Ellie believed Joel and knew what he did, he did it out of love. But the reasons didn’t erase the pain of betrayal. It did not make up for the countless sleepless nights she must’ve spent wondering about whether she had been robbed of her destiny, to doubt the purpose of her survival.
She did not want to forgive him at the time. She was considering it. She was trying. Unfortunately, before she was able to reach that stage, she had already lost her chance.
The Pain of Lost Time
What Episode 6 painfully illustrates is that Joel never lost hope in her, not even when they were at odds with each other. From showing her how to play “Future Days” on the guitar to taking her to the museum so that she could view space through her own eyes, Joel continued to reach out to mend their relationship.
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These were not just acts of kindness. They were his apology. He was trying to make things right, trying to be a better father than his father, even if he didn’t know how to say the words. But Ellie was not yet prepared to have him back. And before she even thought of it, the moment passed.
Joel’s violent death in Season 2, Episode 2 robbed her of closure. She never had the chance to forgive him. That decision was taken away from her. And that loss of the opportunity to heal may have hurt even more than the lie itself. It fueled her rage, not only against Abby, but against a world that continues to take without giving a chance to say goodbye.
Joel’s Last Words and What They Represent
In the flashbacks, one of Joel’s childhood memories is revealed to us. How his father used to beat him, yet he hoped that Joel would turn out to be a better person. Joel confesses that he hopes Ellie to become a better person than he ever was if she ever becomes a parent and has children.
It wasn’t just a statement about parenting, it was Joel admitting his flaws, owning up to the choices he made with Ellie. That was him saying, “I know I failed you, but I loved you.” He wanted Ellie to be stronger than him, not just physically, but emotionally. He wanted her to break the cycle he couldn’t.
You can feel emotion linger in Ellie’s movements. Every time she sings “Future Days” in Episode 5, it’s not just a song; it’s a memory. A connection. Even though she hadn’t forgiven Joel, she never stopped loving him. That’s what makes the betrayal feel so painful. It’s also what makes the grief so unbearable.
Did Ellie Forgive Joel Before He Died?
The answer isn’t clear-cut. No, Ellie did not forgive Joel in life. But she was on her way to doing so. That’s what makes his death so gut-wrenching. It ended the conversation too soon. It stole the healing that might have occurred with the passing of time. And that’s what The Last of Us continues to return to: loss, grief, and the choices we never get to make.
Even though she didn’t get the chance to forgive him when he was alive, it seems she has started to forgive him after his death, and her conversation with Nora in the Episode 5 of season 2 answers it, where she reminds Ellie of the horrific act that Joel committed, but Ellie doesn’t flinch. Slowly, she is understanding why he did.
Ellie’s experience throughout Season 2 isn’t only driven by the death of Joel, but by the weight of all that had gone unsaid between them. Forgiveness is a process, not a moment. Joel acted out of selflessness and love. And Ellie was left somewhere in between angry and understanding.
When she comes back to the theatre, bruised and emotionally exhausted, it’s clear that Ellie is still on the search for peace. Her anger is aimed at Abby, but her conflicted feelings regarding Joel and his passing are what really define her.
Final Thoughts
Episode 6 doesn’t give us a neat resolution, and that’s what makes it so realistic. The Last of Us has never, ever been about simple answers. It’s about love, suffering, betrayal, and how they all intersect. Ellie may never have said the words out loud, but Joel’s memory lives in every single action she takes. And maybe, just maybe, the act of saying, “I want to forgive you,” was the beginning of the forgiveness. Even if she never got to finish the sentence, her heart had already begun.
