Epilogue of the epilogue
The
One Night Live epilogue is quoted by Druckmann as a way of "saying goodbye" to Joel and Ellie."
The curtain rises and we see Ellie sitting in what appears to be a normal room for a teenage girl in the post-apocalyptic world, with posters all over the wall, some of which, like 'The Dawn of the Wolf' poster were seen earlier in the game. The bedroom is simple: a bed,
cuddly giraffe, nightstand, drawers, lamp, desk, and a swivel chair that Ellie is sitting in. She appears to be writing something as she glances out the window, the light of the moon outside lighting her desk. Ellie is listening to her infamous Walkman and headphones, music playing away.
Joel walks in and knocks on the door, calling Ellie's name. After a couple attempts, he enters the room and taps her shoulder, startling her.
"I didn't mean to scare you," Joel starts.
Joel/Troy sings for Ellie/Ashley.
Ellie stands up and waves him off, saying that it's okay as she pulls off her headphones. She leans against the desk and, after a bit of an awkward pause, asks Joel "What's up?" There is some tension in the air — when Druckmann set the scene, he said that this was after Joel lied to Ellie, and his intonation made it seem that Ellie was knowledgeable of that fact. This explains the dissonance of the scene and potential resentment Ellie has for Joel.
Joel starts off slowly, saying that they haven't talked for a little while and he wanted to check in on her. He tells her that some kids found some water guns and were playing with them outside that day. He had hoped to have seen Ellie out there playing too. Ellie quickly responds by telling him that she's more needed repairing the outer wall with Maria and that she doesn't have time for that. Sitting down on the corner of the bed, Joel tells her that everyone has been really impressed with Ellie but that it's okay to take a break from work every once in a while. Joel can sense that he isn't getting anywhere and changes the subject.
He talks about how Tommy has made him part of their militia group and that things have "calmed down out there somewhat." Tommy apparently has paired Joel up with a woman named Esther, with Joel confessing that he thinks Tommy wants to see them "hitched."
"She's got a great sense of humor, Ellie... I think you'd like her. Why, just the other day she told me one of them jokes that you like... now how did it go?"
While Joel starts mumbling to himself, trying to remember the joke, Ellie interrupts. She mentions that it is late and that she needs to get going with the additional repairs needed for the outer wall. Joel is a bit deflated, but quickly recovers.
"I have something I want to show you. It'll just take a minute. One minute." Joel leaves through the bedroom door and quickly returns with a guitar in hand.
"What's that supposed to be?" Ellie says, somewhat sarcastically.
"Well I done hear that some people call this a gui-tar." Joel says, really pouring on his Texan accent. He gets a laugh from the audience and a quiet chuckle out of Ellie.
"I know that," Ellie says and asks him again what it is for. Joel sits down on Ellie's bed and confesses that he has been working on a song for some time.
"I started working on it... well, that's not important," hinting that he may have originally begun writing it for Sarah. Ellie sits in her swivel chair, drawing up one of her legs to her chest as Joel begins to play and sing select verses from "Future Days" by Pearl Jam.
The cast after the show.
The performance is tender as Joel sings about the pain that they've gone through and how much it means to him that they still have each other — "you and I." It is uncertain whether or not it was Ashley Johnson or what Ellie was supposed to be doing, but as Troy/Joel performed, Ashley/Ellie silently shed a few tears, wiping them away slowly. As the guitar and Joel fall silent, an emotional Ellie quietly responds "That was beautiful, Joel." The tension and distance between Joel and Ellie is gone now, replaced with genuine fatherly-daughterly love.
Joel thanks Ellie, stands and extends the guitar to her.
"What... I can't play, Joel."
"I know... but I promised you that I would teach you how to play guitar. Take it. It's yours."
Ellie, touched that Joel remembered, reaches out and takes it saying, "You did." A warm silence falls and Joel begins to excuse himself. "It's getting late and we both need our rest." Joel heads for the door as Ellie falls back into her swivel chair.
"What was the joke you heard the other day?" Ellie says, breaking the silence and bringing Joel to a full stop before exiting through the door.
Joel turns around, and with a soft smile on his face asks, "What's the hardest part about eating clocks?" Ellie shakes her head and puts up her hands, giving up.
Joel smirks and says, "It's time consuming."
They both share a little laugh. "That is pretty bad," a smiling Ellie responds. "Yeah, it's one of the worst I've heard," says Joel. "Well, goodnight, Ellie." Joel walks out the door, a little slow to remove his hand from the door frame.
Ellie picks up the guitar to her chest and looks it over slowly. She rests it in her lap and plucks a single note as the lights come down.