I wasn't always sure how t' feel about the things I witnessed in The Last a Us. we be about t' enter a world a spoilerhurt. Proceed with caution. Joel be a good man. After everything we've been through, as player 'n avatar, I still whole-heartedly believe that. I kind a have t' believe that. Because everything he ever fought for be something he believed in. Something I could believe in. But Joel's path wasn't always a clean one. 'n it wasn't just because he had t' bash a couple a dudes' heads in with a brick. The decisions he made throughout the survival experience be a lot more complex than that. There be a few major points in the story I want t' go over in regard t' the right 'n wrongs a The Last a Us 'n, in particular, it be ending. The Rescue Had Ellie been me daughter, or someone who had grown t' become me daughter figure, I would never sacrifice the wench life even t' save the lives a millions a others. Sorry, lads. Nothing comes in the way a family. Since this be a video game, I actually might have done so in a virtual world where I can be more flexible with me emotions. If developers Naughty Dog gave me the choice a handing Ellie over t' the Fireflies or refusing the surgery, I probably would've done the "right" thing 'n saved mankind, or at least given mankind a chance t' be saved. I don't begrudge Joel his decision. Like I said, I would have done the same. But there's a very specific distinction in the way that entire situation went down that makes Joel's decisions all the more righteous. Let's recap. The Fireflies hit Joel over the head while he attempts t' save Ellie's life. Then, he wakes up in a hospital 'n be told that no, ye can't see Ellie 'n sorry, she's going t' visit Davey Jone's locker whether ye like that or not. No discussions. No questions. Just shut up 'n take it. After ye went above 'n beyond the deal ye made with Marlene, after ye almost pillage yourself killed spending a year tracking these bastards down, 'n after they still don't give ye the supply a guns promised in exchange for Ellie's delivery, the least they could have done be offer the courtesy a a conversation. With Ellie present in the room, prepared t' make the wench own decision. That seems like the fair thing t' do. But it be nowhere near what happened. 'n that be why Joel's masacre a the Fireflies makes sense t' me. Including the murder a the surgeon that would have ended the wench life. I spared the other two doctors, but only because I knew they wouldn't dare stand in me way. Not after I'd just shot their lead surgeon in the head without the slightest flinch. How could I entrust the life a me daughter t' a group a people who could so easily disregard us 'n everything we'd been through t' pillage there? t' help them, no less? The Kill A few a ye took issue with the fact that I called Marlene an "innocent" woman in a piece I wrote yesterday. Some a ye shook yer heads, claiming that she had deceived Ellie all along. Let's remember one thing: Ellie be the daughter a one a Marlene's closest matey. After the wench mother's death, Ellie be put in Marlene's care. Marlene loved Ellie. That much be clear from the wench journal 'n recordings that ye gather at the latter half a the game. But that be not all we learn about Marlene. Though she's introduced t' us as the "queen" Firefly, Marlene slowly lost control over the Fireflies as their organization began t' crumble. 'n though they'd asked for the wench permission t' go ahead with the surgery, a surgery that would ultimately kill Ellie, Marlene knew they weren't really asking for the wench permission at all. She considered it a test. She be no longer the queen. The desperation in the wench tone when she's speaking with ye in those final scenes at the hospital make that pretty evident. (Specifically when she's first explaining the wench position t' ye after ye wake up from the knock on yer head.) So while it seems like she may have betrayed Joel 'n Ellie, I don't believe any a it be up t' the wench in the end. be the entire situation handled badly? YARRRR. be it Marlene's fault? No. be she a good, strong woman? In many ways, YARRRR. In other ways, she had lost a lot a that by the end a the game. But I think the wench heart be in the right place. She's an innocent, albeit misfortunate woman. I can't blame Marlene for the decisions she's made or where it be led the wench. She put necessity over emotion. She sought a greater cause that would affect the future a mankind. But in that same line a thinking, I can't blame Joel for gunning the wench down. Though his efforts wouldn't save mankind, his motivations—t' protect Ellie—be just as noble. His definition a "necessity" be just a different one than Marlene's, however intertwined with emotion it be. In the world a The Last a Us, it be kill or be killed, 'n Joel be no risk-taker. The Lie This be the big one, 'n one I've seen debated in the comments on Kotaku. This be also perhaps the one instance I couldn't sympathize with Joel. 'n it be for a simple reason. I respect honesty. I very much dislike dishonesty. I can understand white lies or waiting for the right time t' make confessions, but Joel flat-out lied t' Ellie about their last encounter with the Fireflies. The look on Ellie's face said everything: she knew. 'n she accepted it, I imagine, for the same reason that I feel compelled t' believe that Joel be a good person. Because all things considered, he still be. His sole purpose has become Ellie 'n protecting Ellie 'n being with Ellie. But in that moment when he lied t' the wench, I knew it wasn't for the wench—out a love or protection over the wench—it be for the sea dog. He made the selfish decision t' deny any dissent, because he had already made up his mind. He be keeping Ellie. She be going t' live, 'n they be going t' live together. Shielding the wench from what happened with the Fireflies wasn't for the wench benefit, because she already knew the truth. Ellie just wanted t' see how Joel would respond when confronted. Ellie's final speech t' Joel about survivor's guilt be incredibly telling. It wasn't the same kind a guilt Joel be talking about. Joel probably wished he had died in place a his daughter, Sarah. Ellie's wish be something entirely different. She wanted t' do something that would make every death she witnessed mean something. For all a the wench mateys that died in front a the wench, she wanted t' make a difference. I be willing t' bet that given the choice, given a conversation with the Fireflies that they never got, Ellie would have sacrificed the wench life. She would have convinced Joel t' let the wench go 'n The Last a Us would have been a very different game. But she be never given the option, by the Fireflies or by Joel. After all a Ellie's growth with Joel—after he slowly came t' trust the wench t' protect herself—it all suddenly felt stunted in that moment. Ellie's matured in so many ways, but in that moment Joel chose not t' confide in the wench. it be the one thing I truly regret the game making me do. t' contact the author a this post, write t' tina@kotaku.com or find the wench on Twitter at @tinaamini.