The Last of Us Part II was released in June 2020 and with that came a lot of controversy regarding the cast and story of the game. The game pushed the storytelling boundaries which divided the whole community.
The character, who was at the center of all this controversy was Joel Miller. He was killed in the story and that started the outrage from the fans as he was very beloved by the whole community. But Troy Baker, the voice actor of the character, came out and defended the creative’s decision to this date.
The Controversy Surrounding Joel’s Death in The Last of Us Part 2
Joel Miller was the main character of The Last of Us with Ellie. Players loved their character development and grew attached to them. So when in Part 2, a new character called Abby killed Joel. It made the whole community filled with rage.
The controversy gained more fuel when fans learned that they would see Abby’s perspective and learn about what motivated her to do the “wrong” deed. The players felt betrayed and started calling out creatives for being manipulative to earn some sympathy points for Abby.
The outrage was so severe that fans didn’t leave any place to show their discontent. They posted on social media, online forums and even went on to review sites. All the criticisms were focused on how the game’s creative disrespected Joel’s character and ruined the game for them.
Fans’ voices reached the Character’s voice actor but the actor supported the creatives and told fans that games should take some risks and bold actions to surprise the players. He felt that this move added more depth to the story and made players emotionally attached.
Troy Baker Stood beside the Creative team of The Last of Us Part 2
Troy Baker is a well-known voice actor and has voice-acted many characters, who are complex and has a deep background story. His portrayal of Joel in The Last of Us was great and earned him respect from the players.
In The Last of Us Part II, Baker was again tasked to reprise the role of Joel. But this time the task was even more difficult as he will see his character meet a violent end. Even though Baker loved Joel’s background story and his complex nature, he supported the creatives. He even challenged the fans or critics who were criticizing the game. Baker said in an interview:
There’s not a single aspect of the game, Part 2, that I would change. Any time someone comes up to me and says, ‘You know, I didn’t really like what they did to Joel,’ I was like ‘Great. Awesome. Tell me a better version of the story.’ And to this day they still can’t.
Baker explained that he is also sad that Joel died but he is seeing a bigger picture. He felt that this connection of fans with Joel was what the narrator used to make the story of the game even more memorable experience.
