Now that the entirety of season 2 of The Last Of Us has been released, one thing is clear: Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) might be dead, but his legacy lives on in his adopted daughter Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey)—for better or for worse. These two became a found family unit in season 1, when Joel was tasked with taking Ellie across the country in the search for a cure to the deadly disease that has ruined civilization, but the second season deepens (and somehow complicates) their dynamic, showing just how much they love each other—and how that love can truly become the thing that breaks them apart.
While the show is full of plenty of heart-stopping and tragic moments, its the relationship between these two that’s really the beating heart of the show, as well as the comedic relief. Here are the funniest and most heartbreaking quotes between Joel and Ellie in The Last Of Us:
1.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): No, get off of me!
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): It’s me. Look, it’s me. It’s me. It’s okay. It’s okay, baby girl. I got you. I got you.
2.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): There’s not gonna be anything bad in here?
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): Just you.
Ellie: Oh, funny.
3.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): How do you even know what this is?
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Have you heard of books?
4.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): How long do infected live?
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): Oh, I thought you went to school.
Ellie: It’s a really sh*tty one.
5.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Well, don’t you look pretty!
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): … Shut up.
6.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): I stayed up all night—
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): No.
Ellie: —wondering where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.
Joel: Feel free to wait in the truck.
7.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Why did the scarecrow get an award?
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): Because he was outstanding in his field.
Ellie: You d*ck! Did you read this?
Joel: No, now go to sleep.
8.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): I keep going for family. That’s about it.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): I’m not family.
Joel: No. You’re cargo.
9.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): It isn’t fair, at your age. Having to deal with all of this.
10.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Do you give a sh*t about me or not?
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): Of course I do.
Ellie: Then what are you so afraid of?
11.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): You deserve a choice. I still think you’d be better off with Tommy—
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Let’s go.
12.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): Nice and slow.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Are you gonna shoot this thing or get it pregnant?
13.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): So time heals all wounds, I guess.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): It wasn’t time that did it.
14.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): She would’ve liked you. Not to say you two are the same. You’re definitely different kids.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): How so?
Joel: Well, she was a lot more, I want to say, girly—and I’m not saying that you’re not girly—
Ellie: I’m not.
Joel: Yeah, you’re not.
15.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Swear to me. Swear to me that everything you said about the Fireflies is true.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): I swear.
16.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): You did this on purpose?
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): I was just like here we go, and then I f*cking went.
17.
Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal): Making a cure would’ve killed you.
Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey): Then I was supposed to die! That was my purpose! My life would’ve f*cking mattered, but you took that from me! You took it from everyone.
Joel: Yes. And I’ll pay the price, because you’re going to turn away from me. But if somehow I had a second chance at that moment, I would do it all over again.
Ellie: Because you’re selfish.
Joel: Because I love you. In a way you can’t understand. Maybe you never will. But if that day should come, if you should ever have one of your own… well, then I hope you do a little better than me.
Ellie: I don’t think I can forgive you for this. But I would like to try.