| “ | I know you mean well. I know you want to protect me. You have. And when we're done, we'll go wherever you want. Tommy's... sheep ranch... the moon. I'll follow you anywhere you go. But there's no halfway with this. We finish what we started.
―Ellie's declaration to Joel.[4]
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Ellie Williams is a main character in the first and second seasons of HBO's The Last of Us.
Ellie grew up an orphan in post-apocalyptic America that has been ravaged by the Cordyceps brain infection, to which she is immune.[5] In hopes of creating a vaccine, Marlene tasks Joel Miller with smuggling her out of Boston to the Fireflies.[6] The year long journey caused the pair to form a close bond with one another. Upon reaching the Fireflies in Salt Lake City, Joel learned making the vaccine would kill Ellie, leading him to kill many of the Fireflies, rescue her and take her to a safe haven in Jackson.[4] Now in the winter of 2028, Ellie has come to resent Joel as she forms a new life with her best friend Dina.[7] In 2029, she embarks herself on a journey to Seattle with Dina to kill Abby and her friends to avenge Joel's death.
Quick Answers
What is the significance of Ellie Williams' immunity in The Last of Us?
Who are Ellie Williams' parents in the HBO series?
How does Ellie's birth relate to the Cordyceps brain infection?
What is Joel Miller's mission involving Ellie in The Last of Us?
What year was Ellie Williams born in the HBO series?
Biography
Background and early life
Anna holding a newborn Ellie.
Ellie was born in 2009 to Anna and an unnamed father. During Ellie's birth, Anna was bitten on the thigh by an infected woman. Because of the bite, Ellie was exposed to a trace amount of the Cordyceps brain infection. Ellie did not display any symptoms as Anna quickly cut the umbilical cord before she could receive full exposure to become an infected. Hours later, Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies and Anna's childhood friend, found the two. Anna asked Marlene to take care of Ellie and gave her switchblade to her daughter. Marlene shot Anna in the head and brought Ellie to the Boston quarantine zone.[4]
Ellie grew up in the FEDRA military preparatory school as an orphan in the Boston QZ. While continuing to lead the Fireflies to liberate the Boston QZ from FEDRA, Marlene kept an eye on Ellie growing up.[6] At the school, Ellie was taught how to use a pistol, though with a one-handed grip rather than a two-handed grip.[8] At some point, Ellie befriended another orphan named Riley. As a lesbian, Ellie developed feelings for Riley, but she later disappeared.
Ellie and Riley enjoying the mall.
In September 2023,[9] Riley returned and revealed she joined the Fireflies and invited Ellie to sneak into Liberty Gardens, an abandoned mall for their last night together as the Fireflies were shipping her out to the Atlanta QZ. After spending the night together, Ellie begged Riley not to go. Riley agreed not to, resulting in Ellie kissing Riley and the two falling in love. However, an infected attacked the both of them - biting Ellie on the right arm and Riley on her hand.[10] Contemplating suicide, Ellie was convinced by Riley to keep living and not lose what time they had left with each other. In the hours after they both were bitten, Ellie was unchanged. Riley was not - forcing Ellie to kill Riley.
After the ordinary time to full infection, Ellie did not turn. The Cordyceps that had grown with her since birth produced a chemical messenger that made the new infection in her arm think she already had Cordyceps, thereby not infecting her any further. Ellie wandered back to Boston where Marlene found her and brought her to a Firefly safehouse. Marlene gave Ellie the alias "Veronica" and confiscated her bag and switchblade. Ellie was chained up and monitored by the Fireflies in the safehouse for several days to track the progress of her infection.[6]
Events of HBO's The Last of Us
Season 1
Meeting Joel
Ellie being held captive by the Fireflies.
Three weeks later, the Fireflies tested Ellie's cognitive functions through simple and repetitive tasks. Frustrated, she swore at her captors, insisting she was not meant to be locked up. They left her again to stare at their mantra on the wall: "When you're lost in the darkness".
Hours later, Marlene arrived and returned Ellie her bag and switchblade, unlocked her from her chains, and revealed her plan to sneak Ellie from the city. She mentioned a girl named Riley, as justification that not all Fireflies were terrorists, a remark which made Ellie quiet.
A while later, Marlene met with Robert and his smugglers to secure a car battery from them to help transport Ellie. However, the battery was a dud, leading to a shootout. Ellie hid in her room until a man and woman found a wounded Marlene. Ellie jumped out at the man but was disarmed quickly, training his gun on her. Subdued, Ellie listened as the man and his partner—revealed to be Joel and Tess—agreed to smuggle Ellie to the State House where Firefly members would be waiting for them. Despite not trusting Joel or Tess, Ellie agreed to go with them when Marlene insisted.
The pair then take Ellie back to their apartment. Ellie is left alone, deciding to read a book on the desk. Joel enters and snatches it from her, dismissing her questions about his trading arrangement with two people named Bill and Frank. Ellie asks him what the plan is, to which Joel tells her to wait for Tess to come back. Frustrated, she points out that Joel's watch is broken. She then spends her time looking out the window at the zone's walls until nightfall, when Tess returns.
Joel and Tess take Ellie outside the walls. However, a soldier spots them and makes them kneel for scanning. Knowing what the scan's result will show, Ellie panics and stabs the soldier in the knee. Joel comes to her defense and beats the soldier to death. The scanner then beeps, revealing Ellie is infected. Ellie pleads with Tess that she isn't, stating her bite has healed and is three weeks old. Soldiers suddenly run towards them, forcing the trio to flee.[6]
The trio gets to an abandoned salon where Ellie falls asleep in the middle of the room. When she awakes, she finds Joel and Tess staring at her, the pair still in disbelief that Ellie is immune. Tess asks her what Ellie's plan is, with Ellie revealing Marlene's intentions to use her to make a vaccine against the Cordyceps. After debating, Joel and Tess decide to believe Ellie. She asks them for a gun, but they firmly deny her that.
Ellie and Tess talking.
The group then leaves the salon and traverses downtown Boston. Ellie asks numerous questions about life outside the zone, with Tess answering, from the military bombing cities to the presence of numerous infected variants. Tess asks Ellie about her past, with Ellie insisting she was alone when she was infected and that she lacked any she cared about. They eventually reach a flooded hotel. Ellie reveals she can't swim, but Joel assures her the water is shallow. Ellie then plays make-believe that she is checking in to the hotel but falls back when a skeleton collapses by her. Joel helps her up and the trio head upstairs.
They climb to a higher floor and Tess climbs some rubble to check the other side of the street. Ellie remains with Joel and tries asking about his past. The man avoids her questions. When Tess returns, they overlook the street and see the infected horde below. Tess tells Ellie that, though she is immune, the infected can and will still kill her. The group then heads back down to head through the Bostonian Museum.
Joel shielding Ellie.
When they get there, they find the Cordyceps fungus dead outside but a freshly killed corpse within. They climb the stairs when the ceiling collapses in the hallway, trapping them in the Civil War exhibition. The noise attracts the attention of two clickers. Ellie stands by Joel, who non-verbally signals that clickers can't see them but can hear. Despite their efforts, the clickers detect them and attack. Ellie initially flees with Tess but is separated and scrambles back to Joel. The man protects her, killing the two clickers.
The group then climbs to the roof. Once atop, Ellie walks along a beam to the opposite building and looks out at the view. Joel eventually approaches her and asks her if she likes it. Ellie says she does before Tess insists they keep going. Ellie and Tess then descend a set of maintenance ladders, leaving Joel to look at his broken watch.
A while later, they reach the State House but find it deserted. Ellie stays with Tess but, when Joel determines the Fireflies have died, Tess grabs Ellie and marches them into the building. Once inside, they discover all of the Fireflies are dead. Ellie watches as Tess grows more frantic that they failed and realizes she is infected. Tess confirms this and proves Ellie's immunity by comparing their bite marks. She then makes Joel promise her to get Ellie to the Fireflies somehow. Joel then grabs Ellie and forces her from the building as a horde of infected sprint towards it. They make it outside, turning around as an explosion erupts. Tess and the infected are dead. Ellie stands in shock as Joel marches off, heading towards Lincoln.[10]
Seeking guidance
Ellie asks Joel not to blame her for Tess' death.
Joel and Ellie walk until they are around ten miles from Lincoln. They sleep in the woodlands, Joel letting Ellie borrow his coat to keep warm. By morning, Ellie tells Joel she wants him to understand that she is sorry Tess died and to not blame her for Tess's death. The pair then walk along the path towards Lincoln, with Joel answering Ellie's questions about the outbreak and how FEDRA oppressed and even murdered civilians they were supposedly working to help. They reach an abandoned gas station not far from the town so Joel can collect supplies he had stashed there. Ellie wanders away to search for supplies, finding a tampon box in a secret basement. She is startled by the croak of an infected but finds it trapped in a pile of rubble. Curious, she draws her switchblade and inspects it, before stabbing it, putting it out of its misery. When she returns upstairs, she does not tell Joel what she did.
Joel tells Ellie his conditions for her coming with him.
Hours later, they reach Lincoln. Joel takes Ellie to Bill and Frank's house, only to find it deserted. Ellie wanders the house before finding a letter from Bill. She opens it and reads it to Joel, revealing Bill and Frank had opted to commit suicide but left everything they had for Joel to use. Ellie stays in the house as Joel secures the supplies then they each take showers and prepare to leave. Ellie once again asks for a gun and Joel refuses, despite Bill having collected many. Ellie secretly takes a pistol and puts it in her bag.
Once Joel finishes preparing the truck, he offers Ellie the chance to travel with him to Wyoming to find his brother Tommy. Ellie agrees but Joel makes her promise to follow his orders and never mention Tess. They then get in Bill's truck, Joel helping Ellie put her seat belt on, and the pair drive out of Lincoln.[9]
Detour in Kansas City
Joel and Ellie journey on the road together. However, because gas had aged over the twenty years since the outbreak, they had to regularly stop for Joel to siphon fuel from abandoned vehicles. At one stop, Ellie takes herself to the bathroom in an abandoned garage. She takes out her gun, unloads it, and plays pretend with it. Returning outside, she asks Joel how siphoning gas from cars worked and then takes out a book, No Pun Intended: Volume Too to read jokes to Joel. Once they refueled, they continue their journey.
While driving down the road, Ellie found a cassette, of Alone and Forsaken by Hank Williams, and put it on the truck's cassette player. Ellie then takes out a male pornography magazine she had stolen from Bill's house and teases Joel about it before eventually throwing it out the window. After more hours of driving, Joel eventually decides it was enough and drives the truck off the main road into the woods to set up camp for the night.
Before sleeping, Ellie tells Joel another pun joke, one he finishes for her—having known the joke—which playfully angers Ellie. However, Ellie then asks a serious question whether hostile survivors could find them. Joel assures that no survivors would be out so far, comforting Ellie. She then sleeps through the night. She awakes to the sound of Joel boiling coffee, which she expresses her dissatisfaction with.
The pair carries on driving across numerous highways. While doing so, Ellie uses a map to estimate that the journey will take another twenty-six hours. To pass the time, Ellie asks Joel to tell her about his brother and why he was not with him. Giving in, Joel reveals how he and Tommy were together with a traveling group until Tommy left him to join the Fireflies. Joel then suggests Ellie go back to sleep, given they were up early. Ellie scoffs that she was not tired, followed promptly by her falling asleep.
Hours later, Ellie wakes when Joel slams on the brakes because they reached the blocked entrance to Kansas City. After a short debate, they decide to journey into the city to go around the blockade. Once in the city, the pair notice the FEDRA quarantine zone section is open and abandoned. This surprises Ellie, given FEDRA's influence in Boston. Straight after, a man calling for help enters the street. Ellie asks if they should help him, to which Joel orders her to put her seat belt on. He hits the accelerator and drives straight towards the man, who dives away and orders his group to attack. Despite Joel's efforts, the attackers manage to burst their tires and send the truck off-road, crashing into an abandoned laundromat.
Ellie assures Joel she is alright, as Joel makes her exit the vehicle while the attackers shoot at them. Ellie watches as Joel retrieves his bolt-action rifle from the back of the truck and obeys his order to hide behind a wall, trusting him when he says he won't let the attackers shoot her. Ellie listens as gunfire erupts. She peeks out to see Joel has killed two of the attackers but is fighting the third on the ground. Ellie leaves cover, draws her pistol, and fires at the attacker, shooting him in the spine and paralyzing him. Joel gets up and takes the pistol from Ellie, telling her to hide again. She sits and listens as Joel kills the attacker, a tear rolling down her face as he does. Ellie and Joel then flee the laundromat as other hostile survivors arrive.
Joel and Ellie wander Kansas City at night.
Later on, Ellie and Joel are hiding in a Hi-Lo bar as the assailants conduct a city-wide search for them. Joel asks Ellie if she is okay, which she confirms. However, Joel senses she isn't and apologizes for forcing her into a position where she had to shoot a man, to which Ellie responds saying it isn't her first time. Joel then approaches her and gives her the pistol and teaches her how to grip it properly when shooting. Delighted, Ellie goes with Joel through the streets, eventually sneaking into a high-rise building.
While climbing the staircase, Ellie asks him how he knew about the attackers' plan to ambush them. Joel tells her that the group he and Tommy traveled with did what they had to survive. As they reach the top, they enter an office and prepare to sleep. Joel lays down broken glass, explaining to Ellie that it is to prevent anyone from sneaking up on them. Ellie asks if it has to do with Joel's right ear, which she has noticed he has trouble hearing out of. As they lay down to sleep, Joel asks Ellie if she wanted to talk about the first time she shot someone. Ellie deflects and reads another one of her puns, eliciting a laugh from Joel.[8]
During the night, Ellie hears a man, and a boy sneak up on her and Joel. She gets up from her bed, holding her hands up as the man aims his pistol at her. Panicked as the boy aims his revolver at Joel, Ellie shouts Joel's name, waking him. Ellie listens as the man revealed he did not intend to hurt them and instead wants to form an alliance. Joel agrees to the plan, with Ellie insisting he meant it despite his dry tone. The man introduces himself as Henry Burrell—a wanted man in Kansas City.
Joel and Ellie listen to Henry's idea.
The group then eats together. Ellie makes conversation with them, asking for the boy's name. Henry signs the question to his brother, who tells them that his name is Sam. She prompts Joel to also reveal his name as well. They then listen as Henry explains that the people who are after him and Joel were the city's resistance movement, who had overthrown FEDRA. He also offers to help them escape the city.
That morning, Ellie spends time with Sam, reading him puns from her book and laughing as Joel and Henry talk. She then leaves Sam when Joel calls her, the men revealing their plan to escape through underground tunnels. When Joel tries to dismiss Henry's claim that the infected were not in the tunnels, Ellie reminds him how he saved her from two clickers, a remark that leads Henry to assure her that Joel was the man to help them survive.
Ellie and Sam share their love of Savage Starlight.
The group then sneaks through the city to the tunnels. When Henry remarks he thought Joel was Ellie's father, both Joel and Ellie firmly deny the claim. After walking down the tunnels, they come to a painted door and go inside to find it is an abandoned underground settlement. Ellie then remarked they should rest there, which they did. While waiting, Ellie and Sam play games together and talk about their favorite comic series, Savage Starlight.
By nightfall, the group leaves and makes it to the suburbs. Ellie then suggests Henry and Sam should join them on their trip to Wyoming. Joel disagrees with the suggestion, but she claims he will change his mind. Their conversation is interrupted by gunfire, Ellie following Joel to cover behind a car. Joel tells her he plans to flank the sniper down the street. Ellie protests, but Joel asks her to trust him, which she does. Ellie waits there with Henry and Sam, eventually hearing Joel's revolver go off.
Ellie runs from the resistance's plow truck.
However, their safety is short-lived, as the resistance charges down the street in their plow trucks. Ellie runs towards the house with Henry and Sam, occasionally turning around and shooting at the lead truck. Joel shoots the driver, causing the truck to crash, with the resulting explosion knocking Ellie off her feet. Henry comes to her aid, carrying her to cover further up the road. The resistance leader then calls Henry to surrender to her. Henry trusts Sam in Ellie's care, the girl holding the boy's hand.
However, the burning truck causes a sinkhole in the ground, allowing a large horde of infected to emerge from it. Ellie tries to flee the infected, and Joel shoots the ones who try to attack her. She hides in a car, but a child clicker is inside, forcing Ellie to exit the car and trap it inside. She then hears Henry and Sam's cries, seeing two clickers trying to bite them. Ellie draws her switchblade and runs towards them, stabbing both clickers' dead. The trio eventually reaches the house, with Joel meeting them downstairs. They then cross the embankment, leaving the horde to kill the resistance soldiers.
Sam asks Ellie what she fears most.
That night, Ellie and the group stay in an abandoned motel. Ellie and Sam share a room, and Ellie reads more comics to him. Though Henry tells Sam to sleep, Ellie wakes him back up to keep reading. However, Sam grows serious and uses his Magic Slate to ask her why she never seemed scared. Ellie replies she secretly was scared, prompting Sam to ask her what she most feared. Ellie initially tries to deflect, claiming it was scorpions, but Sam's serious demeanor leads her to reveal she feared ending up all alone most of all. Sam then reveals he feared turning into an infected and shows her a bite mark he sustained during the attack. Ellie explains to Sam that her immunity could heal him, then proceeds to cut her hand open and cover the wound in her blood, believing she would transfer her immunity to him. She promises to stay awake with him and monitor him, checking for signs of infection.
Ellie leaves Sam's Magic Slate on his grave.
Despite her promise, Ellie falls asleep in the night. The next morning, she awakes to see Sam sitting on the bed, looking out the window. She taps him on the shoulder, only to discover that Sam has succumbed to the infection. He attacks her, sending the two of them crashing into Joel and Henry's room. Joel jumps for his revolver, but Henry reaches it first, firing a warning shot at Joel's feet to stop him. Soon after though, Henry changes his mind and shoots Sam dead, saving Ellie. Henry, realizing what he has done, turns the gun on himself and commits suicide, to which Ellie cries out in shock. Devastated, Joel and Ellie bury the brothers' bodies outside the motel. Ellie places Sam's Magic Slate on his grave with the words "I'm sorry" written on it. She then walks westward with Joel at her side.[11]
Reaching Jackson
Three months after the deaths of Henry and Sam, Joel and Ellie reach a cabin near Cody. They interrogate the owners, Marlon and Florence, for information on Tommy's whereabouts. Marlon and Florence discourage them from heading west, as to go west means crossing a portion of the Yellowstone River they call the "River of Death", where they often find bodies of both people and infected that have been killed by whatever is on the other side. The pair leave, Ellie stealing one of their dead rabbits as they do. Joel suddenly falls against a nearby fence. Concerned Joel is dying; Ellie asks him to assure her he is okay. He does so.
Ellie stares at the campfire.
The pair continue on their route, camping out in a cave next to a river. While Joel tapes his boot, Ellie observes the Northern Lights in the sky from a nearby rock, prompting Joel to tell her to come down. As they sit by the fire, Ellie asks what Joel would do if the cure from her blood worked and the world went back to normal. Joel replies he would find an old farmhouse and raise sheep, joking that at least sheep do what they are told. Ellie reveals she has always wanted to be an astronaut, having read about space travel at the library; Joel correctly guesses her favorite astronaut is Sally Ride. The mood turns somber as Ellie questions if the vaccine would actually work, admitting to what happened with Sam. Joel assures her that the cure is probably more complicated and that Marlene knows what she is doing. Joel then tells Ellie to go to sleep while he keeps watch all night.
However, Joel falls asleep during the night. Ellie notices and takes watch instead. By morning, she tells Joel what she did. Joel scolds her for not waking him up, but Ellie retorts she did everything necessary to keep watch before giving him back his gun. They continue trekking through the snow, crossing a bridge over what they assume is the "River of Death". At first, their journey continues uninterrupted as they encounter no dangers. As they trek along the riverbank, Ellie tries to whistle like Joel, to no avail, and asks that he teach her how to hunt at some point.
They come across a hydroelectric dam, which Joel explains is how people used to get electricity. As they continue, however, Ellie questions if the "River of Death" was referring to the location near the dam. They are soon interrupted by a party of armed survivors on horseback, who demand they drop their weapons. As their leader looks on, one of the men asks if they have been near any infected, before sending a dog to check for any signs of infection. The dog ignores Joel, but it is then sent to inspect Ellie. However, it instead plays with her. Having confirmed they are not infected, Joel explains he is looking for his brother; hearing this, the leader of the group suddenly steps forward and asks for his name.
Joel and Ellie are escorted by the party to the gated community of Jackson, where the two are stunned to find a thriving town full of families preparing to celebrate Christmas. Joel soon spots Tommy working on an outdoor construction project, and the two brothers emotionally reunite. Ellie watches on, somber at Joel's affection for Tommy instead of her. Tommy and the leader of the group, Maria, take Joel and Ellie into a cafeteria to have food, the first real meal the two have had in months. Joel urges Ellie to be polite to their hosts, which she attempts to do, though not before shouting at a shy girl she spots staring at her from across the room. Tommy and Maria apologize for getting off on the wrong foot, explaining they have to take extra precautions to protect Jackson from any dangers, revealing the bodies Marlon and Florence discovered were examples of such dangers. Joel suggests they have a private talk "between family," but Tommy reveals that Maria is his wife. Ellie forces Joel to congratulate them.
Ellie points out the sheep in Jackson.
Tommy and Maria take them on a tour of the town, explaining Jackson was an abandoned gated community Maria and her crew found seven years ago and turned into a commune. They show Ellie their stables, where she befriends a foal named Shimmer. Tommy and Joel then walk away to catch up privately, leading Maria to take Ellie to her home.
After showering and receiving new clothes and a menstrual cup that Maria had left for her, Ellie heads over to Maria and Tommy's house. Above the fireplace, she finds a sign memorializing two children, "Kevin" and "Sarah". Maria arrives with a new winter coat for her and insists on giving her a haircut. While trimming Ellie's hair, Maria makes small talk, explaining she used to be an assistant district attorney, and asks if Ellie noticed Tommy's memorial above the fireplace. Ellie expresses condolences for Maria's children, but Maria reveals she only had one child, Kevin: "Sarah" was Joel's daughter. Maria quickly realizes Ellie did not know Joel had a daughter and apologizes, but Ellie admits it explains some things about him. Maria warns Ellie that she does not really know Joel and offers the advice that she should be careful of who she puts faith in, because the only people who can betray her are the people she trusts. Maria then takes Ellie to the town's weekly movie night.
However, while watching the film, Ellie grows restless as Joel has not shown up. She sneaks away to wander the streets, eventually spying Joel and Tommy talking in a workshop. She overhears Joel begging Tommy to take Ellie from him as he no longer wishes to travel with her. Angered, Ellie storms back to the house Maria took her to and hides in the bedroom. While there, she reads a diary from a teenage girl written before the outbreak and is baffled about the comparatively minor concerns she girl dealt with in her life.
Joel eventually arrives and confronts Ellie, the girl revealing she heard his conversation with Tommy. Ellie angrily confronts him, accusing him of trying to be too protective, pointedly telling him she is not Sarah. Joel tells her she does not understand loss, to which Ellie angrily points out that everyone she has ever cared for has either died or left, all except Joel, and that she would be worse off without him. Joel quietly reiterates that she is not his daughter, and he is not her father, declaring they will go their separate ways in the morning.
Tommy arrives in the morning and takes Ellie to the stables, where they are surprised to find Joel trying to steal one of the horses. Joel admits Ellie deserves a choice of who she goes with, but he barely gets a word out before Ellie resolves to go with him. Saying goodbye the Tommy, the pair depart Jackson together.[12]
Encountering David
As Joel and Ellie make their way to Colorado, they continue to bond, with Joel teaching Ellie how to shoot with the scoped rifle, telling her about his life as a contractor before the outbreak, and explaining the rules of football. As they enter the university campus, Joel admits he would like to change his answer from before: when he was a kid, he wanted to be a singer. Ellie finds this amusing and tells him he will have to sing for her later in return for her saving the world. They find some escaped monkeys on the campus and signs of Firefly presence, but no actual Fireflies—they learn the Fireflies abruptly packed up and moved to Salt Lake City.
Joel and Ellie arrive at the University of Eastern Colorado.
They are interrupted by the arrival of some raiders and try to make their escape. While trying to get on the horse, Joel is ambushed by one of the raiders, whom he kills, only to realize he stabbed him. They manage to escape on the horse, but as they reach a set of railroad tracks, Joel falls off and loses consciousness as a panicked Ellie frantically tries to wake him up.[12]
She eventually drags him to a house, getting him safely into the basement. Joel orders her to leave him to die and head back to Jackson so Tommy can care for her. However, Ellie dismisses his order and instead finds a sewing kit, using it to stitch Joel's wound.[13]
Ellie listens to David's story about a "crazy man".
The following morning, Ellie inspects Joel's recently stitched wound and tries to give him water and food, but Joel remains unconscious. Hoping to get him some more food, Ellie ventures out into the wild with a rifle. After failing to kill a rabbit, she manages to mortally wound a deer, but it runs away before she can get to it, and two men stand over it. She holds them at gunpoint. One man reveals himself as David and the taller man as James. David offers to trade all or part of the deer for something from the town – after Ellie asks for medicine, David instructs James to head back to town and retrieve some penicillin and suggests he and Ellie wait in some nearby ruins and start a fire.
While they wait for James to come back, David tells Ellie (who refuses to give her name) that before the outbreak he was a math teacher, but he found God and became a preacher. After the Pittsburgh QZ fell in 2017, he and some others left and formed their own community which he now leads. He expresses the viewpoint that everything happens for a reason: he offers proof by revealing some time back he sent a group to scavenge a nearby town, but one of them was killed by a "crazy man" who was traveling with a little girl, revealing to an alarmed Ellie he knows who she is. James, who had just returned with the medicine, overhears this and pulls his gun on Ellie, but David instructs him to stand down and give her the medicine. Ellie takes it and runs off, leaving James incredulous that they are just letting her go knowing she killed Alec. Ellie returns to the house and administers the penicillin to Joel's wound before going to sleep next to him.
The next morning, Ellie administers another dose of penicillin to the still-comatose Joel, before heading outside to feed the horse. Noticing a flock of crows being disturbed in the distance, she spots the search party led by David. Ellie runs back into the basement and wakes Joel up. She hands him a knife and explains she will lead David's men away, but Joel will have to defend himself if they get to him. Ellie gets on the horse and fires a warning shot at David's men before making a break for it. James manages to kill the horse, sending Ellie flying. Ellie loses consciousness. She eventually wakes up in a cage in Todd's Steakhouse at Silver Lake resort. David sits outside and advises her that everyone wants to kill her, but he can protect her, offering her a new beginning with him. He then leaves Ellie for a while.
Ellie tries to find a way to get out of her cage but is horrified by something she sees on the floor. David arrives with some food for her, only to notice that she is staring at a human ear. David admits the town has resorted to cannibalism, although most of the community does not know. He argues he is only doing what he needs to defend his community, the same way Joel tried to defend Ellie, and indeed the same way Cordyceps spreads. He tries to convince Ellie to join him as leader of the settlement, telling her she has a violent heart and thus is his equal. Recognizing something dangerous in what he is saying, Ellie feigns interest, only to break David's finger in an attempt to grab his keys. Suddenly filled with rage, David changes his mind about sparing her, declaring they will instead serve her to the town.
Soon after, David returns with James, and the pair force Ellie out of the cage and prepare to kill her with a meat cleaver. Ellie suddenly reveals she is infected. David puts down the cleaver and uncovers the bite on her arm. Using their distraction as they discuss the bite, Ellie grabs the meat cleaver and kills James before narrowly escaping David but finds the doors out of the building are locked. David takes the cleaver out of James' body and follows Ellie into the dining room.
Joel comforts Ellie after her trauma with David.
Ellie throws a piece of firewood at him, which narrowly misses and sets a nearby curtain ablaze. The fire slowly begins to spread across the room as David stalks around, taunting her as his threats grow increasingly disturbing. Ellie stabs him, causing him to drop his cleaver, but he recovers and kicks her while she is on the floor. He holds her down and prepares to sexually assault her, but Ellie manages to grab the cleaver and violently kills him.
Traumatized, Ellie stumbles out of the burning building where she is met by Joel. Joel comforts her, calling her "baby girl", the same name he called Sarah. The two stumble away from Silver Lake, arm in arm.[14]
Finding the Fireflies
Joel and Ellie overlooking the giraffe herd in Salt Lake City.
By springtime in 2024, a sullen Ellie ventures with Joel through Salt Lake City. Joel, now settled into accepting Ellie as his child, tries to cheer her up by reminding her of some of the happier moments of their journey, scavenging can of Chef Boyardee and offering to teach her how to play guitar. Ellie quietly agrees to the offer. While climbing through an abandoned building to seek out a path to the hospital, they come across and interact with a giraffe, the sight of which briefly cheers up Ellie. As they take in the view, Joel points out that they do not have to go to the hospital, noting they could just as easily turn back to Jackson and live in Tommy's community. Ellie promises she will follow Joel to wherever he wants, but insists that they finish their journey first, claiming they have come too far and done too much to turn back now.
As they walk through an abandoned Army hospital, Joel stops and tells Ellie the truth about a gunshot wound to the head he mentioned back near Lincoln. Rather than from a fight, it was actually from a suicide attempt, prompted by Sarah's death as he once thought he had nothing left to live for. At the last second, he flinched. Ellie guesses that he is telling her the story to say that time heals all wounds, but Joel knowingly tells her, "It wasn't time that did it." Ellie remarks she is glad he failed to commit suicide. As they continue, he asks her to tell him some more bad puns. Due to the distraction, they fail to notice two guards following them until one throws a flashbang grenade, and Joel is soon knocked out.
Joel cradles Ellie.
The group is revealed to be Fireflies from Saint Mary's Hospital. The doctors study Ellie, discovering her unusual birth when her mother was bitten is what makes her immune to Cordyceps. The doctors use an anesthetic to render Ellie unconscious. When Ellie awakes, she finds herself in the back of a truck. She notices Joel driving in the front seat. She asks him what happened, the man claiming that the doctors had several other immune subjects and had actually stopped trying to make a cure because they could not make any work. He then says that raiders invaded the hospital, forcing him to rescue her and make a hasty escape. Ellie asks if Marlene survived but Joel goes silent.
Joel's story is revealed to be a lie: in reality, Marlene had told him that the head surgeon had to operate on Ellie. Joel concluded that, as Cordyceps grows on the brain, the surgery would lead to Ellie's death. Refusing to let this happen, he fought against and killed every Firefly in his path, including Marlene and the head surgeon, to save Ellie.[4]
Returning to Jackson
Sometime later, the car breaks down a few hours outside of Jackson, forcing Joel and Ellie to finish their journey on foot. As they walk, Joel tells Ellie about Sarah, commenting they were both very different, but would have liked each other. As they approach Jackson, Ellie stops. She tells about when she and Riley were bitten at the mall, admitting she was forced to kill Riley after she turned. She reminds him of how many people have been killed due to their meeting, including Tess and Sam, and begs him to swear he was telling the truth about what happened at the hospital. Joel tells her he swears. Ellie simply replies, "Okay."[4]
Season 2
Life in Jackson
Joel and Ellie reached and settle into Jackson. The pair are given their own home to live in, which they share for a long time. During this time, Ellie takes up an interest in moths after reading a book about them, constantly drawing pictures that she hangs up in her room and journaling about them. Over the years, Ellie forms friendships with people in the town, growing especially close to Dina and Jesse. Her uncertainty about what truly happened at the hospital in Salt Lake City continue to weigh on her.
Ellie being comforted by Joel after she burns her arm.
Two months into their return to Jackson, Ellie grows frustrated at needing to wear long sleeves to hide her bite, and intentionally burns her arm on a pot while working kitchen duty, knowing the scars from the burn will disguise it. The action proves to be more painful than she had expected and Tommy has to escort her home with her bandaged arm while high on painkillers, leaving Joel to console her. The next day, her 15th birthday, she wakes up and heads to the kitchen to find Joel with a birthday cake for her made by Seth, although he is annoyed due to Seth misspelling her name as "Eli." Ellie cheerfully digs into the cake with her hands before Joel has a chance to slice it, assuring Joel that Seth is still a good baker. Joel then gifts her a guitar he had restored himself, following up on his prior promise to teach her to play. Ellie makes him sing a song for her, and listens as he plays "Future Days" by Pearl Jam. She tells him it "didn't suck." Joel assures her he understands why she burnt her arm and wishes her a happy birthday.
The following year, Joel takes Ellie on a trip to a nearby museum for her 16th birthday. He lets her play on a dinosaur statue outside before showing her the space exhibit, the centerpiece of which is the real Apollo 15 command module, that went to the moon and came back. He lets Ellie pick a helmet from the nearby display cases before they climb in, giving her a cassette tape to put in her Walkman. Ellie plays it and quickly learns it is a recording of the Apollo 11 countdown and launch, and vividly imagines herself taking off into space. On the way back to Jackson, she and Joel agree that they should hang out more often, only for Ellie to stop as she notices some fireflies floating nearby, reminding her of her doubts of what Joel told her about Salt Lake.
Ellie shows Joel her new tattoo.
Eventually, Ellie develops a relationship with Kat, and on her 17th birthday she lets Kat sneak into her room. Kat gives Ellie a moth tattoo over the scar on her arm, and the two smoke a joint and make out. They are interrupted by the arrival of Joel, who came home early to surprise her. After Kat leaves, the two have an argument about her growing independence. Ellie impulsively decides to move out of the house and into the garage that night. Her attempt to move her mattress awakens Joel, who tries to lay down the rules of "his" house, but Ellie points out the house was given to them and he does not own anything, including her. Joel reluctantly agrees to let her have her own space but asks for a few days to spruce up the garage. Before leaving the room, he asks about her interest in moths, which Ellie claims are symbolic. Joel attempts to understand by suggesting they mean changes, but Ellie tells him it is too late in the night for the conversation. The next day, she packs her things to bring them to the garage, including one of her journals of moths, on which she had written the phrase "you have a greater purpose."
Two years later, Ellie's doubts about Joel's story come to a head, and on the morning of her 19th birthday she rehearses the questions she has been wanting to ask Joel: how the Fireflies could have been surprised by raiders when they spotted Joel and Ellie coming from far away; how Joel could have gotten away from the raiders if he was carrying her; and most importantly, why they had not encountered any other immune people. She is interrupted by Joel, who pulled some strings to allow her to go out on patrol. He takes her on the Cache Creek route, which to her annoyance she learns is the safest. She sarcastically plays along with his attempts to show her the ropes and brushes off his suggestion that they spend more time together on patrol. Just then, they are interrupted by a call from Jackson dispatch that Eugene Lynden and Adam are being attacked by an Infected near Pinnacle. Ellie refuses Joel's order to return to Jackson, insisting she join. They leave their horses on a cliffside and climb down to meet the Pinnacle patrol. They discover Adam's horse fleeing the scene, dragging Adam's dead body with it.
Joel and Ellie finding Eugene.
After finding a dead Infected, they find Eugene, who reluctantly reveals he has been bitten. Eugene requests that they take him back to Jackson's outer wall so he can at least say a last goodbye to Gail, but Joel at first refuses, reminding him of their policy to put down anyone who has been bit. Ellie intervenes, asking Eugene to do the number test that the Fireflies once gave her, which he passes. Ellie insists that Eugene has time and they should let him say goodbye to his wife, so Joel tells Ellie to retrieve the horses and they will meet up again to take Eugene back. As she leaves, Ellie feels some doubt and turns to Joel, to which he reiterates that he promises. However, Ellie clocks that Joel's expression when he gives this "promise" is the same he gave when he swore he was telling the truth about Salt Lake. Her suspicions are confirmed when she returns later with the horses, finding that Joel had gone through with killing Eugene.
Ellie fumes on their return to Jackson, as all the questions she had been meaning to ask have been silenced with the realization that she can no longer trust Joel's claims. She watches as Joel lies to Gail about how Eugene died, and spitefully speaks out the truth. As Joel looks at her in disbelief, she tearfully retorts, "You swore", referring not just to Eugene's death but to what happened in Salt Lake, and she storms off.
In the nine months that follow, the pair rarely speak and Ellie neglects her guitar playing. For the most part she trains with Jesse and often goes on patrols with Dina, gaining a reputation for wandering from the typical path and disobeying their patrol leaders to fight Infected that they shouldn't, which earns them some ridicule from the Jackson council. At some point, either during this period or prior, she and Kat break up. By December 2028, despite not communicating, Joel still intervenes in her training by telling Jesse and Caleb to go easy on her and instructing Tommy to take her off patrol.
New Year's celebrations
On December 31, 2028, Ellie trains in a fight against Caleb which Jesse monitors. Although Ellie wins the fight, making Caleb tap out by trapping him in an arm bar, he and Jesse reveal they went easy on her for fear of Joel reprimanding them. Jesse asks Ellie if she will attend Jackson's New Year celebration which she says she will but warns Caleb not to pull punches before leaving.
Ellie and Tommy sniping infected.
Out on patrol, Ellie and Tommy kill some stray infected with a sniper rifle. They observe that the number of infected they have been seeing has increased. After finishing for the day, Tommy tells Ellie he plans to take her off patrols and put her on "gatewatch". Ellie easily guesses that Joel told him to do this, which Tommy admits is because he knows Ellie has been going off by herself to kill infected alone, despite Ellie pointing out she does not need to worry due to her immunity. She then shouts out about her immunity, irritating Tommy enough to give in and assign her to a patrol group the following day.
Ellie and Dina begin their patrol.
The next day, Dina greets Ellie at the garage to escort her to patrol. She helps Ellie strap her shotgun onto her back, as Ellie suppresses her barely concealed crush on Dina. Dina invites Ellie to join her and Joel in watching some Curtis & Viper movies, which Ellie ignores, instead focusing on the new holster she traded Dominique for. Ellie reunites with Shimmer at the stables before they head to the gates to join the patrol, led by Kat. Jesse gives them their basic instructions, emphasizing that they are only reconnaissance and that if they see anything they need only report it and return so a squad can be dispatched. The pair laugh him off before heading out.
As they head down the road, Dina asks Ellie if she is going to the New Year's celebration that evening with anyone. She notes Kat is available, but Ellie refuses, despite their past romantic history. Dina observes that Ellie is interested in someone else, and proposes they go together. When Ellie asks why she isn't going with Jesse, Dina reveals they actually broke up, again. The patrol comes to a halt when Kat notices a trail of blood leading down the road. Ellie pushes ahead, despite Kat's protests. They arrive outside the remains of a supermarket, where they are stunned to see the corpses of a bear and several dead infected. Noting evidence that at least one infected survived, Ellie and Dina decide to venture inside the supermarket themselves to kill it, which Kat reluctantly allows.
Ellie investigating a dark building.
Hearing at least two infected inside, Dina and Ellie split up and individually manage to take down both clickers with their knives, Ellie using a bottle to distract one of them. Just as they celebrate their win, Ellie falls through the deteriorating building's floor, landing in the main hall of the supermarket. While Dina searches for a way out, Ellie realizes an infected is in the aisles with her. She draws her shotgun and spots it. She goads it to attack her but is surprised when it hides from her. She races to where she last saw it but finds it has disappeared. Thinking it behind her, she spins and fire her shotgun only for it to tackle her from the side. Ellie manages to kill it with her handgun, though not before it bites her in the stomach. She hides her injury just as Dina arrives, lying that she wasn't harmed.
Ellie and Dina with the council.
Back at Jackson, Ellie and Dina report to the town council. Ellie describes the infected as acting more intelligently than any she had seen before, almost as though it was "stalking" her. Tommy chides them for breaking patrol rules, only for the two and Maria to remind him he and Joel often did the same. Maria then orders the pair apologize to Kat before leaving. At home, Ellie uses her knife to cut into her bite wound and disguise it, before stitching it closed. As she journals in the garage, where she vents about her crush on Dina, Joel enters to check if she is coming to the party. He notices her guitar and sees that her strings are worn out and immediately leaves to put replacements on it despite Ellie's protests.
Dina and Ellie dancing.
At the party, Ellie watches Dina dance with the other men in town. She and Jesse commiserate over how embarrassing attending these parties are. Ellie tries to encourage him that he and Dina will be back together in two weeks, but Jesse replies that it will not happen this time. Dina finds Ellie and drags her onto the dance floor. As the two slow dance, an inebriated Dina starts to flirt with Ellie both verbally and physically. Eventually, the two share a kiss, only for Seth, an older man, to accuse them of disrupting a "family event" and calls them "dykes". Just as Ellie moves to confront him, Joel appears and shoves Seth to the floor, demanding he get out. Ellie turns her anger to Joel, telling him she doesn't need his help. Joel leaves in shame, Ellie returning to Dina.
Ellie learning the truth from Joel.
As the rest of Jackson celebrate the New Year, Ellie returns home where she sees Joel playing with her newly restrung guitar on the porch. The two stare at each other for a moment before Ellie storms back into her garage alone, leaving Joel on the porch.[7] Eventually, however, she returns. The two make brief small talk, Ellie observing him drinking coffee and Joel offering some encouraging words about a potential relationship with Dina, although Ellie insists the kiss meant nothing. Eventually, Ellie tells him she knew the moment he broke his promise about sparing Eugene that he had lied about Salt Lake, and gives him one last chance to tell the truth. Joel reluctantly confirms her suspicions: there were no immune people or raiders, the Fireflies could have made a cure, and in response Joel killed all of them, including Marlene. Joel admits that the cure required Ellie to die, to which Ellie emotionally lashes out, yelling that her only purpose was to die at the hospital and Joel took that from her and everyone else. Joel agrees, and claims he will pay the price for it as it has pushed Ellie away, but he would do it all over again. Ellie retorts this is because he is selfish, but Joel tells her it is because he loves her, in a way that she cannot understand and perhaps never will. Nonetheless, he tells her that he hopes when it is turn to have children she may get an idea, and hopefully will be able to do "a little better" than he did. Ellie admits she does not think she can forgive him for what he has done, but hopefully offers to try.[15]
Losing Joel
The following morning, Jesse wakes her up from her sleep, informing her she was due on patrol. He inquires about her fight with the Joel the previous night, and playfully teases her about her kiss with Dina, admitting he doesn't mind. They walk through Jackson to find it on high alert: on top of Ellie's story of the intelligent infected, patrolmen Kylie and Max found a pile of dead infected that were concealing a live horde underneath the snow in the night. Ellie states the town will be fine and that she wants to go on a patrol with Joel, much to Jesse's surprise. Ellie avoids telling Jesse about her heart-to-heart with Joel, but admits despite their rough patch they still have their history together and she would rather stick with him on patrol. Jesse reveals that Joel had left an hour earlier with Dina. He then takes her to the Tipsy Bison, where Tommy is prepping the citizens about their drills in case an attack occurs. Maria then takes Ellie over to the expo station, where Seth apologizes for his behavior and offers Jesse and a stone-faced Ellie steak sandwiches for their patrol. As Jesse and Ellie head out, they notice the oncoming snowstorm, but Jesse claims it will only be in the mountains.
Taking shelter from the storm after radioman Amy orders they do so, Jesse and Ellie shelter-in-place in an abandoned 7-Eleven, which Ellie is amazed to discover contains a home-grown marijuana lab. Jesse reveals this belonged to Eugene, who was his old patrol partner. Ellie is surprised to discover a Firefly pendant, indicating that Eugene was a Firefly: Jesse explains Eugene had quit in 2010, due to getting tired of killing people. They comment on how Joel had to put down Eugene after he was infected. Sometime later, Jesse and Ellie receive another radio call from Amy that Joel and Dina are the only patrol who did not respond to the recall or reported sheltering in place. Jesse and Ellie immediately venture back into the storm to try to find them, splitting up to cover more ground.
Ellie spots Jackson on fire and also notices a trail of horse tracks in the snow, making her way to a lodge. She ventures inside, only to spot Joel near-death Abby Anderson continues her attack. Ellie's attempt to intervene but is stopped by Manny, Nora and Owen. As Nora pins her to the floor, Ellie pleads with Joel to get back up, while Owen demands that Abby finish it. Seeing Ellie, a barely alive Joel musters an attempt to move, but Abby finishes her beating by stabbing the broken club into his neck, killing him.
Ellie beside Joel's body.
Ellie swears she will kill all of them, leading Manny to strike her in the abdomen as the group departs from the lodge. She struggles to crawl to Joel's dead body, sobbing as she holds his hand. Believing she will also die, Ellie rests with him not to say goodbye, but to be with him in death.[16] Sometime later, Ellie, Dina and Jesse then return Joel's body back to Jackson.[17]
Going to Seattle
By night-time, Ellie is unconscious at the hospital, the doctors have diagnosed her with a collapsed lung. Amid preparation for surgery, she wakes up, suffering a trauma-induced flashback to Joel's death, and she is forcefully sedated by the doctor. Over the next three months, Ellie gradually recovers, with Dina visiting her often, while Jackson rebuilds after the infected horde attack led to dozens of deaths. Stuck in the hospital, Ellie was unable to go to Joel's funeral.
By April, a doctor evaluates Ellie and gives her a clean bill of health in preparation for her discharge, revealing her lung has fully healed. However, Ellie is forced to check in with Gail before she can depart. Ellie bluntly brushes off Gail's attempt to inquire about her and Joel's last interaction, claiming the last time they spoke was at the New Year's Eve party, and she last saw him on the porch. Gail brings up her own last conversation with Joel, asking what he meant when he said he "saved" her. Ellie claims ignorance and cheerfully offers in therapy-speak that she will have to live with her unfinished business with Joel. Gail clears Ellie to leave, despite knowing she is lying.
Ellie finds Joel's revolver.
Ellie returns to her and Joel's house, where she observes the various tributes, the townspeople have left. She wanders through the empty house, stopping in each room and quietly taking in Joel's absence. Finding a box of his belongings in his room, she discovers his revolver with his broken watch; she chooses to pocket the revolver and leave the watch. In his closet, she finds his jacket and finally breaks down crying as she tries to smell his scent in the fabric. Hearing Dina arrive, Ellie wipes away her tears and meets Dina at the dinner table.
Ellie speaking to Dina in Joel's house.
Dina reveals she has brought cookies as a peace offering, because she had lied to Ellie at the hospital: she actually knows the names of the group that killed Joel and where they came from. Ellie berates her for costing them valuable time in withholding this information, but Dina points out the town was in no shape to send a party to track Joel's killers in the aftermath of the attack, and it would make more sense to track them to their destination later. She lays out what she remembers: the two men were Manny and Owen one of the girls was named Nora and the girl who killed Joel was Abby; the group were wearing patches depicting a wolf's head with the phrase "WLF", which Dina identifies as standing for "Washington Liberation Front", a Seattle-based group of FEDRA fighters that Eugene told her about. She assumes, based on their relative obscurity, that they are a small group, so are easy enough for them to handle.
Ellie and Dina take this information to Tommy. Tommy at first rejects Ellie's proposal to go after Abby's group, pointing out the town is still recovering. Ellie argues that Joel would do the same for Tommy, but Tommy retorts that Joel would have gone to such lengths to rescue, not to avenge them, reminding Ellie that he was Joel's brother. He tells her they will need to go through a formal process of proposing a mission to Maria, which will come to a vote at a council meeting, promising she will have his backing when it comes to it.
Ellie speaks to the town council about taking revenge on Abby.
The night before the council vote, Jesse trains Ellie, encouraging her to use her injured side more while fighting to get her body back into shape. Ellie inquires if Jesse, now a member of the council, will vote in her favor, but he refuses to say. Before leaving, however, he advises her to write down her thoughts and read them out loud at the meeting, claiming people will not vote for "angry". Ellie attends the meeting, where she quietly fumes as Rachel and Carlisle claim sympathy but reiterate the argument that they are still recovering and in no position to send an away team of sixteen patrolmen. Seth, who has quietly observed Ellie's anger, unexpectedly speaks up to reject Carlisle's claim that they should show mercy, claiming they should be going after Joel's killers. With the air clear, it is Ellie's turn to speak, as she gives a pre-written speech stating that Joel's death was as much an attack on Jackson as it was on his family, and that going after his killers will not be about revenge but justice. Her speech earns some approving murmurs from the crowd, but the council votes against the proposal 8-3.
Ellie visiting Joel's grave.
By nighttime, Ellie's attempt to pack for her solo mission to Seattle is interrupted by Dina, who criticizes her for not asking for her help and being so ill-prepared. She reveals she has already prepared a route they can take, which will take them through the Snoqualmie Pass from which they can approach Seattle from the East. Revealing a packing list, which includes first aid and provisions, she takes stock of Ellie's weapons, warning her to get a proper holster to carry the handgun as opposed to the back of her pants, a scoped rifle, something to keep Shimmer dry, and proper shoes. At the gate, they are met by Seth, whom Ellie angrily realizes was helping Dina prepare. Seth trades Ellie's old rifle for a better one and briefs them on the supplies he provided before sending them away, with the two sharing a brief handshake before Ellie and Dina depart through the gate. On their way, they stop at the graveyard, where Ellie mourns Joel and leaves some coffee beans on his grave as a tribute to him.
Ellie and Dina travel to Seattle riding Shimmer, while keeping themselves entertained with travel games about their favourite music and Ellie's second kill in Kansas City. Stopping to camp after a sudden downpour, Dina inquires about their kiss on New Year's Eve. Ellie brushes it off as Dina being high and Ellie herself being drunk, claiming it did not mean anything, but Dina asks how she would rate it. Ellie gives it a "6" on a 1-10 scale, to Dina's disbelief. As Ellie tries to sleep, Dina admits that she wasn't that high.
Their journey through the Snoqualmie Pass is interrupted when they find the dead body of a Seraphite, though neither recognize the symbol. Ellie takes stock of the bullets, noting whoever killed him could not have been FEDRA due to different caliber. Dina ventures off the path to look around, only to come running back and vomit. Ellie investigates and is horrified to discover the rotting corpses of the rest of the Seraphites, including a young girl with her father. They ponder if Abby's crew could have been responsible, noting the barbarity to do such a thing to children.[18]
Searching Seattle
Arriving on the outskirts of Seattle, they find it seemingly quiet and speculate that fighting the WLF will be no trouble.[18] They briefly search a Weston's Pharmacy for supplies, Ellie keeping watch with Shimmer outside. When Dina returns, she responds she did not find anything noteworthy. They press onward, taking in their environment, noting the lack of severe bombing and the presence of several rainbow flags and terms like "Pride" emblazoned in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. They stumble across an abandoned tank, surrounded by the skeletal remains of FEDRA soldiers, whom Ellie notes seem to have been fighting each other. She looks inside the tank, finding only three burnt skeletons, whom she compares to the Apollo 1 astronauts. Dina spots a graffiti tag for the WLF on a satellite dish in the distance, on top of a TV station. Ellie tries to charge ahead, but Dina points out it probably means the WLF has a heavy presence and would spot their approach, so they decide to wait until it gets dark to continue on foot.
Ellie playing guitar for Dina.
The pair take refuge in an abandoned Valiant Music Shop and explore its collection of records and instruments. Upstairs, Ellie finds several decayed guitars. Her interest piqued, she searches around and finds an intact one preserved in its case thanks to some silica gel packets. She takes it out and begins playing an acoustic rendition of "Take On Me" by a-ha. Dina is drawn upstairs by the music and tearfully listens as Ellie serenades her. She compliments her playing, saying Joel taught her well. Ellie responds with a smile that he did. The pair then rest up to eat.
By night time, Ellie and Dina approach the TV station, but find no patrol. Ellie assumes this means there is a security camera and proposes they go through a back entrance. Dina finds a broken window on the second floor, which Ellie surmises with some incredulity that this means someone else must have gotten through. They decide to press on, and decide if they encounter any WLF members they saw in Jackson, they will kill them. Upon heading inside, they are stunned to find the dead body of a WLF member killed with arrows. Venturing further, they discover even more brutality, finding the tortured and dismembered bodies of more WLF members, the sight of which causes Dina to vomit. Finding graffiti written in blood saying "Feel her love" accompanied by the symbol they saw on the group in the woods, Ellie realizes this was their work. Sounds comes from a radio on one of the corpses that a squad of WLF soldiers is approaching, forcing Dina and Ellie to hide. Ellie retreats upstairs but one soldier notices and follows her up. In the room, they struggle, Ellie trying to choke him from behind. Another WLF soldier enters and prepares to shoot Ellie but Dina kills him, allowing Ellie to finish her soldier off by shanking his neck with her switchblade. The pair then escape outside and down a narrow shaft into a subway tunnel.
Inside the tunnel, the two find collapsed passageways and abandoned cars as they search for a safe exit. Eventually, the WLF squad enters the tunnel and begin lighting flares to smoke them out. However, one of the flares triggers an obscured group of Cordyceps tendrils. The squad hear the sound of infected, and are quickly overwhelmed when an entire horde emerges from the tunnels. Ellie and Dina at first escape into one of the subway cars, which they are alarmed to find is already filled with skeletons. The infected attempt to break in, forcing the two to escape through a ceiling hatch. Ellie finds a rusted exit gate and pushes her way through. When Dina tries to follow her, a runner catches up to them and moves to bite her, but Ellie places her arm in front of Dina and takes the bite instead, giving Dina a chance to shoot the infected before making it through the gate and trapping the infected behind. Ellie urges Dina to continue running as Dina stares at the bite in horror. They emerge outside, and Ellie proposes they hole up inside an abandoned theater nearby.
Ellie getting intimate with Dina.
Inside the theater lobby, Ellie barricades the door, only to turn around to find Dina tearfully holding her at gunpoint. Realizing what Dina thinks happened, Ellie reveals she has been bitten before and is actually immune, telling a disbelieving Dina that she can prove it by falling asleep and waking up exactly the same as before, allowing Dina to continue pointing her gun at her during that time. Sometime later, Ellie is awoken by some water dripping on her face, finding Dina still holding her at gunpoint. She reveals she is still herself and shows the bite to Dina, which has not turned red or pussed, proving her immunity by pointing out the absence of the infection. Dina approaches Ellie, still in shock. Once in front of her, she tells Ellie she is pregnant, before dropping the gun and kissing her. Their intimacy escalates into the pair having sex and sleeping together.
The next morning, after waking up in each other's arms, Dina asks about her immunity, realizing that Ellie's tattoos are meant to cover up her previous bites. Ellie asks why Dina revealed her feelings now, to which Dina explains she had thought she was about to lose Ellie and the future she had imagined the two could have together. Dina admits she always knew about Ellie's feelings and herself reciprocated but felt pressure from her mother to hide her feelings for both boys and girls, and felt stuck with trying to make things work with Jesse. Ellie then asks how Dina knows she's pregnant. Dina explains she was tipped off with her getting sick after seeing the bodies in the woods as well as being late on her period, and she confirmed it after taking several pregnancy tests at the pharmacy. Ellie marvels at the idea that they ― Dina, Ellie, and Jesse ― are having a baby.
They are interrupted by a WLF transmission from the walkie-talkie that Dina stole, reporting a retreat after the attack in the subway. Overhearing the mention of "Nora" being based in Lakehill, they recall this was one of the people who killed Joel. Venturing to an upper floor to figure out their location, they are alarmed to see smoke from an armed conflict in the distance, close to Lakehill. Ellie offers to Dina that she could stay out of the fight given her condition, but Dina insists on continuing together.[19]
Finding Nora
Later that morning, Ellie leaves Dina to triangulate the WLF's location while she restores power to the theater by starting the generators. She heads into the auditorium where she finds the stage set up for a concert. She picks up one of the guitars, sits on a stool, and begins to play "Future Days" by Pearl Jam, only for a shadow to cross her expression and she puts the guitar down. Dina summons her back to the lobby and shows their route, noting a large building, most likely a warehouse, that they can cut through to avoid the patrols. The pair surmise there is infected or Seraphites within the area, but head there anyway.
They venture through Seattle, Ellie asking what Dina will name the baby, to which Dina jokes that she will name it either "Ellie" or "Elijah". They are stopped when they discover a pile of dead Seraphites, below a mural of their prophet with the phrase "Feel her love." Dina nearly throws up, prompting Ellie to offer to take her back to Jackson, expressing it is wrong to make her continue while she is pregnant. Suddenly angered, Dina reveals she wants to help Ellie get revenge for Joel because her mother and sister suffered a similar fate. Understanding, Ellie lets her continue.
By night time, the pair reach the abandoned warehouse. Dina warns there will probably be at least a few stray infected. She advises that they can only shoot them as a last resort to avoid alerting the WLF, and that if it is between shooting or running they need to run. They venture inside, reaching a large open room, and spot an infected hiding from them, which Ellie recognizes as similar to the one that stalked her at the supermarket, warning that the one in the market managed to bite her. At first they decide to flank it, only to realize that there are more of the same kind in the room. As they gradually realize they are surrounded and vastly outnumbered, Ellie orders Dina to hide in a nearby fenced off area while Ellie takes on the infected directly, since she can get bit while Dina cannot. Dina does so, but they are quickly overwhelmed as Dina runs out of ammunition, the infected overpower Ellie, and start breaking through the cage. Just as it seems as though hope is lost, Jesse arrives and saves them.
The three flee from the building and the alerted WLF, who chase them through the building grounds. They escape into a nearby park, only to overhear the WLF declare they will not go into the park, meaning there is something more dangerous within. With no other option, they journey deeper into the park. Jesse reveals he and Tommy snuck out of Jackson and followed them the day after they left, using the map Dina had left in the theater to track them down. He announces his intention to have them meet up with Tommy and return to Jackson, which Ellie refuses. They are interrupted by a series of whistling, which they follow to its source: a group of Seraphites surrounding a captured member of the WLF. As Ellie and Jesse watch in horror while Dina shields her view, a Seraphite Priest has the others lift the man up by a noose before disemboweling him with a sickle. The Seraphites notice the trio and an arrow is launched, striking Dina's leg. Ellie orders Jesse to take Dina back to the theater while she leads the Seraphites away, successfully avoiding the Seraphites by hiding in the brush. She sneaks out of the park, narrowly avoiding a WLF soldier and a guard dog, and crawling into the hospital through a hole in the wall.
Ellie moves through the hospital, eventually finding Nora alone in a ward. She holds her at gunpoint, demanding to know where Abby is. Nora hesitantly apologizes for making Ellie watch Joel die, and claims she still hears his screams, but that "the little bitch got what he deserved" before flinging the container of bleached rags at Ellie and fleeing while calling for help. Ellie chases Nora through the halls while avoiding WLF soldiers, forcing Nora to flee into the basement area B2. Ellie follows and finds it filled with spores, an airborne Cordyceps. Venturing further in, Ellie finds Nora collapsed on the ground coughing. Nora tries to claim they are both infected by the spores, only to notice Ellie's lack of reaction and realize she is the immune girl from Salt Lake City. Ellie again asks for Abby's location but Nora pleads that Joel killed everyone in the hospital, including Abby's father, supposedly the only man who could have made a cure from Ellie. Ellie spitefully replies that she already knows and simply does not care. Holstering her gun, she approaches Nora and again asks where Abby is, but Nora refuses to tell her. Spotting a lead pipe nearby, Ellie slowly picks it up and brandishes it at Nora, again asking for Abby's location. Nora refuses once more, only for Ellie to furiously begin beating her, ignoring Nora's screams as she repeatedly demands to know where Abby is.[20]
Physical appearance
Ellie as she appears in 2028.
Ellie has dark brown eyes and hair. In the summer, she wears a purple and white raglan sleeve shirt with jeans and canvas sneakers.[6] Later she changes into a red t-shirt with a palm tree graphic and a long sleeve shirt underneath.[9] She also wears a red jacket and a green military jacket over it.[11] She made a habit of wearing her canvas sneakers, insisting on wearing them in all weather conditions, even when boots were more practical,[7] albeit relenting at Dina's insistence eventually.[18]
In 2023, Her hair is put up in a ponytail with strands hanging down the sides of her face.[6]By 2029 though, she now wears her hair without a ponytail.[7] She has a scar on her right eyebrow. Her right forearm has a healed bite wound and signs of infection that show no progress.[4]
Personality
Having been raised in an environment where modern standards and values have deteriorated, Ellie is considerably rash, foul-mouthed, impulsive, and temperamental, and is unfazed by the notion of using violence as a means to an end or profanity as a way of expressing how she feels.[6] However, she manages to maintain a particular innocence as she has yet to see the darkest sides of human nature and retains a palpable trust in people.[12] This serves as the juxtaposition to Joel's wary, morose, and cynical outlook on post-outbreak life.[9]
Although she has grown up in a desolate and harsh world, she still possesses child-like traits. Notably, she is obsessed with things she collects from others, illustrated through her interest in music, movies, books, and video games. Ellie is enthusiastic about the outside world, given her confinement to her quarantine zone during her childhood, asking Joel many questions about it during their journey[9] and reading extensively when in FEDRA school to learn about science and history. She was especially interested in space travel, expressing astonishment that people used to be able to fly in the sky[9] and stated that Sally Ride was her favorite astronaut.[12] When having her own room in Jackson, she continued this fascination with space by having several pictures of astronauts on her wall.[7] This fascination with space stretched to fiction, with her also having a passion for the Savage Starlight comic series, memorizing their slogan "Endure and Survive"[11] and having a picture of one on her wall in her room.[7]
Ellie could be immature and display a reckless nature. Notably, she would play make-believe, from acting as a hotel visitor when wandering the Boston outskirts with Joel and Tess[10] to pretending to be dancing monsters with Riley[13] despite the presence of infected nearby. She was also impractical, preferring to trade her walking boots for a gun holster despite having to walk in harsh snowy climate. She displayed arrogance, believing her immunity made her invincible against the infected. This caused her to flout authority figures to confront more infected herself, even luring Dina into danger despite only Ellie being the one immune to the Cordyceps.[7]
Ellie was fascinated with Mortal Kombat II, A-ha music she played through her Walkman[13] and loved the puns in Willing Livingston's No Pun Intended books[8][13] and puns people made up. By 2028, she also was a fan of grunge music, playing Nirvana on her stereo and having a picture of In Utero on her wall. She also liked country music as well, having several cassettes for John Denver's music, including Country Roads. Other notable music she had was Bryan Adams and The White Stripes. She could also play the guitar but neglected it by December.[7] She also expressed support for artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Green Day, Guns & Roses and Ozzy Osbourne.[18]
Ellie suffers from a case of monophobia (fear of being alone) and states to Sam that she fears losing others she cares about such as Joel. She openly admits to Sam that "ending up alone" is what she fears most and makes an emotional outburst to Joel that she feared he would abandon her.[11][12] Her fear also links into her survivor's guilt she expresses to Joel when returning to Tommy's, where she expresses her guilt that Riley, Tess, and Sam all died from the disease yet she continues to survive.[4] She still feels this years later, confessing to Dina in 2029 that she sometimes wished her immunity wasn't real so she could succumb to the infection like everyone.[19]
Ellie's defiant nature is displayed in her constant resistance to authority figures, especially in pursuing her fascination with violence. For example, she could become immersed in using violence, needing Jesse to shout at her to let Caleb go despite him submitting in their fight long before.[7] She would openly swear and shout at her Firefly captors and was openly rude to Joel when he gave her vague answers.[6] This was also demonstrated in her constant asking for a gun to protect herself, abhorring Tess and Joel preventing her from doing so because she was a teenager.[10] In her eyes, she was mature enough to use weapons, especially her switchblade, having already killed infected with it.[13] Despite having a bladed weapon, her fascination with having a gun led her to secretly steal a pistol from Bill's room.[9] She then played pretend with the weapon, imagining herself using it to shoot people. However, when the time came to use it, she felt emotionally hurt after shooting Bryan, finding herself crying and feeling a sense of guilt that she hesitated to use the weapon to save Joel's life.[8][4] Regardless, she jumped at the chance to kill infected, cheering when shooting a clicker and ignoring protocols in Jackson by confronting clickers with Dina. This over-enthusiastic behaviour was noticeable, as Jesse and Dina independently joked that Ellie would dress like "Curtis and Viper" on patrol in anticipation of facing infected.[7]
Ellie violently beating Nora as she develops a more aggressive side.
Ellie also takes justice into her own hands in her relationships with anyone and does not think she requires any adults' consent, evidenced in her attacking Bethany to stop her belittling her friendship with Riley even though that landed her in trouble with Kwong.[13] She would also aggressively shout at a girl in the Jackson mess hall because she was staring at her and Joel.[12] When Joel was bedridden, she rode their horse out to confront David's men so they would attack her, willingly putting her life in danger to lure the hostile raiders away from Joel's position.[14] Most of all, she broke Jackson protocol by illegally leaving the town to hunt Joel's killers in Seattle, putting her desire for vengeance above the community she had relied on for five years.[18]
Although she has this tough exterior, evidenced in her attempts to close off emotionally after Joel's death,[18] she could be caring and selfless towards people she cares about. When Joel is left bedridden from a stab wound, she is able to get him to safety, stitch his wound, and care for him while he recovers, even confronting David and James in the woods to get medicine for Joel, displaying her selfless nature.[14] She would also make concerned comments about Marlene's safety, even after she had not seen the woman in nearly a year,[4] seek a close friendship with Sam while traveling in Kansas City together[11] and even endanger her own life to save Riley from an infected in the Liberty Gardens mall.[13]
Having firmly denied having a boyfriend in Boston,[10]Ellie is romantically interested in women, having shared a kiss with Riley,[13] having sex with Dina,[19] and previously dating Kat.[7]
Relationships
Joel Miller
The first time Joel and Ellie interact, they are both hostile towards one another, and neither enjoys the other's company. They reluctantly ally together at Marlene's insistence though Joel remains cold towards her, kicking her switchblade away from her out of spite and refusing to answer her questions at his flat.[6] While traveling to the State House, Ellie struggled to form a connection with him, the man deflecting questions she asked. Although, she did develop a dependency on him, relying on the man to protect her from infected.[10]
Despite being annoyances to each other during their time outside the quarantine zone, the two of them were both affected by the death of Tess. Ellie is insistent on talking about her with Joel, only for him to shut the topic down at any mention.[9]
In time though, Ellie's energy and zest for life leads Joel to open up to her, the man starting to answer her questions about pre-outbreak life. This connection develops in their journey to Kansas City, Ellie bonding with Joel through her joke book and constant attempts to humor him. Joel even teaches her the proper grip for a pistol and protects her from hostile survivors in the city.[8][11]
However, when Henry believed Ellie was Joel's daughter, Ellie dismissed the remark with firm denial.[11] Ellie did aspire to be like Joel though, learning how to track prey with him and also stood guard when Joel fell asleep in the night once, something Joel disliked. Ellie's struggle to become Joel's equal climaxed when they reached Jackson, when Joel tried to abandon Ellie to his brother, Tommy. Ellie denied Joel any sense of resemblance with Sarah, his deceased daughter, and insisted she felt loss just as much as he did. This outburst between the pair eventually led to Joel offering to take Ellie with him instead; Ellie swiftly accepted, revealing she still desired to be with him over anyone else. On this part of the journey, Ellie learned more from Joel, such as how to shoot a rifle, and managed to learn more about his past.[12]
When Joel was badly wounded, Ellie was driven to save him, stitching him up and refusing to abandon him despite the man remaining near death. To keep Joel safe, Ellie risked her life and was captured by David's group. Joel once again rescued her, but this time Ellie was able to save herself from David, revealing how she had now become Joel's equal.[14] The event left her emotionally scarred, causing her to become distant from Joel as they reached Salt Lake City. Despite this, her attachment to him remained strong, and Ellie stated she would follow Joel wherever he wanted to travel.[4] She even now felt comfortable mentioning Riley to Joel, showing she saw him as a man she could completely open up to now,[8] whereas before she was relatively guarded on the topic.[4]
However, by 2028, the pair have grown distant with one another. Despite Ellie learning guitar from Joel, she barely plays it and neglects to repair the strings on it. She also refuses to talk to him, living out in the garage and treating Joel like a stranger. This behavior is picked up on by many in the town, who express she appears angry towards him, including Dina. Ellie constantly expresses distaste with his protective nature towards her, like telling Jesse to go easy on her in training, asking Tommy to take her off patrol and she even publicly humiliates him for defending her against Seth despite the man's clear homophobia towards her.[7] Regardless, Gail still observed that Joel was the only person that Ellie fully trusted to be honest towards.[18] Ellie personally characterized their relationship as "complicated". However, the following morning she sought to go on patrol with him and even had the guitar he gifted her back propped up on its stand, implying she was seeking to become more amiable towards him again.[17]
After losing Joel, Ellie was left grief stricken, finding herself dreaming of his murder while at the hospital. Despite her lying to people about how losing him affected her, she would privately cry over the loss and passionately sought to avenge his death, leading her to leave Jackson and head to Seattle against the town's protocols.[18]
Riley
Ellie kissing Riley.
Riley was Ellie's best friend while growing up in the Boston quarantine zone. The pair looked out for each other, with Riley protecting Ellie from the other girls in the school, particularly the older girls who tried to bully her. Through Riley's influence, Ellie grew rebellious, regularly sneaking out with her to wander the city when they shouldn't. Ellie grew to be immensely loyal to Riley, starting a fight with Bethany when the girl smeared Riley's name. Even after weeks apart, Ellie's loyalty to Riley remained strong, the girl following her out and spending time with her in the abandoned Liberty Gardens mall.[13]
However, Ellie could harbor anger towards Riley. While initially impressed with her joining the Fireflies, upon learning Riley was only able to see her because she was posted at the mall to kill FEDRA soldiers, Ellie grew angry and stormed off, berating her friend for her actions. Despite this, she returned to her and apologized, dancing with one another. Ellie also revealed her hidden feelings for Riley, kissing her in a plea to leave the Fireflies and stay with her.[13]
After the infected attack, Ellie was devastated at losing her friend to the Cordyceps infection. She still does not speak openly about it and implies to Joel that she had to kill Riley's infected self, leaving her with survivor's guilt.[8][4] However, this survivor's guilt spurred her on to find a cure, revealing Riley's impact on Ellie was immense. It also made her determined not to lose anyone else she grew close to, like Joel.[13] Even one year on from Riley's death, Ellie still thought about her and would still harbor her guilt at having lived while Riley could not.[4] Even by 2028, Ellie still regularly wrote in her diary about her guilt towards losing Riley and how much she missed her.[7]
Dina
Dina and Ellie kiss.
Dina and Ellie are best friends in the Jackson community by 2028. The pair have a habit of rebelling together, notably going off on patrol routes to hunt infected against orders. The two prove an effective team though, able to non-verbally strategize plans for killing infected and trusting one another's fighting capabilities. Ellie also admires Dina's sense of humor, including her making a pun joke while on patrol. Dina is also able to understand Ellie, noting the rift between her and Joel as being more than what they say.[7]
Furthermore, Dina expressed loyalty towards Ellie, lying for her to the Jackson council about her encounter with the infected.[7] After losing Joel, Ellie and Dina's bond grew closer. Despite her frustration at Dina keeping her knowledge about Joel's killers a secret for so long, she quickly saw her as an ally in her cause to avenge Joel, leading them to leave Jackson and pursue Joel's killers together.[18]
Romantic tension brewed between the pair, neither openly revealing it to the other. Their hidden affection was revealed when the pair agreed to go to the New Years dance together, where they kissed on the dance floor.[7] However, Ellie was somewhat disheartened at Dina's dismissal of the kiss months later, leading her to mask her disappointment by teasing that Dina was only a 6/10 good at kissing.[18] In truth, Dina did love her though but was repressing her feelings. Their feelings for one another were fully admitted after Ellie took an infected bite to save Dina's life, consequently revealing her immunity and her admission that she would give her life to save Dina. Overjoyed, Dina revealed she was pregnant and the pair had sex together. By morning, Dina revealed her intention for Ellie to live with her and raise a family together, which Ellie joyfully accepted.[19]
Sam Burrell
Ellie formed a friendship with Sam while traveling through Kansas City. The two bonded over their love for Savage Starlight, Sam even teaching her how to sign the book's slogan—"Endure and Survive". Ellie took a liking to the boy, sharing her puns with him, reading Savage Starlight together and playing soccer with him when in the underground settlement.
When Sam expressed his fears to her, Ellie initially tried to cheer him up but eventually responded to the question with a serious answer, understanding Sam wanted her to be genuine. When she learned he was infected, she desperately tried to help him, cutting her own hand in an effort to try to transfer her immunity to him. However, the boy turned the following morning, devastating Ellie that her idea had failed. In remorse, she wrote "I'm sorry" on Sam's Magic Slate, grieving his death.[11]
Henry Burrell
Ellie trusted Henry while in Kansas City, even when Joel was cautious of him. Through Ellie's trust, she helped Henry gain Joel's appreciation and cemented their alliance while trying to escape the city. Ellie even felt comfortable inviting Henry to join her and Joel on their trip to Wyoming, despite knowing Joel would not. When Henry committed suicide, Ellie was distraught, breaking down in tears and overcome with guilt that she was unable to save his brother and blamed herself for Henry's death.[11]
Tommy Miller
Tommy treated Ellie fairly as she was with Joel when they first arrived in Jackson. Understanding Joel's care for her, he agreed to take her to the Fireflies when Joel asked him to.[12] By 2028, Ellie considers him to be almost like an uncle to her, taking her out on sniping patrols even though Joel disagreed with this. Ellie knew how to manipulate him though, able to successfully convince him to relent to her request to go on patrols later that day, leading him to remark she and Joel were arguably identical in nature.[7] Her manipulation had its limits however, as Tommy was forthrightly against Ellie's plans to leave Jackson and avenge Joel, staunchly disagreeing with her understanding about Joel, correcting her that Joel would seek to rescue them if they were ever in trouble, not to avenge their deaths. Despite this, Tommy did express concern for her and openly worried that Ellie and Joel were perhaps too similar than he should have joked about.[18]
Maria Miller
Ellie had an amiable bond with Maria. Despite facing hostility from her in their initial meeting, Ellie got along well with Maria, following her around Jackson. The woman even provided her period products and cut her hair for her. Although, Ellie firmly resisted her efforts to weaken her bond with Joel, believing she knew him better than she did despite Maria's knowledge of Joel's actions with Tommy.[12] She also disbelieved in her stance against letting her pursue Joel's murderers; she tried to appeal to her beliefs in justice before the apocalypse, but when the council voted 8-3 against the proposal, Ellie abandoned the town and by extension, Maria's community she had provided her.[18]
Marlene
Ellie trusted Marlene, viewing Marlene's care and protection over her as something a mother would do. This led her to trying to protect her against Joel and Tess. When told to leave Marlene, the action confused Ellie, who did not wish to part from her.[6]
Tess
Ellie initially struggled to connect with Tess as the woman was with Joel and aggressive towards Marlene.[6] However, Tess soon took a liking to Ellie, answering her questions about the Boston area and even cared for her, helping protect her against infected at the Bostonian Museum and even tried to educate her about how the infected functioned.[10]
Kat
Kat and Ellie used to date one another. However, by 2028, they have split up and Ellie no longer respects Kat as much. Notably, she constantly dismisses her instructions on patrol and even disrespects her orders by hunting an infected with Dina despite Kat's constant commands not to. This ignorance leads Maria to ask Ellie to apologize to Kat, which Ellie reluctantly accepts.[7]
Behind the scenes
Bella Ramsey, the actor who portrays Ellie.
- Ellie is portrayed by English actor Bella Ramsey.[21] More than 100 actors had been considered for Ellie[22] as the producers sought a performer who could portray a resourceful, quirky, and potentially violent character.[23] After watching Ramsey's audition tape, they reached out to Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss—a series in which Ramsey had starred previously—who assured them of their talent. Ramsey secured the role less than a month after their audition[24] and received news of their casting during production on a different project.[25]
- Ramsey was aware of the game before their audition,[26] but was encouraged not to play it to avoid replicating Ashley Johnson's original performance, instead watching some gameplay on YouTube to "get a sense of it".[27] As of filming the series, they still hadn't played the game.[28] Ramsey wanted their performance to be reminiscent of the games without copying them.[29]
- Ramsey, who is English, learned an American accent for the role,[30] and had to cut off over 15 inches of hair.[26]
- Some fans expressed doubt regarding Ramsey's casting of Ellie. Ramsey admits that they were initially upset by the negative fan feedback, even causing them to doubt the casting choice. They eventually accepted their role as Ellie and responded to those who doubted them, saying "...and I can do it, I am a good actor, but this will last for a few weeks and then I'll think I'm terrible again. That’s just the process."[26]
Quotes
| “ | A 14-year old orphan who has never known anything but a ravaged planet, struggles to balance her instinct for anger and defiance with her need for connection and belonging… as well as the newfound reality that she may be the key to saving the world.
―Official description from HBO's website.[31]
|
” |
| “ | Everybody I have cared for has either died or left me... everybody fucking except for you!
―Ellie to Joel after he says she does not know loss.
|
” |
- Ellie: Endure. Survive. Fuck yeah man!
- David: "You know what I see when I look at you? Me. You remind me of me. You're a natural leader. You're smart, loyal...violent."
- Ellie: "You don't know anything about me"
- David: "Oh but I do. If I let out of that cage, stuck that knife of yours in your hand, you'd stick me in a circuit. You have a violent heart, and I should know. I've always had a violent heart."
- Ellie: "There's no halfway with this. We finish what we started."
- Ellie: "When I got bit in the mall, I wasn't on my own. My best friend was there, and she got bit too. We didn't know what to do and she just said, 'we can wait it out, be all poetic and just lose our minds together'. But then she did, and I had to...Her name was Riley, and she was the first to die and then it was Tess and then Sam."
Gallery
Season 1
Promotional images
![Promotional poster featuring Bella Ramsey as Ellie.[21]](/wiki/File:Ellie_HBO_promo_poster.jpeg "Ellie HBO promo poster.jpeg (2.45 MB)")
Official stills
Behind the scenes
Season 2
Promotional images
Official stills
Appearances
- HBO's The Last of Us
- Season 1
- Episode 1: "When You're Lost in the Darkness" (first appearance)
- Episode 2: "Infected"
- Episode 3: "Long, Long Time"
- Episode 4: "Please Hold to My Hand"
- Episode 5: "Endure and Survive"
- Episode 6: "Kin"
- Episode 7: "Left Behind"
- Episode 8: "When We Are in Need"
- Episode 9: "Look for the Light"
- Season 2
- Episode 1: "Future Days"
- Episode 2: "Through the Valley"
- Episode 3: "The Path"
- Episode 4: "Day One"
- Episode 5: "Feel Her Love"
- Episode 6: "The Price"
- Season 1
References
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (January 11, 2024). "'The Last Of Us': Isabela Merced Cast As Dina In Season 2 Of HBO Series". Deadline. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ↑ B. Vary, Adam (March 5, 2025). "'The Last of Us' Adds Joe Pantoliano, Alanna Ubach, Ben Ahlers and More for Season 2 (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ↑ Kit, Borys; Goldberg, Lesley (February 10, 2021). "'Last of Us': 'Game of Thrones' Breakout Bella Ramsey to Star as Ellie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 9: "Look for the Light" (transcript)
- ↑ Kit, Borys; Shanley, Patrick (March 5, 2020). "'The Last of Us' Series in the Works at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 1: "When You're Lost in the Darkness" (transcript)
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 HBO's The Last of Us season 2, episode 1: "Future Days" (transcript)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 4: "Please Hold to My Hand" (transcript)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 3: "Long, Long Time" (transcript)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 2: "Infected" (transcript)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 5: "Endure and Survive" (transcript)
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 6: "Kin" (transcript)
- ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 7: "Left Behind" (transcript)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 HBO's The Last of Us season 1, episode 8: "When We Are in Need" (transcript)
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us season 2, episode 6: "The Price" (transcript)
- ↑ Variety: ‘The Last of Us’ Shocker: Creators Tell All on That Huge Death
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 HBO's The Last of Us season 2, episode 2: "Through the Valley" (transcript)
- ↑ 18.00 18.01 18.02 18.03 18.04 18.05 18.06 18.07 18.08 18.09 18.10 18.11 HBO's The Last of Us season 2, episode 3: "The Path" (transcript)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 HBO's The Last of Us season 2, episode 4: "Day One" (transcript)
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us season 2, episode 5: "Feel Her Love" (transcript)
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Poster released by The Last of Us (@TheLastofUsHBO) on Twitter. Tweet. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
- ↑ Kile, Meredith B. (January 6, 2023). "'The Last of Us': Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey on Fan Expectations for the Upcoming Series (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ Manfredi, Lucas (January 6, 2023). "'The Last of Us' Creators Talk the Scrapped Movie Adaptation and How Changes From the Game Were Made With 'Care'". TheWrap. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ Hibberd, James (January 4, 2023). "How 'The Last of Us' Plans to Bring the Zombie Genre Back to Life". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ "The Last of Us: Teen actress honoured to land lead role". BBC. October 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Greenwood, Douglas (January 11, 2023). "In 'The Last of Us,' Bella Ramsey Might Save the World". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ Ryan, Patrick (October 7, 2022). "'Catherine Called Birdy': Bella Ramsey on why that 'more hopeful ending' differs from the book". USA Today. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ Lammers, Tim (January 6, 2023). "The Last Of Us Stars Pedro Pascal And Bella Ramsey Explain How They Used The Video Game In Preparation For The Series". Looper. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ Byrd, Matthew (October 13, 2022). "HBO's The Last of Us: Ellie Actress Explains Why She Hasn't Played the Games". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ "IGN Interviews the Cast of The Last of Us HBO". IGN. January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ↑ Ellie on HBO's official website. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
| Groups | |
|---|---|
| Austin | Connie Adler · Danny Adler · Denise · Javier Miller · Jimmy · Lauterstein · Mercy · Nana · Nasir · Sarah Miller · Tahira |
| Boston | |
| Cannibals | |
 FEDRA | |
 Fireflies | |
| Jackson community | Adam · Amy · Amy-Beth · Benji Miller · Caleb · Carlisle · Charlie · Dina · Dominique · Earl · Ellie Williams · Eugene Lynden · Gail Lynden · Jeanine · Jesse · Joel Miller · June · Kat · Kylie · Louie · Maria Miller · Marshall · Max · Rachel · Scott · Seth · Shimmer · Tommy Miller · Vanessa |
| Jakarta | |
| Kansas City | |
| Kansas City resistance | |
| Lincoln | |
| Omaha | |
 Seraphites | |
 WLF | Abby Anderson · Bonnie · Brancaccio · Burton · Elise Park · Hanrahan · Isaac Dixon · J. Pantella · Leon Park · Manny · Mel · Morello · Nora · Owen · Welsh |
| Wyoming | |
| Other characters | |