Those few heartwarming moments are found here.
- Joel and Alex's friendship, full stop. While the game is filled to the brim with untrustworthy, rude, and dangerous people, it's shown Alex and Joel have a formidable trust and respect in one another. Joel even threatens to shoot someone with the only bullet his gun has ever had, and had spent his entire post-Flash life looking for, because he wanted to hurt Alex.
- If you've gotten Joel's Relationship Values up enough, he will actually pull the trigger. He forgets to load first, but it's telling that Joel is willing to use his only bullet to try to save Alex.
- This exchange from the inn scene really sums it up well:
Alex: Become a lone pistolero with an empty gun?Joel: Well, it ain't empty anymore and I'm not alone. - If you do all of Lester's sidequests, he reveals that he has a pristine piece of pork, pretty much unheard of in the wasteland. You can get it and have a full heal later... or Alex can invite Lester to eat it with him and Joel immediately, giving a nice little scene of all three of them sitting and eating at a table together.
- The feast between Downtown Olathe's warlords is strangely cordial and friendly, with Alex and Joel being invited to feast with them. One of the members even strikes up a nice conversation with them, implying that he wants to join up. And then two of the people present reveal that they've converted to the Infinity Franchise and it all goes downhill from there.
