Explaining The Importance of The Last of Us' Giraffe Scene

gamerant.com:

The Last of Us puts players through a roller coaster of emotions. As Joel, players escort a young Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States. Along the way, they see what happens when a Cordyceps-type fungus infects humanity and spreads throughout the population.

Compared to its previous work on games like Uncharted and the Jak and Daxter series, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us can be bleak. With a good chunk of humanity transformed into Infected, the remaining populace fights for survival. While some retain their humanity, others throw away diplomacy in favor of more violent methods. Joel and Ellie come across multiple human groups on their journey, each of which has its own way of surviving. Yet there are lighter moments that even out the narrative, with perhaps the most iconic of these moments having to do with Joel, Ellie, and a pack of wild giraffes. Spoilers for The Last of Us ahead.

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As players approach the game's finale, they see Ellie traumatized and exhausted from her and Joel's encounter with a man named David and his group of cannibals; the worst humanity has to offer. It is at this point where her doubt in their journey to reach the Fireflies hits an all-time low. Apart from the fact that every discovery she and Joel have made comes to mediocre results, Ellie starts to wonder if her immunity to the Cordyceps fungus will help humanity find a cure.

Then, after being boosted up a ledge by Joel, Ellie spots something that players can't see. She drops the ladder intended for Joel and runs toward the unknown anomaly. Players' minds likely immediately go to thoughts of Infected or Hunters thanks to the events of the previous season. As they catch up to Ellie,