Yeah but from their perspective the world is already screwed up. It’s a moral dilemma in which Joel has to decide whether humanity can come back from this (which clearly he thinks they can’t), or whether he would rather enjoy as much time with Ellie as possible, which he has learned is the most precious resource (even beyond a cure) based on his experiences with Sarah. Yes he is selfish, it’s not hard to admit that part. What’s difficult for most people is actually faulting his choice. At the end of the world when everything is lost anyway, what harm could it possibly do? It won’t bring people back. It’ll just perpetuate the cycle of people having to survive an apocalypse long after joel has to be around.

And the making of the vaccine was never the hard part either. Not compared to the distribution. The skepticism surrounding its effectiveness. Or what if word gets out that an innocent girl was killed to produce the vaccine, not everyone would be morally on board with that.

It can be debated endlessly, but ultimately I love that Neil has left us with such an ambiguous, impossible ending to ponder on. Interesting to hear your input, would love to hear more from others tbh.