Everyone remembers the watch. That broken-faced watch Joel Miller wears throughout the first game isn’t just a piece of jewelry. It’s a tether to the night the world ended and his daughter, Sarah, died in his arms. It’s honestly one of the most brutal openings in gaming history.
Joel isn’t your typical hero. Not even close. By the time we meet him in the Boston Quarantine Zone, twenty years after the outbreak, he’s a smuggler. He’s hardened. He’s done things that would make most people flinch just to stay alive.
When Naughty Dog released The Last of Us in 2013, they didn't give us a moral paragon. They gave us a man who had "few moral lines left to cross." That’s a direct quote from the character sheet Troy Baker, the actor who played Joel, saw during his audition. It became his anchor for the character.
The Man Behind the Beard
Joel Miller was born on September 26, 1967. He grew up in Austin, Texas, alongside his younger brother, Tommy. Before the Cordyceps brain infection turned the world into a fungus-riddled nightmare, Joel was just a single dad working as a contractor. He liked music. He wanted to be a singer.
Then 2003 happened.
The death of Sarah changed everything. It didn't just make him sad; it broke his internal compass. For the next two decades, Joel lived in the "gray" area of morality. He was a hunter. He was a smuggler. He hurt people. He survived because he stopped caring about anyone but himself and Tommy—and even that relationship eventually fractured.
What Most People Get Wrong About Joel
A lot of players think Joel is a "good guy" who does bad things. It’s actually more complicated. Creative director Neil Druckmann has often described Joel as morally complex. He’s a survivor first.
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When he meets Ellie, he doesn't want to save her. He doesn't want to save the world. To him, she’s just "cargo." He’s only doing the job because he wants a car battery to find Tommy.
The shift is slow. It’s subtle. It happens in the quiet moments, like when Ellie makes him laugh with a pun book or when they see the giraffes in Salt Lake City. By the time they reach the Fireflies, Ellie isn't cargo anymore. She’s his daughter.
That Ending (You Know the One)
We have to talk about the hospital. It’s the most debated moment in gaming.
Joel finds out that to create a vaccine, the Fireflies have to kill Ellie. They don't ask her permission. They don't ask his. They just tell him she’s going into surgery and he needs to leave.
Joel doesn't leave.
He kills everyone. He kills the guards. He kills the doctors. He kills Marlene. Then, he lies to Ellie about it.
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Was He Right?
There’s no easy answer. From a utilitarian perspective? He’s a monster. He doomed humanity for one girl. But from a parental perspective? Most parents say they’d do the exact same thing.
- The Fireflies' Failure: They were desperate. They rushed the surgery without looking for alternatives.
- The Choice: Ellie never got to choose. Joel took that from her, but the Fireflies were going to take her life.
- The Lie: This is what hurts the most. Joel knew that if Ellie knew the truth, she might have chosen to die. He lied to protect his own heart as much as hers.
The Joel of Part II
By the time The Last of Us Part II rolls around, Joel has changed. He’s living in Jackson. He’s softer. He’s carving wood and playing guitar. He’s trying to be the man he was before the world broke.
But the world doesn't forget.
His death at the hands of Abby Anderson is one of the most polarizing moments in entertainment. Some fans hated it. They felt it was "disrespectful" to the character. But narratively, it makes sense. The "rampage" at the hospital had consequences.
Abby’s father was the head surgeon Joel killed. Her entire life was destroyed by his choice. The cycle of violence is the core theme of the series, and Joel was the one who pulled the trigger that started the final loop.
The Technical Evolution
If you look at the 2013 original versus the PS5 remake (The Last of Us Part I), the difference is wild. The original Joel looked a bit more "video gamey." In the remake, you can see every wrinkle, every bit of exhaustion in his eyes.
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The developers at Naughty Dog actually tweaked his look to better match Troy Baker’s performance. They wanted the facial animations to capture the micro-expressions that make him feel human. In Part II, he looks even older. His hair is grayer. His shoulders are slightly slumped. He carries the weight of his lie every single day.
Why Joel Still Matters
So, why are we still talking about a fictional smuggler from 2013?
Because he represents the messy reality of love. Most stories give us heroes who sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Joel is the guy who sacrifices the greater good for the person he loves.
It’s selfish. It’s beautiful. It’s terrifying.
He’s a reminder that in a world where everything is stripped away, the only thing that matters is the people we hold onto. Even if we have to burn the world down to keep them safe.
Next Steps for Fans:
If you want to understand the character on a deeper level, play through The Last of Us Part I again, but pay attention to the environmental storytelling. Look at the items in Joel’s house in the prologue compared to his room in Jackson in the sequel. The transition from a man who has nothing to a man who finally allowed himself to have a home tells the whole story without saying a word. You can also check out the "Grounded" making-of documentaries to see how Troy Baker and Neil Druckmann argued over specific lines to keep Joel feeling grounded and "real."