The still watch on Joel’s wrist is a symbol most viewers have overlooked in The Last of Us

Joel's daughter Sarah gifted him a wristwatch in The Last of Us, which shattered the moment she died; it gently but powerfully represents loss, immobility, and final regeneration. The watch is a symbol of Joel's survivor's guilt over Sarah's death, and the show's brutal violence and emotional performances take center stage.

Joel starts to heal after Ellie's innocent remark, "your watch is broken," reconnects him to time and the surrogate father-daughter relationship he has with Ellie. This watch brings together themes of memory loss, the changing power of human connection, and HBO's popular series.

The significance of Joel’s broken wristwatch in The Last of Us

HBO's version of The Last of Us focuses on the love between Joel and Ellie, the terrible war scenes, and the post-apocalyptic backdrop. But there is a little item that counts: Joel's shattered wristwatch. The watch, which she had given him before the outbreak, stops functioning, leaving Joel emotionally immobile at the terrible moment his daughter Sarah dies.

Through developer interviews, game reviews, and fan discussions, one may grasp the symbolic significance of the item to Joel and its function in emphasizing key narrative elements.

Concept art and comments from series creator Neil Druckmann suggest the watch was initially intended as a "daughter's gift," allowing Joel's character to emotionally connect with his life before the end of the world.

Sarah fixes Joel's watch to demonstrate to him how much she cares about him. This emphasizes their close bond and Sarah's readiness to assist her father in whatever manner she could.

Joel spent the next twenty years repeating the emotional agony of Sarah's death in 2003—the very moment the watch stopped ticking. Joel's fractured hands reflect "time stopped" for him on the day he lost his daughter. Though it doesn't help, Joel maintains wearing it; this might be a subconscious effort to hold onto the worst day of his life.

Symbolism in The Last of Us

Joel's tendency to stare at his wrist while having breakfast in the first episode communicates years of suffering visually without saying a word. Cinematographer Eben Bolter composed the shots in a way to reflect the watch's frozen hands, underlining Joel's confinement to the moment of his daughter's death until Ellie arrives.

Ellie's remark, "Your watch is broken," startles Joel emotionally and narratively, and begins his nightmares about Sarah's death that night. This sequence foreshadows Joel's eventual role as Ellie's surrogate father and marks the start of his gradual awareness of the passage of time and concern for another person.

Critics say the watch shows Joel's unresolved survivor's guilt; its brokenness mirrors his psychological scars, and his refusal to get it fixed shows his fight against healing. Fans theorized that the watch would symbolically start to operate again as Joel and Ellie grew closer, therefore symbolizing Joel's better emotional state.

The watch connects the two women in Joel's life, from his unconditional love for his daughter Sarah to Ellie's arrival in his life. The discovery in Part II that Ellie never wears the watch hints at Joel's carrying of his past with him, even as he projects his protective and caring character. The series ends with the watch acting as a metaphor of time's duality: a measure of loss and, at the same time, a tool for launching into new beginnings for those who dare to continue.

Though it runs seldom, Joel's wristwatch speaks plenty. It is a physical reflection of the series' study of time, namely how one event of sorrow may stop a person's life and how reconnecting with another person can reset the heart's mechanics.

The reappearance of Joel's nightmares is distressing, but Ellie's modest comment about the broken watch helps him heal emotionally. In the video game and cinematic versions of The Last of Us, this little object is a strong symbol of love, grief, and redemption.

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Divya Burman is a journalist at Primetimer 

She has completed her graduation in English Literature, which fuelled her interest in writing. A curious learner, Divya isn't scared to move out of her comfort zone and reviews her work from a critical point of view.

Divya has multiple years of work experience, including at companies like TechWhoop and Vimana. She also worked as a programme facilitator at MyCaptain.

Divya is also fond of research and keeping herself up to date on the latest trends in the world of fashion. In her free time, she indulges in music and reading and loves to watch films.