Since its first season came out, The Last of Us has been regarded as the best video game adaptation to ever hit our screens. However, while there is good, it is followed by an equal share of bad, which we get to see with Joel’s death in the latest episode of The Last of Us Season 2. Even though this was incredibly sad, one has to applaud the attention to detail given to Joel’s demise, with a familiar song being played in the background at the end of The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 2. Now, if you thought that it was just some random song, you would be highly mistaken since it has a deeper meaning (my video game fans would’ve recognized it already). So, without further ado, let’s dive right into what it stands for!
What is the Song in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 2 Ending?
By the end of TLOU Season 2 Episode 2, we see that Abby has killed Joel and walks away with her crew after injuring Ellie. We see that an injured Ellie crawls to Joel’s dead body and holds him near, and as she does so, we hear a song play in the background in a familiar voice. In the final moments of The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 2, we hear Ashley Johnson’s voice singing “Through the Valley” by Shawn James.
If that name does not ring a bell, let me remind you that Ashley Johnson is the actor who voiced Ellie in both The Last of Us games. She sang this cover for the trailer of The Last of Us 2, and it has now been featured in this episode.
What Does The Song At The End of TLOU Season 2 Episode 2 Mean?
One might think that the song at the end of The Last of Us Season 2 is there to lull the viewers and have them understand the gravity of the events; that is Joel’s death. However, the song “Through the Valley” translates to a much deeper meaning than that. The song serves two purposes — first of all, it acts as a musical representation of the scene, and a particular section of lyrics is layered over here. When Abby had just killed Joel and was walking through the snow with her crew, we hear the lyrics:
“I fear no evil, ’cause I’m blind to it all. And my mind and my gun, they comfort me. Because I know I’ll kill my enemies when they come.”
Similarly, when the Infected attack Jackson, and the colony somehow survives after suffering from massive losses, we see Tommy break down in tears as the lyrics sing,
“Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell on this earth forever more.”
The most well-placed scene to the lyrics was when Joel’s body is being dragged by Jessie and Ellie through the snow, and the lyrics say,
“Oh, and I walk beside the still waters, and they restore my soul. But I know when I die, my soul is damned. But I know when I die, my soul is damned.”
These lyric specifically sound as if Joel is talking to Ellie and is comforting her as he tells her that the day he went guns blazing into that hospital and killed those soldiers and Abby’s father, he knew someday someone will come looking for him for taking so many lives, telling her that his “soul is damned”.
Moreover, one can also look at the song as a warning from Joel to Ellie, warning her not to follow the same path of violence and vengeance he did. However, we all know what is to come from this point on, so let’s wait and see what we have in the upcoming episodes and stay tuned with us for more!
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