Still thinking about the ending and things relating to that...
Perhaps Joel came to the conclusion that the infected aren't what is wrong with the world, but rather that the living human society itself was far worse. I mean think about it, David was probably the most flawed character I can remember seeing in a video game, and to be completely honest Joel himself wasn't far behind. Ellie was perhaps the only character in that game (except for Joel's female mate early on, can't remember her name...) that was prepared to sacrifice herself for the greater good. Everybody else put their own personal survival ahead of everything. Here's a great post I found on a neogaf spoilers thread...
I don't think you understand what the game was doing, you have it the other way around. The Fireflies were no different than any of the other survivors or the government they supposedly loath. They preach about wanting to make humanity better and allow freedom and all that good stuff, but they are stone cold killers and have no problem with sacrificing innocents, even a little girl, for the supposed greater good. Joel allowing them to cut up Ellie to maybe find a cure puts him on the same level as the soldier who killed his daughter. That soldier too was trying to do what was best for the greater good, sacrificing innocents in order to possibly stop the spread of the infection.
Joel through his interactions with Ellie learns to gain his humanity again and begins to understand there is more to the world than just surviving, that there are some things you shouldn't sacrifice just to keep on living, mainly your humanity. I've said it before and I'll say it again the game reinforces the notion that if you have to lose your humanity to save it then its not worth it. The humans in the game are the real monsters, even if they found a cure they would still be monsters in their hearts. Humanity has to earn its survival and it's places like Tommy's camp that is the real future of society.
The rebuilding of family structures and trust is the "cure" humanity needs, not the fascism of the Fireflies.
I don't think Joel cared enough to come to a view about society to be honest, and I didn't see anything tangible to suggest that he formed a view like this. From my perspective, he was a very insular, self-centred character. I don't say this in an overly critical way; it certainly helped him survive the real world and suppress his inner demons, but he was a guy who didn't care about much but surviving and protecting those really close to him.
Agree about the fireflies, but I think this poster is reading way too much into it. Joel did not "regain his humanity". There was no indication that he had changed his values or behaviours at all, outside of letting Ellie into his life out of necessity and then doing whatever he could to protect her. He only let go of Tess because he knew she was already gone due to her infection. Ellie was not in the same, doomed situation when he had the chance to save her.
If you think about when Joel revealed his motivations at the end of the game, he said "you find something to keep fighting/surviving for" or words to that effect. All this really told us is it explained what had been one of his survival tools all along. Remember, this was 20 years after the apocalyptic plague. He had been surviving for that long and his purpose within the city in the beginning was to act as a kind of smuggler alongside his friendship with Tess; it was his purpose, and it's why he decided to take Ellie to the Fireflies when he realised that Tess was gone and he wouldn't be able to get back into the city. Ellie asked him, as they left the subway, why he didn't go back, and he told her exactly this. Because of his need to have a purpose, he took on the ownership of delivering her. What was his alternative at that point in time? He could've hung out with Billl or his brother, but it wouldn't have given him purpose.
Just back on his "humanity", I reject this notion and point to the murder of Marlene. His last words as she begged for her life were "You'll just come after her anyway". What does this mean? In my interpretation, it was an excuse so that he could refuse to show mercy or forgiveness. Think about it... he had effectively killed off the Fireflies so the chances of Marlene coming after Ellie and posing any kind of threat were minimal. Simply put, it was a vengeful act, and it's why I struggled somewhat with the ending. Think about his murder of the hunters when he interrogated them when trying to locate Ellie in winter.. It may not have been a terrible thing given the circumstances, but it was again about revenge. There was nothing humane about taking a machete to a guy's head when his mate has just told you where to find what you're looking for. He could have left them there, but he didn't, because it was how he learned to survive. My point is that nothing about his values changed throughout the story. Ellie
happened to him.
Joel had formed such an attachment to Ellie, that in my view he chose to withhold the truth from her to protect
his own interests, not hers. I have no doubt that she would have followed him and his choices at that point in time anyway, had he told her the truth... but he didnt want to risk it and wanted to keep his reason for living. What would he have done without her? He'd need to find a new reason to keep surviving.
Joel had seen every other inherently good person killed, and most of the time he allowed it. His friend at the start (name still escapes me...), Sam and Henry (whose family values mirrored his, and those present at Tommy's), and to a certain but more tenuous extent even Marlene. He refused to let it happen again to Ellie, no matter the cost.
I dunno, I'm just thinking. Perhaps this game is deeper than I initially had thought.
Also, how did everyone play the operating room? That was one of the best bits of a game I've ever seen, because you walk in there and are forced to completely use your instincts. I didn't even realise I didn't have to kill all, or indeed any of the surgeons until I read up on it later. In fact, I shot all three in the face and then went back to the guy with the knife and shot him in the head again. I guess the mental anguish of fighting through the bastards in the hospital took over, and that my desperation became real.
I walked into the operating room and realised that the game would only give me one choice. I didn't want to kill any of them but the first guy makes you take him out when you walk towards Ellie. The other option was to turn off the PS3... basically no choice. I did leave the other two surgeons, though
The way I see it, this game was about a relationship between Joel and Ellie, how they related and connected with each other and formed a special bond. It was also about what it takes to survive; how much of a mental battle it is to get up each day and survive when all odds are against you. In fact, I'd say Naughty Dog deliberately made the game such a moral conflict so as to demonstrate that the story was not about right or wrong at all. Joel was a likable character, but he was no saint. The player/viewer was meant to see him for all his good and bad attributes. It was about his story, no less and no more.