Our list of the best quotes from HBO post-apocalyptic drama television show The Last of Us based on the video game of the same name.
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Top The Last of Us Quotes
Dr. Schoenheiss: [1968] A new virus in Madagascar, say, could be in Chicago within a matter of weeks. And we end up with a global pandemic. Pan meaning “all”. The whole world becomes sick all at once.
Dr. Neuman: Mankind has been at war with the virus from the start. Sometimes, millions of people die, as in an actual war. But in the end, we always win.
Dr. Neuman: Fungi seem harmless enough. Many species know otherwise. Because there are some fungi who seek not to kill, but to control.
Dr. Neuman: There are no treatments for this. No preventatives, no cures. They don’t exist. It’s not even possible to make them.
Host: So if that happens?
Dr. Neuman: We lose.
Mrs. Adler: [2003] Three nails, plus one cross, equals four-given.
Joel Miller: [after the virus hits and creates chaos] Well, we can’t go south, we can’t go east, we can’t go west. Hell else we supposed to go?
Sarah Miller: Maybe it’s everywhere. Maybe there’s nowhere to go.
Lee: [2023] FEDRA’s got a factory down there in the QZ. Supposedly only makes two things. Pills and bullets, bullets and pills.
Joel Miller: Well, the more you shoot people, the harder it is to sleep, I guess.
Joel Miller: It’s a miracle you’re alive.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: It’s a miracle any of us are alive.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: [to Joel] Now I promised Robert that you wouldn’t hurt him. But I would very much like for you to hurt him. So let’s go hunt that m*****f***er down, and get our battery, and our truck, and then we’ll go find Tommy.
Marlene: You fight for twenty years, and you get nowhere, you’re not a rebellion. Just spray paint.
Buzzcut: Hey, friend. Don’t worry. I don’t want anything. But if you’re feeling lost…
Joel Miller: You tell me to “look for the light” and I’ll break your jaw.
Ellie Williams: Why won’t you let me go home?
Marlene: Because you have a greater purpose than any of us could’ve ever imagined.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: [referring to Ellie] Who is she?
Marlene: To you? She’s cargo.
Marlene: [to Joel and Tess] I know what’s out there. We were going with an entire squadron for that very reason. But now I don’t have a truck, I don’t have a squadron, FEDRA’s five minutes away. What I do have is you. And I know what you’re both capable of. For better or worse.
Ellie Williams: What are they capable of?
Marlene: Joel, don’t f*** this up. Please.
Ellie Williams: [to Joel] Your watch is broken.
Ibu Ratna: [2003, in Indonesian, referring to the virus] I have spent my life studying these things. So please listen carefully. There is no medicine. There is no vaccine.
Agus Hidayat: [in Indonesian] So what do we do?
Ibu Ratna: [in Indonesian] Bomb. Start bombing. Bomb this city, and everyone in it.
Ellie Williams: There’s not going to be anything bad in here?
Joel Miller: Just you.
Ellie Williams: Oh, funny.
Joel Miller: [referring to Ellie] You need to stop talking about this kid like she’s got some kind of life in front of her.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: [to Ellie] I’m going to talk to you like you’re an adult. Okay? Joel and I aren’t good people. We’re doing this for us, because, apparently, you’re worth something. But we don’t know what you’re worth if we don’t know what we have.
Joel Miller: We’ve heard this a million times. Vaccines. Miracle cures. None of it works. Ever.
Ellie Williams: F*** you, man. I didn’t ask for this.
Joel Miller: You and me both. This isn’t going to end well, Tess.
Joel Miller: Long way or short way?
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: I mean, it’s the long way or the “we’re f***ing dead” way.
Ellie Williams: Well, I vote long way, just based on that limited information.
Joel Miller: [as they enter the hotel] How do you even know what this is?
Ellie Williams: Have you heard of books?
Ellie Williams: Ever kill one?
Joel Miller: Yeah, I killed lots of them.
Ellie Williams: Was it hard? Like knowing they were people once?
Joel Miller: Sometimes.
Ellie Williams: [referring to the infected] They’re connected.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: More than you know.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: [after they’ve been attacked] You alright?
Ellie Williams: Well, I didn’t s**t my pants, so.
Ellie Williams: [as she notices she’s been bitten again] You f***ing kidding me? I mean, if it was going to happen to one of us.
Joel Miller: [referring to the wooden panel crossing] Yeah, I know. It looks scary.
Ellie Williams: That was scary. This is wood.
Joel Miller: [as they’re looking out across the city] Is it everything you hoped for?
Ellie Williams: Jury’s still out. But, man, you can’t deny that view.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: [after Joel and Ellie find out she’s been infected] I never ask you for anything, not to feel the way I felt. Shut the f*** up, because I don’t have time. This is your chance. You get her there, you keep her alive, and you set everything right. All the s**t we did. Please say yes, Joel. Please.
Theresa ‘Tess’ Servopoulos: [as she decides to sacrifice herself] Joel, save who you can save.
Frank: We’re going to make friends, and we will invite them to visit. Frank: [to Bill] Love me the way I want you to. Ellie Williams: Did you know diarrhea is hereditary? Eldelstein: [to Henry, referring to Sam] He’s scared because you’re scared. Kathleen: [as Henry gives himself up] It ends the way it ends. Ellie Williams: I mean, I’m on a magic horse with like a million lights. I don’t know how it’s supposed to get better. Joel Miller: [as they’re looking at the giraffes] So, is it everything you hoped for? Ellie Williams: After all we’ve been through, everything I’ve done, it can’t be for nothing. Joel Miller: Look, sometimes things don’t work out the way we hope. You can feel like you’ve come to an end, and you don’t know what to do next. But if you just keep going, you find something new to fight for.
Ellie Williams: [to Joel] I wasn’t going to say I’m sorry. I was going to say that I’ve been thinking about what happened. Nobody made you or Tess take me. Nobody made you go along with this plan. You needed a truck battery, or whatever, and you made a choice. So don’t blame me for something that isn’t my fault.
Ellie Williams: Is there anything bad in here?
Joel Miller: Just you.
Ellie Williams: Ah. Getting funnier.
Ellie Williams: [as they see the remains of a crashed plane] Dude, you got to go up in the sky.
Joel Miller: Yeah, well, so did they.
Ellie Williams: Grim.
Ellie Williams: [as they come across a pile of human bones] Why kill them? Why not just leave them be?
Joel Miller: Dead people can’t be infected.
Bill: [2003, as he’s watching the soldiers taking his neighbors] Not today, you New World Order jackboot f***s.
Bill: Here’s the thing, Frank. If I feed you, then every bum you talk to about it is going to show up here looking for a free lunch, and this is not an Arby’s.
Frank: Well, Arby’s didn’t have free lunch. It was a restaurant. I won’t talk about it to any bums, or hobos, or vagabonds, I promise. I mean, you already know I’m bad at lying.
Bill: Everything tastes good when you’re starving.
Frank: A man who knows to pair rabbit with a Beaujolais.
Bill: I know I don’t seem like the type.
Frank: No, you do.
Frank: So, who’s the girl? Girl you’re singing about?
Bill: There is no girl.
Frank: I know.
Frank: [to Bill] I’m going to start with the simple things. Okay. But before I do, I want you to know that I’m not a whore. I don’t have sex for lunches, not even great ones. So, if I do this, I am going to stay for a few more days.
Frank: [2010, to Bill] Our home isn’t just our house. It’s everything around us!
Frank: [to Bill] Paying attention to things, it’s how we show love. This is my street too. Just let me love it the way I want to.
Bill: We don’t have friends, Frank. We will never have friends, because there are no friends to be had.
Joel Miller: So, what, you were a prepper, or something?
Bill: Survivalist.
Bill: [2013] I’m sorry.
Frank: For what?
Bill: Getting older faster than you.
Frank: I like you older. Older means we’re still here.
Bill: [to Frank] I was never afraid before you showed up.
Frank: [2023, as Frank is sick and in a wheelchair] I promise you, I’m going to stay up.
Bill: Why?
Frank: Because this is my last day.
Frank: [to Bill] Well, I’m not going to give you the “every day was a wonderful gift from God” speech. I’ve had a lot of bad days. I’ve had bad days with you too. But I’ve had more good days with you than with anyone else. Just give me one more good day. Starting now.
Frank: [to Bill] Make me some toast. Then take me to the boutique, where I’ll pick outfits for us. You’ll wear what I ask. And we’ll get married. And you’ll cook a delicious dinner. Then you will crush all of these up, put them in my wine. I will drink it. Then you will take me by my hand, bring me to our bed, and I will fall asleep in your arms.
Bill: This isn’t the tragic suicide at the end of the play. I’m old. I’m satisfied. And you were my purpose.
Frank: I do not support this. I should be furious. But from an objective point of view, it’s incredibly romantic.
Ellie Williams: [reading Bill’s letter to Joel] Anyway, I never liked you, but still, it’s like we’re friends. Almost. And I respect you. So, I’m going to tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand. I used to hate the world, and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do. And God help any m*****f***ers who stand in our way.
Joel Miller: [to Ellie] If I’m taking you with me, there’s some rules you got to follow. Rule one, you don’t bring up Tess. Ever. Matter of fact, we can just keep our histories to ourselves. Rule two, you don’t tell anyone about your condition. They see that bite mark, they won’t think it through. They’ll just shoot you. Rule three, you do what I say when I say it.
Ellie Williams: [as she sits in a car for the first time] It’s like a spaceship.
Joel Miller: No, it’s like a piece of s**t Chevy S10. But it’ll get us there. I think.
Ellie Williams: “It doesn’t matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery. No Pun Intended, Volume Too” by Will Livingston.
Ellie Williams: “What did the mermaid wear to her math class? An algae bra.” Like algae bra. “I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.”
Joel Miller: That is twenty year-old Chef Boyardee ravioli.
Ellie Williams: That guy was good.
Joel Miller: I actually agree.
Ellie Williams: Can I ask you a serious question?
Joel Miller: Yeah.
Ellie Williams: “Why did the scarecrow get an award?”
Joel Miller: Because he was outstanding in his field.
Joel Miller: Tommy’s what we used to call a “joiner”. Dreams of becoming a hero.
Ellie Williams: If you don’t think there’s hope for the world, why bother going on? I mean, you got to try, right?
Joel Miller: You haven’t seen the world, so you don’t know. You keep going for family. That’s about it.
Ellie Williams: I’m not family.
Joel Miller: No. You’re cargo. And I made a promise to Tess. And she was like family.
Ellie Williams: They’re not FEDRA, and they’re not Fireflies. So who are they?
Joel Miller: People.
Joel Miller: [after Ellie had to shoot at Bryan] I mean, it was my fault. You shouldn’t have had to. And I’m sorry.
Ellie Williams: It wasn’t my first time.
Joel Miller: We’ll get through this.
Ellie Williams: I know.
Ellie Williams: Where would you be without me, huh?
Joel Miller: By now, Wyoming.
Ellie Williams: Oh, yeah. Walked into that one.
Ellie Williams: How did you know it was an ambush?
Joel Miller: I’ve been on both sides. It was a long time ago. We did what we needed to survive.
Ellie Williams: [to Joel] Did you kill innocent people?
Ellie Williams: Get up, you lazy a**.
Joel Miller: Lazy a**. Fifty-six years-old, you little s**t.
Joel Miller: I’m just saying, it isn’t fair, your age, having to deal with all of this.
Ellie Williams: So it gets easier when you get older?
Joel Miller: No, not really. But still.
Joel Miller: What?
Ellie Williams: Yeah. It runs in your jeans.
Joel Miller: Jesus. That is so goddamn stupid.
Joel Miller: [as he’s laughing at her joke] Jesus, I’m losing it.
Ellie Williams: You’re losing it big time.
Henry: [to Joel] My name’s Henry. That’s my brother, Sam. I’m the most wanted man in Kansas City. Although right now, my guess is you’re running a close second.
Joel Miller: [to Henry] Look, you ate, we didn’t kill each other, let’s call this a win-win and move on.
Joel Miller: You’re not FEDRA.
Henry: No. worse. I’m a collaborator.
Joel Miller: I don’t work with rats.
Henry: Yeah, you f***ing do. Today you do, because I live here, and you don’t. That’s how I followed you here. I know this city, and that’s how I’m going to help you get out.
Joel Miller: [referring to going through the tunnels] Oh, that’s your great plan?
Henry: No, that’s my dicey-as-f*** plan. But as far as I can tell, it’s our only shot.
Ellie Williams: [to Sam, referring to the comic book] “To the edge of the universe and back. Endure and survive.”
Joel Miller: [to Henry] If you were collaborating to take care of him, I shouldn’t have said what I said. I don’t know your situation. And I’m not saying they should let it go, but all things considered, seems kind of cruel to send a whole army after you for that.
Henry: [to Joel] I am the bad guy because I did a bad guy thing. But you get it though. You might not be her father, but you were someone’s.
Kathleen: Well, kids die, Henry. They die all the time. You think the whole world revolves around him? That he’s worth everything? Well, this is what happens when you f*** with fate.
[as she’s about to kill Henry, a crowd of infected emerge from the ground to attack them]
Joel Miller: I think it’s easier when you’re a kid anyway. You don’t have anybody else relying on you. That’s the hard part.
Henry: Well, I guess we’re doing a good job then.
Joel Miller: What’s that comic book say? “Endure and survive”?
Henry: “Endure and survive.” That s**t’s redundant.
Joel Miller: Yeah, it’s not great.
Ellie Williams: [on Sam’s board] I’m scared of ending up alone. What about you?
Sam: [on his board] If you turn into a monster, is it still you inside?
he then reveals the bite from the infected on his leg
Sam: [on his board, after Ellie uses her blood to try and heal him] Stay awake with me.
Ellie Williams: I promise.
Ellie Williams: [on Sam’s board as she leaves it on his grave] I’m sorry.
Ellie Williams: Joel, come on. They’re like a thousand.
Marlon: Who’s this little psycho?
Marlon: If you got a map, why you lost?
Ellie Williams: Must’ve missed all the street signs in the enormous f***ing forest.
Joel Miller: You got any advice on the best way west?
Marlon: Yeah. Go east.
Ellie Williams: You can do anything you want. Where are you going? What are you doing?
Joel Miller: It’s never been an option. Maybe an old farmhouse, some land, a ranch.
Joel Miller: I would raise sheep. They’re quiet. Do what they’re told.
Ellie Williams: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So, just you and a bunch of sheep. Romantic.
Joel Miller: And what about you? Where are you going to go?
Ellie Williams: It’s probably because I grew up in the QZ. Behind you, there’s ocean, and ahead of you, there’s a wall. Nowhere else to look but up.
Ellie Williams: [referring to gutting a dead animal] Why do they call it dressing? It’s like you should call it undressing, because it is. It’s like undressing from the inside.
Ellie Williams: [as they come across a dam] So that made electricity?
Joel Miller: Yeah. Don’t ask me. I don’t have a clue.
Ellie Williams: You know, you could’ve just made something up. I would’ve believed you.
Tommy Miller: What the f*** you doing here?
Joel Miller: I came here to save you.
Joel Miller: It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper meal.
Ellie Williams: Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper meal. This is f***ing amazing.
Tommy Miller: A bad reputation doesn’t mean you’re bad.
Maria Miller: Not always, at least.
Tommy Miller: Everything you see in our town, greenhouses, livestock, all shared. Collective ownership.
Joel Miller: So, communism.
Tommy Miller: No. No, it ain’t like that.
Maria Miller: It is that. Literally. This is a commune. We’re communists.
Joel Miller: Those things I did, Tommy, those things that you judge me for, I did those things to keep us alive.
Tommy Miller: We did those things. And they weren’t “things”. We murdered people. And I don’t judge you for it. We survived the only way we knew how. But there were other ways. We just weren’t any good at them.
Tommy Miller: [to Joel] Just because life stopped for you, doesn’t mean it has to stop for me.
Maria Miller: Who’s been cutting your hair?
Ellie Williams: World-class salons.
Maria Miller: [to Ellie] There’s a whole lot you’re not telling me. Good. Therein lies the point. Be careful who you put your faith in. The only people who can betray us, are the ones we trust.
Maria Miller: Grab your super f***ing eggplant coat.
Ellie Williams: Where are we going?
Maria Miller: The movies.
Joel Miller: [to Tommy] You think I can still handle things, but I’m not who I was. I’m weak. Lately, there are these moments where the fear comes up out of nowhere, and my heart feels like it’s stopped.
Joel Miller: And I have dreams. Every night.
Tommy Miller: What kind of dreams?
Joel Miller: I don’t know. I can’t remember. I just know that when I wake up, I’ve lost something. I’m failing in my sleep. That’s all I do. It’s all I’ve ever done is fail her, again, and again, and again.
Tommy Miller: You want me to take her.
Joel Miller: I’m just going to get her killed. I know it. I know it. I have to leave her.
Joel Miller: Tommy, you’re the only one I trust. If anyone else sees those bites on her, what’s under her skin, they’ll shoot her. It’s the last thing I’ll ever ask of you. I swear.
Ellie Williams: Is this really all they had to worry about? Boys. Movies. Deciding which shirt goes with which skirt. It’s bizarre.
Ellie Williams: Do you give a s**t about me or not?
Joel Miller: Of course, I do.
Ellie Williams: Then what are you so afraid of?
Ellie Williams: I’m sorry about your daughter, Joel. But I have lost people too.
Joel Miller: You have no idea what loss is.
Ellie Williams: [to Joel] Everybody I have cared for has either died or left me. Everybody, f***ing except for you! So don’t tell me that I’d be safer with somebody else because the truth is I would just be more scared.
Joel Miller: [to Ellie] You’re right. You’re not my daughter. And I sure as hell ain’t your dad. Now, come dawn, we’re going our separate ways.
Joel Miller: You deserve a choice. I still think you’d be better off with Tommy.
Tommy Miller: Let’s go.
Joel Miller: Okay.
Joel Miller: Back then, there were basically two main ways of looking at things. Some people wanted to own everything. And some people didn’t want anyone to own anything at all.
Ellie Williams: Which one were you?
Joel Miller: Neither. I just did my job.
Joel Miller: We were called “contractors”.
Ellie Williams: “The Contractor”. That’s pretty cool.
Ellie Williams: [after Joel admits he wanted to be a singer] Well, you’re singing for me later. I’m going to save the f***ing world, man. It’s the least you can do for me.
Joel Miller: Fair enough.
Ellie Williams: [after Joel’s been stabbed by the raiders] Joel, open your eyes. Open your eyes. Joel, you got to get up. I can’t f***ing do this without you. I don’t know where the f*** I’m going, what the f*** I’m going to do. Joel. Please. Joel, please.
Cpt. Kwong: [flashback, after she beats up Bethany] You’re smart, Ellie. You’re so smart, you’re stupid.
Cpt. Kwong: [to Ellie] I care because no matter what anyone out there says or thinks, we’re the only thing holding this all together. If we go down, the people in the zone will starve or murder each other. That much I know. There’s a leader in you. And one day, it could be your turn. Or not.
Riley Abel: [to Ellie] I’m just saying, you can’t fight everything and everyone. You can pick and choose what’s important.
Riley Abel: [to Ellie, after they enter the mall] No one can see s**t but us. Just me and you. And you ain’t seen nothing yet. Tonight, I’m going to show you the four wonders of the mall.
Ellie Williams: [as she’s experiencing the escalater for the first time] So this is the first wonder, right?
Riley Abel: Yeah, sure. There can be five wonders in this mall.
Ellie Williams: [referring to the photo booth] Is that a time machine?
Ellie Williams: [referring to the arcade] This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Riley Abel: [from the pun book] “What did the frustrated cannibal do?”
Ellie Williams: Lay it on me.
Riley Abel: “He threw up his hands.”
Ellie Williams: [from the pun book] “What did the triangle say to the circle? You’re so pointless.”
Ellie Williams: [from the pun book] “How does a computer get drunk? It takes screenshots.”
Riley Abel: What are screenshots?
Ellie Williams: I don’t actually know.
Riley Abel: [to Ellie] You don’t know what it was like to have a family. To belong. I mean, I didn’t have them for long, but I had them. I belonged to them.
Ellie Williams: [after they’ve been attacked and infected] What are we going to do?
Riley Abel: The way I see it, we got two options. One, we take the easy way out. It’s quick, painless. No. No, I don’t like option one. Option two, we just keep going.
Riley Abel: It ends this way for everyone sooner or later, right? Some of us just get there faster than others. But we don’t quit. Whether it’s two minutes, or two days, we don’t give that up. I don’t want to give that up. We can just be all poetic and s**t and lose our minds together.
David: It’s hard to trust strangers. I know. But I honestly mean you no harm. And for what it’s worth, there’s room for you in our group, if you want.
Ellie Williams: You’re inviting me to your Hunger Club? Thanks.
Ellie Williams: They “chose to follow you”. Is this some weird cult thing?
David: Well, you sort of kind of got me there. I am a preacher.
Ellie Williams: [to David] So you went from teacher to preacher because, what? It f***ing rhymes?
David: Well, I found God after the Apocalypse. Which is either the best time or the worst time to find Him, hard to say.
David: There’s no such thing as luck. No, I believe everything happens for a reason.
David: You can’t survive on your own. No one can. But I can help you. Let me protect you.
Ellie Williams: I’m not on my own.
Ellie Williams: You’re going to chop me up into little pieces.
David: I’d rather not.
David: If you want to judge me…
Ellie Williams: Judge you? You’re eating people, you sick f***!
Ellie Williams: You’re an animal.
David: Well, yes. We all are. That’s sort of the point.
David: [to Ellie] You see a lot. So do I. And you know what I see when I look at you? Me. You remind me of me. You’re a natural leader. You’re smart, loyal. Violent.
David: What does Cordyceps do? Is it evil? No. It’s fruitful. It multiplies. It feeds and protects its children. And it secures its future with violence, if it must. It loves.
Ellie Williams: Tell them that Ellie is the little girl who broke your f***ing finger!
David: How did you put it? Hmm? “Tiny little pieces”?
Ellie Williams: [to David, after they see her infected bite] What did you say? Everything happens for a reason, right?
David: [after he’s caught Ellie] I thought you already knew. The fighting is the part I like the most. Don’t be afraid. “There’s no fear in love.”
[Ellie then manages to grab the butcher knife and kill him]
Joel Miller: [as he find Ellie and embraces her] It’s me. It’s me. Look. It’s me. It’s me. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay, baby girl. I got you. I got you. Okay.
Anna Williams: [flashback, after she’s attacked by an infected and gives birth] Hey. Oh. Yeah, you tell them. You f***ing tell them, Ellie.
Ellie Williams: It’s got its ups and downs, but you can’t deny that view.
Joel Miller: Maybe there’s nothing bad out there, but so far there’s always been something bad out there.
Ellie Williams: We’re still here though.
Ellie Williams: [to Joel] I know you mean well. I know you want to protect me. You have. And when we’re done, we’ll go wherever you want. Tommy’s, sheep ranch, the moon. I’ll follow you anywhere you go. But there’s no halfway with this. We finish what we started.
Joel Miller: It was me. I was the guy who shot and missed. There’s no story. Sarah died, and I couldn’t see the point anymore. Simple as that. And I wasn’t scared either. I was ready. I couldn’t have been more ready. When I went to pull the trigger, I flinched. I still don’t know why.
Ellie Williams: So time heals all wounds, I guess.
Joel Miller: It wasn’t time that did it.
Joel Miller: You know what I’m in the mood for?
Ellie Williams: What?
Joel Miller: S**tty puns.
Ellie Williams: [as she gets out her pun book] Oh-ho-ho. “People are making apocalypse jokes like there’s no tomorrow.” Too soon?
Joel Miller: No, it’s topical.
Ellie Williams: Oh, I love this one. “Moon rocks taste better than Earth rocks. Why? Because they’re meteor.”
Joel Miller: Oh, that’s terrible.
Ellie Williams: “What did the green grape say to the purple grape? Breathe, you idiot.”
Joel Miller: [after Firefly soldiers capture them] It was all her. She fought like hell to get here.
Marlene: She would’ve been dead on day one. You are the one person I never wanted to be in debt to. But I owe you. We all owe you.
Marlene: I was there when she was born, Joel. I promised her mother that I would save her child. I promised. So I do understand. I’m the only one who understands. I’m sorry. I have no other choice.
Joel Miller: I do.
Marlene: You can’t keep her safe forever. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many people you kill, she’s going to grow up, Joel. And then you’ll die. She’ll leave. Then what? How long till she’s torn apart by Infected, or murdered by raiders? Because she lives in a broken world that you could have saved.
Joel Miller: Maybe. But it isn’t for you to decide.
Marlene: Or you.
Marlene: [to Joel] So what would she decide, huh? Because I think she’d want to do what’s right. And you know it. It’s not too late. Even now, even after what you’ve done. We can still find a way.
Joel Miller: [to Ellie, referring to Sarah] She would have liked you. Not to say the two of you are the same. Definitely different kids.
Ellie Williams: Swear to me. Swear to me that everything you said about the Fireflies is true.
Joel Miller: I swear.
Ellie Williams: Okay.
