Ellie (The Last of Us)

Ellie is the focal character of The Last of Us series. She serves as the deuteragonist of The Last of Us, the main protagonist of both the Left Behind DLC and The Last of Us Part II, and The Last of Us: American Dreams. When introduced as a fourteen-year-old survivor, Ellie is "mature beyond her years" - a result of the circumstances of her environment.

Why She Used To Mature Beyond Her Years

 * 1) Ellie's journey throughout the game makes her grow as a person, understanding what it means to survive, and acknowledge Joel's pain as a survivor. Showing that she's more than an "immune against zombie bites" plot device.
 * 2) It is true that her first meeting with Joel wasn't great, but as the game progresses, she starts to understand his pain of losing his daughter Sarah, his will as a survivor, his rocky relationship with his brother Tommy, and the pain he's been going through.
 * 3) As a child, Ellie does try to do anything to remain tougher than she looks, maintaining her to be independent of her own.
 * 4) Even weeks after the death of her best friend Riley, Ellie tries to cope with her sadness and find something to maintain her humanity during the apocalypse.
 * 5) With society being collapsed by the infected, Ellie does try to lighten the mood with a joke book to impress Joel.
 * 6) Speaking of which, the bond between Joel and Ellie is what made The Last of Us itself a timeless videogame.
 * 7) * Joel didn't fully trust Ellie when he first met her, since he's had second thoughts about delivering Ellie to the Fireflies or was sent on a wild goose chase.
 * 8) * As months go on, he seems to develop a reliance with her, building a trust the same way with Tess, and Joel starts to see the spirit of his late daughter Sarah inside Ellie, and uses this second chance in becoming a good father again.
 * 9) * She was comforted by Joel after she has killed David and being emotionally scarred, which gives a realistic depiction of both Joel and Ellie are scarred and invulnerable people being affected in an apocalypse and can change for the worst.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Her character was horribly butchered in the sequel, turning her into a psychopathic serial killer who's hellbent on revenge.
 * 2) * This may be justified to Abby killing Joel, but it was kinda stupid of Ellie to kill everyone who had nothing to do with Joel's death.
 * 3) * It didn't really help that Ellie decided to forgive and spare her when Abby didn't do anything to earn it.
 * 4) As iconic as her "It all can't be for nothing." line is, it has aged poorly given what The Last of Us Part II progressed.

Trivia

 * Ellie is the only known human to be immune to the Cordyceps brain infection.
 * In Left Behind, during the exploration of the Mall (more specifically, the photo booth), Ellie types her surname. Though it is encrypted, it can be seen that her surname consists of eight letters.
 * Ellie has a habit of rubbing her nose and wringing her hands together, especially in situations that could be seen as stressful. This implies towards a nervous tic.
 * Players can browse through Ellie's artifacts while she is playable in The Last of Us. When browsing, Ellie will comment on specific items, this includes Anna's letter, Riley's pendant, and other interactive objects, such as her own switchblade. She loses only one artifact from her backpack by the end of the game, Joel and Sarah's soccer photo, which is given to Joel.
 * The ending of The Last of Us is somewhat similar to the beginning, albeit reversed. In the prologue, Joel and Sarah start off at home, and then use the car to escape the infected, which eventually crashes, forcing Joel to carry Sarah, who is eventually shot by the soldier. Sarah then dies in Joel's arms. Near the end of the game, an unconscious Ellie (reminiscent of the dying Sarah) is carried by Joel out of the hospital away from humans and into a car. The duo then drives 'home', home being Tommy's settlement.
 * Ellie does share the same similarities with Taiga Aisaka from the Toradora! series:
 * Both have attitudes and demeanors to present themselves as tough, but at the same time, they're both loyal and kind hearted.
 * Both have brown hair.
 * Both have determinations to survive.
 * Both have acquaintances that later turned into their allies (Ryuuji becoming Taiga's boyfriend and future wife, and Joel becoming Ellie's foster father).
 * Ellie is lesbian.