What If? The soldier in the last of us didn’t shoot at Joel and his daughter?

[Arlos]

Let’s imagine for a moment that when Joel and Sarah flee the city and come across the soldier, instead of receiving the order to shoot them, he just has to check them for bit and have them move along.
How does this affects Joel and the history of the last of us?

 

[Husky_Khan]

Hmmm it'd be hard to know without knowing what happened in the twenty years of the interim. He was already shown as willing to fight for his daughter, so there's no reason to think he wouldn't be close to just as badass... plus he probably wouldn't be separated from his Brother like our timeline since he felt like going total Lone Wolf. Without guessing much else, it could be conceivable he ends up in Jackson, Wyoming with his Brother and they're all happily raising families there.

Which of course would mean Ellie would be outta luck way back over in Boston a pair of decades later and thus derail the whole main plotline.