If The Last of Us was a JRPG, Joel Miller would likely have been the villain of the story. The plot device of a man who cares so deeply for one woman that they threaten the survival of humanity is actually commonplace enough in JRPGs to be a trope at this point. The recent Japanese Action RPG Scarlet Nexus featured a similar narrative, where the “Joel figure” served as the primary antagonist, and many other JRPGs and anime series have used this narrative in the past. These villains, motivated by love and desperation, are typically sympathetic antagonists who must be stopped in order to save the world, in JRPG tradition. The Last of Us took the reverse approach, making its own JRPG villain the protagonist of the story.
[Warning: Spoilers for The Last Of Us, Scarlet Nexus, and Shadow Hearts: Covenant, below.]
In the infamous ending sequence of The Last of Us, Joel weighs the life of the person he cares for the most against the salvation of the human race and chooses Ellie, his surrogate daughter, over humanity’s survival. The main conflict in Scarlet Nexus is initially a battle between human psychics and extradimensional “Others,” but the revelation of the meaning of Scarlet Nexus’ Red Strings comes later in the game, as it is revealed that both playable protagonists, Kasane and Yuito, can facilitate time travel. Commander Karen Travers, who has the power to steal other psychics’ powers, then emerges as the true antagonist, repeatedly trying to change the past in an effort to save Alice, the woman he loved, from becoming an Other. Travers’ attempts to change history have consequences, creating a black hole called the Kunad Gate which will end the world if he is not stopped.
Though the Others are a threat to humanity in Scarlet Nexus, Karen Travers’ obsession with saving Alice poses the greater danger. Similarly, Joel is villainous in The Last of Us, as he prioritizes Ellie’s survival over creating a cure for the Cordyceps Infection, a fungal parasite that transforms humans into monsters. Both of these characters are motivated by love for an individual, a love that blinds them to the consequences of their actions which damn the entire human race. This certainly makes for a sympathetic and compelling antagonist, one not motivated by greed or nihilism, but myopic, all-consuming love for one person at the cost of everyone else.
Joel Fits The Mold As An Archetypical JRPG Villain Motivated By Love
Many other JRPGs feature similar thematic elements. Shadow Hearts: Covenant, a cult-classic PlayStation 2 JRPG from a short-lived series, transformed a comical supporting character from the original Shadow Hearts, Masaji Kato, into the antagonist of Covenant. In the first game, Kato confessed his love to his superior, Lt. Colonel Yoshiko Kawashima, shortly before she was shot in the back. In Covenant, Kato has risen in rank, and uses his newly obtained military power to pursue an ancient relic called the Émigré Manuscript. This artifact would enable Kato to rewrite history, undoing Kawashima’s death, but also ending the world as the heroes know it and costing countless lives. The story of Scarlet Nexus contains obvious parallels, as abuse of the Red Strings power to save Alice also threatens the world. Both games also featured antagonists whose motives, and actions, mirrored Joel’s in The Last of Us.
With this role reversal, the villainous protagonist succeeds in defending his loved one, leaving humanity without hope for recovery. This set up the connection between The Last of Us 2’s Abby and Joel, as she sets out to avenge her father, the Firefly surgeon who would have created the cure, absent Joel’s interference. There are things that separate Joel from the end bosses of various JRPGs, of course: He acts to prevent a death that would save humanity, rather than destroying humanity in the process of trying to undo one. Ellie’s sacrifice would have allowed for a cure for a virus, a hope Joel eliminates by slaying the Fireflies, rather than through the use of a plot device like time travel or a supernatural relic. Still, in terms of motive and his role in the setting of The Last of Us, Joel has far more in common with the antagonists of many JRPGs like Scarlet Nexus than he does the heroes, as his love for one girl dooms the human race.
