The Last of Us Ending Would Mean Two Big Lore Questions are Left Unanswered

The Last of Us Part 2 deals with the time-worn premise of actions having consequences and mirroring characters’ harrowing experiences through a fractured lens. Indeed, amid all the commotion and mayhem ensuing in The Last of Us Part 2, Jesse is one of the only constant voices of reason and whose sentiments about retaliation being unsurprisingly cyclical and avoidable are dismissed by a grieving Ellie. Just as it’s nearly impossible that Ellie is the sole immune person in The Last of Us, it’s nearly impossible that Jerry was the only person who could possibly engineer a vaccine if an immune person’s mutated brain was presented to them on a platter.

The Last of Us: If Ellie is Immune, Others Must Be, Too

Ironically, thousands of people in The Last of Us may have been immune and never had a chance to discover that fact about themselves before they happened to be killed by a random marauder, much less FEDRA. The Last of Us’ Riley and Ellie only survived their infected ambush with bites to show for it in Part 1’s Left Behind DLC because they were able to rescue each other, but any number of individuals who were mauled by a pack of infected runners likely died then and there.

Joel could’ve been immune, for example, but that can never be proven true or false as he was beaten to death by Abby and buried in Jackson before an infected could sink their teeth into him. Otherwise, it’s possible that countless immune people may not have wanted to wait long enough to experience themselves turning and, not knowing that they would have survived, took their own lives immediately after being bitten.

Plus, Ellie purposefully concealed her immunity from everyone in Jackson (at Joel’s behest), and so the chances of there even being others in Jackson doing the same are not zero. That doesn’t mean locating these individuals would be easy, to be fair. But, unless Part 3 reveals a spontaneous reason as to why Ellie alone is immune in The Last of Us, there will always be hope that others are as well.

The Last of Us: Jerry was a Noble Man, But He May Not Be the Only Surgeon

It knots a bow on The Last of Us’ story with supposed finality, but Jerry being the lone surgeon who could craft a cure from an immune person is too convenient. Moreover, it is also convenient that he happened to be a Firefly dedicated to the cause and not struggling day by day in a nondescript camp somewhere far from the Fireflies and their plight.

That said, Fireflies in Santa Barbara was nothing but a rumor that Owen heard about multiple times and that Abby initially dismissed until she decided to pursue that lead on Owen’s behalf. The main menu screen transitioning to depict Abby and Lev’s arrival at Catalina Island suggests they’ve made it to these Fireflies after a few months of being Rattler slaves, and a Part 3—as unlikely as one may be—could reveal that there are other doctors who’ve determined how to manufacture a vaccine, much less found one or more immune individuals.

The downside to either coming to fruition is that it would potentially trivialize Jerry and Ellie’s singular significance and roles in The Last of Us’ story, but the burden being withdrawn from their shoulders may make for a less convenient and more hopeful conclusion, assuming that a Part 3 is ever developed. Until then, The Last of Us Complete might be the series’ swan song with lore-related questions and implications left unaddressed forever.

The Last Of Us Part II Remastered

Systems

Released

January 19, 2024

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Engine

Proprietary Engine