I don’t think she was ever romantically invested in Sam. They got along because they both were just kids in a shitty world, and I think Sam might have had some feelings towards her, but Ellie definitely didn’t.
I also didn't got the impression that they were attracted to each other.
But I really dig your profile picture
I assumed that the first game was meant to make her straight, then the dlc was added to make her more inclusive and bi (or maybe in that weird stage where girls will make out with other girls), saying that Winston was hot when younger and whatever, then part 2 was shoehorned in and they wanted to make it all gay and whatever. Even the enemies are mostly gay, which is honestly the dumbest thing for a survivalist society where breeding is put above romance.
The way I see it is, Ellie probably didn't have herself figured out when she was 14--that's pretty normal for most teenagers. The same goes for sexuality. You'd be surprised at how much someone can change in 5 years.
Eh, I never really saw flirtation between Ellie and Sam? They just seemed like two kids excited to see another kid their age, since they probably hadn't in a good while.
But in regards to Left Behind, Druckmann says Ellie was written with the intention that she was gay. Not that this stopped any of the "they're just good friends, girls make out with their girl friends all the time" comments when LB came out 😂
I was writing it with the idea that Ellie is gay, and when the actresses were working they were definitely working with the idea that they’re both attracted to each other. That was the subtext and intention that they were playing with from the opening cinematic when they’re holding each other’s hands for too long, or when Riley bites her on the neck; there’s that chemistry there from the get go that was important for us so that we earned that moment when they kissed each other.
What do you think?