3. Constructing Joel
What if the people are still inside? What if their trapped in there with no control over their bodies? Im scared of that happening to me. Sam My retrospective view of Joel parallels those who have decayed due to the parasitic virus, although for Joel his infection is grief. This is a direct consequence of Sarahs tragic passing in the prologue and his failure to rescue her has materialized into an infection he cant cure. Thus, like the fungal infection, which takes over its host's mind/body, Joels grief has altered his own and coherently the space around him. Its essentially made Joel and the space he inhabits more dangerous. Firstly, think of Joel as an analog to the Clicker you first find in the Downtown area. Its deceased and sprouting on the environment around itself. In addition, its also alone. Joel has disconnected from his brother Tommy and those from his past. All he holds onto is a watch, given to him by Sarah on his birthday, which Ellie mocks for being broken a reflection of Joels psyche. Joel may have individuals around him but his infection is his own. He doesnt intend to share it amongst others. Hell expect to depart the world alone, escorted by it. Developing on that analog further, think of the quarantine zone in Boston where we are introduced to Joel after the prologue. Theoretically, its a safe haven for those not infected but the illustration of the quarantine zone is distant from that concept. Joels infiltration into this space - with his own infection, has contributed to a more somber commentary. In that protected zone, hes presented as a weapons smuggler and contributes, with Tess, in the murder of Robert. Its easier to dismiss these actions and view it all as the foreground of survival but Joel and others have abused the ideology the quarantine zone represents. Therefore it sets up Joel and a selection of that population as immoral beings. Thus its important to establish that Joel is not a hero. Usually without discussion, we set ourselves to assume that the protagonist we are managing is the good guy. Im not suggesting that Joel never was, or possibly never could be, but in this context hes damaged. He encapsulates the term anti-hero. For example, during a bandit attack in Pittsburgh, Ellie asks him, How did you know about the ambush? to which Joel responds, Ive been on both sides. The question is which side does Joel sit on at this present moment? His duty in protecting Ellie in this quest, sets him as a hero but his decisions and actions make him very callous. Ellie may gaze upon him as a hero but for the most part of the story Joel and his history is ambiguous to her. Her hero is another person's (Davids) crazy man. Therefore is Joels action in taking Ellie from the operating table heroic or crazy? Is Davids assessment of Joel not that obscure after taking into context what he has done to get to this moment and what he does when he arrives? Like the quarantine zone, the place of that action a hospital, is another image of a safe haven and Joel yet again betrays that ideology. Hospitals are where sick people are treated and rebirthed but he sneaks around the area dispatching the Fireflies, until he finds Ellie, eliminates the doctor(s) depending on how many you killed - from the equation and walks out with his prize in his hands. He rebirths himself, curing his own infection by taking Ellie and walking out the front door. The reward is his own and nobody elses. One doctor goes out to call Joel an animal. In fact the metaphor speaks volumes. He parallels a King Kong figure, emotionally attached to the female he loves, the person he cant let go of and will fight mankind through wilderness to win her. It reveals Ellie in the finale, not as a person with a voice of her own, where she makes her own decisions, but as a trinket where different factions will battle to own her.