WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for The Last of Us season 2, episode 1.
The Last of Usseason 2, episode 1 reintroduces one of the story’s most important elements – Ellie’s immunity. The new season picks up five years after the events of season 1, following Ellie and Joel as they navigate life in the survivors’ camp in Wyoming. After a brief appearance from Kaitlyn Dever as the vengeful Abby, a new addition toThe Last of Us’ cast, the majority of this episode explores the fractured dynamic between Ellie and Joel
At theend ofThe Last of Usseason 1, Joel makes the controversial decision to save Ellie from the Fireflies after discovering that they’re going to kill her to study her brain and potentially develop a cure for the zombie virus.Pedro Pascal’s protagonist kills everybody in the facilityto ensure that no witnesses to his crime survive, and this lingering secret is still weighing on his mind in season 2.
Joel & Tommy Are The Only Ones Who Know About Ellie’s Immunity In The Last Of Us
Joel Could Only Trust His Brother With The Crucial Information
Since Joel ensured that nobody survived his encounter with the Fireflies inThe Last of Us’ season 1 finale, the character has decided that Ellie’s immunity should be kept a secret. However,even Joel couldn’t keep it quiet from his brother Tommy, who reveals just how much he knows very early into season 2’s first episode. When Ellie mentions that she can’t be infected, Tommy shushes her and reminds her “We don’t talk about that.”
These simple words prove thatJoel and Tommy have had a discussion about Ellie’s conditionand decided that it would be safer to keep her immunity a secret from the other human survivors at the Wyoming camp. However, Ellie’s brash decision to shout her secret at the top of her lungs hints that she won’t be able to keep it under wraps forever.
Why It’s Safer To Keep Ellie’s Immunity A Secret
The Teenager Would Become A Public Target Otherwise
One of the trickiest things aboutThe Last of Us’ rich post-apocalyptic world is that you don’t know who can be trusted. Even characters that audiences think they can trust ultimately turn out to have ulterior motives - just likeMarlene’s decision at the end ofThe Last of Usseason 1. Therefore, Joel and Tommy are right to keep Ellie’s immunity under wraps, asmany of the survivors would be tempted to hand her over to the remaining Firefliesto develop a vaccine and go back to a normal life.
Joel’s decision was likely influenced by Marlene’s betrayal in the season 1 finale, which proved that he couldn’t trust anybody but himself and Tommy. While it’s easy to understand the character’s intentions,The Last of Usmakes it clear that audiences don’t necessarily have to agree with him.It could have been better for humanity if the Fireflies were indeed able to create a cure, but it’s this conflict between duty and love that makes the story so captivating.
Joel and Ellie Have Clearly Committed To The Secret
Image via Max
The most obvious way that Ellie has concealed her immunity inThe Last of Usseason 2 is thanks to the new tattoo on her forearm, which covers the area where her bite mark would otherwise be. This proves that despite her rebellion against Tommy at the beginning of the episode,she’s agreed to keep her immunity secretand trusts Joel despite any suspicions she may have about him lying to her.
She may be immune to the virus, but Ellie can still be harmed and threatened by the clickers.
Additionally,Ellie cuts into her new bite wound in season 2’s premiereto make it appear less conspicuous to the other survivors. She may be immune to the virus, but Ellie can still be harmed and threatened by the clickers - as proven by her encounter in the abandoned village. If anybody inThe Last of Ussaw her bite wound, they could quickly piece together her lack of symptoms that she’s immune, and the smartest of the survivors could even begin to suspect what Joel did to the Fireflies in this case.
