Ellie Williams is a lesbian character from The Last of Us.
Biography[]
Ellie was born six years after a mutant strain of the Cordyceps fungus began infecting human beings, turning them into zombie-like creatures and mutants. Raised behind the walls of Boston City, which had been converted into a fortified "Quarantine Zone" by F.E.D.R.A, a provisional government which rose to power in the years after the Codryceps pandemic brought about the collapse of society, Ellie never knew her parents. Her mother, Anna, died in labor, and it is unknown what happened to her father, but it is believed he was never a part of her life.
As Ellie grew, she was enrolled in a military boarding school, where she was trained to one day be a soldier. Unbeknownst to her, Ellie was placed in said school by Marlene, the leader of a Revolutionary Militia group who had been battling F.E.D.R.A for years known as the Fireflies. Marlene was a friend of Anna's and had promised to protect Ellie in case anything happened to her. Given how Marlene's life as a revolutionary leader was too dangerous to raise Ellie directly, she had chosen to watch her from the shadows, keeping her life as safe as possible from a distance.
While studying at the boarding school, Ellie befriended another girl her age name Riley. Neither of them were particularly fond of F.E.D.R.A, but Riley especially disliked them, and longed to become a Firefly herself. The two of them grew closer as the years passed by, and Ellie ultimately developed a crush on her.
When she was Thirteen years old, Ellie's life would be forever changed when she and Riley snuck out of Boston to explore an abandoned mall. The two of them would be chased out of the mall, only to be rescued by none other than Marlene, who had been in the same area by chance. Realizing who she was, Riley asked to join the fireflies, but was denied.After insisting, Marlene ultimately pointed a gun at her. Springing to action, Ellie disarmed one of the Fireflies accompanying Marlene and pointed it at her. Marlene quickly explained the whole incident was merely a test, and informed Ellie of her history with her mother. Marlene gifted Ellie a switchblade before having her and Riley go back home.
One year later, Riley would go on to sneak out of the boarding school and join the Fireflies in earnest. The night before she was set to ship out to another station far from Boston, Riley came back to Ellie's bunk and invited her out to explore another abandoned Mall. The two of them had fun together in the abandoned public center before Riley ultimately explained that she had to leave; seemingly forever. Not knowing if she would ever see her again, Ellie kissed her. She was nervous she had offended Riley, but Riley seemed perfectly fine with it; possibly feeling the same way about her. Before they could speak any more about the topic, they were ambushed by a swarm of Cordyceps infected humans. Ellie and her friend managed to kill all of the infected utilizing her switchblade and their military training, but were both bitten in the process, infecting both of them with the Cordyceps. Beliving they were both condemned to turn, Riley tried to cheer Ellie up by suggesting they stay together while the infection takes it's course; letting them "go crazy together." Ellie accepted, however before long Ellie noticed that, while Riley would eventually show all signs of infection, losing the ability to speak and becoming incredibly violent and aggressive; Ellie herself never showed any symptoms of infection beyond some negligible fungal growth on her arm where she had been bitten.
Heartbroken by the loss of her friend, and unsure who to turn to, Ellie ultimately decided to go to the fireflies, hoping Marlene would believe her. Marlene was initially distrustful of Ellie's story, and believed she would turn soon, but after some time passed and Ellie showed no progression of symptoms, Marlene realized that Ellie was not only telling the truth, but that she was the first human being to ever show natural immunity to the Cordyceps virus. Marlene saw Ellie's immunity as the key to finding a cure for the Cordyceps infection, and made transporting Ellie to a firefly science facility in Colorado so that her doctors could study her and hopefully develop a vaccine.
Three weeks pass, and The Fireflies are being pushed out of Boston by overwhelming F.E.D.R.A forces. Running out of options, and injured, Marlene hires two smugglers, Joel Miller and Tess Servopopulos, to transport her out of Boston to a nearby firefly base under cover of darkness. However, Not long after Ellie and her smuggler companions left Boston, they would be caught by F.E.D.R.A security. As per standard order procedure, the guards began to check each of the escapees for Cordyceps infection. Knowing she would be killed if the guards realized she was infected, Ellie stabbed one of them in the leg. In the commotion, Joel and tess were able to overpower and kill the guards. Before she could explain herself, Tess discovered that the test the guard had administered on Ellie was positive, forcing her to show them the bite on her arm and explain how the infection hadn't worsened in three weeks, many times longer than anyone else had ever survived before turning.
Unsure of what to believe, Joel and Tess escorted Ellie through the abandoned outskirts of Boston, running into infected along the way. When they finally reached the Firefly base however, they were disheartened to discover that F.E.D.R.A had already captured the location and killed everyone inside. While Joel elected to give up and Take Ellie back to Boston, Tess insisted that they keep trying to find a way to get her to the fireflies. When pressed on why she was so invested in this, Tess revealed that she had been bitten by an infected earlier, and, feeling guilty for her life of crime and violence, wanted to devote her final moments to a good cause. Himself emotionally devastated by this, Joel agreed to escort Ellie to the fireflies.
Leaving Tess behind while she held off advancing F.E.D.R.A forces, Ellie would follow Joel from that point forward as they searched for the Fireflies. Fortunately, Joel's younger brother, Tommy was a former firefly, so he believed that if he could meet up with him again he could show them how to get back to the fireflies and make a cure from Ellie. The last he knew, Tommy was living in Jackson Wyoming.
Joel and Ellie would spend the next Summer together as they embarked on the long journey from Boston to Jackson, meeting multiple companions, and doing battle with infected and bandits. In the early days of their travels, Ellie was frustrated by how Joel refused to let her carry a gun, as she felt she could be of more use if she was armed, but Joel stubbornly refused, seeing her as too young for the responsibility and inherant dangers of owning a firearm. This would change when, during a run-in with some bandits, Ellie saved Joel's life by shooting an attacker who was drowning him in a puddle. The incident left Ellie somewhat disturbed, but ultimately proved she was capable of killing, and earned Joel's trust.
Several months later, Ellie and Joel would make it to Jackson. By this point, Ellie had grown attached to Joel, seeing him as the father she never had. Joel had grown attached to her as well, but as they came closer to Jackson, grew oddly distant. To their surprise, they would find that Jackson had grown into a prosperous community with running electricity, ample food reserves, and a healthy populace which got along well with itself. What's more, Joel's brother was not only a respected member of Jackson's community, but his wife was the tribe's leader. Tommy welcomed the two of them in with open arms, and offered them a new home behind the safety of their walls. Much to Ellie's surprise, Joel told her to stay with Tommy's wife while he caught up with his brother, causing Ellie to feel separation anxiety.
While staying in Jackson, Tommy's wife, named Maria, would reveal to Ellie that Joel was once a father to another girl her age before the pandemic broke out. During the chaos of the initial outbreak, Joel's daughter was shot and killed by the military as part of an attempt to isolate potentially infected communities from the rest of the country. As such, Joel bares the guilt of failing to protect his child, and fears attachment because he doesn't want to feel the pain of losing someone who trusts him again. Some time after this, Ellie comes across an old photograph of Joel with his late daughter, and decides to keep it. Staying longer in Jackson, Ellie realizes Joel plans on having Tommy deliver her to the Fireflies while he returns to Boston, putting the whole incident behind him. Heartbroken, Ellie steals a horse from a stable and runs away.
Joel and Tommy quickly track Ellie to an abandoned ranch house, where she confronts Joel about his decision to get rid of her. Joel tries to convince her that she will be safer with Tommy than him, but she refuses, telling Joel that he's the only person she ever cared about who hasn't died or left her, and so even if she would be safer with Tommy, she'd feel much less scared if she kept traveling with Joel. During the argument, Joel becomes infuriated when Ellie calls him out for being too afraid of losing another child to keep taking care of her, causing him to angrily state that she is not his daughter, and he is done acting like she is.
The incident leaves Ellie even more upset than before, her visible sadness making Joel feel guilty. Before Tommy can take Ellie away, Joel has a change of heart, and decides to let Ellie continue traveling with him, much to Ellie's relief. Several weeks pass, and they finally arrive at the former College Campus in Colorado The Fireflies had converted into a research center. However, much to Ellie's dismay, they find that the campus had been abandoned, with all that remains of the Fireflies now holed up in a hospital in Salt-Lake City. Ellie and Joel prepare to get traveling again, but are caught by bandits scouting out the Campus. While fighting off the Bandits Joel is impaled in the abdomen, Forcing Ellie to protect him as he leaves the area. They escape, but Joel's wounds become too much for him to bare, and while Ellie is able to stitch up the injury, Joel is left in a comatose state.
Winter rolls in, and Ellie is forced to fend for herself, hunting for food on her own and keeping Joel alive with her limited medical training and supplies. One day, while Ellie is hunting, she meets David, a man who claims to be the leader of a local community. David seems friendly at first, but soon reveals that he is the leader of the bandits who attacked her and Joel at the Campus. David tries to convince Ellie to join him, saying that she is young and innocent, and as such doesn't understand that Joel is "crazy", (An assumption made based on how Joel remorselessly killed many of the bandits during their battle). Ellie refuses, and runs back to the house she is keeping Joel at. The next day, she discovers that the Bandits have tracked her there, looking to kill Joel. Leading them away from the house, Ellie attacks the bandits. She is successful in keeping them from finding Joel's location, but is captured and knocked unconscious by David.
Awakening in a prison cell, Ellie discovers that David's bandits are cannibals. David tells Ellie that his people only do what they need to survive, and insists that, while the other cannibals want to kill her, he believes he can keep her alive if she promises to join them in earnest. David begins trying to groom, Ellie, telling her she is "special" and holding her hand. Ellie, knowing what he is trying to do, breaks his finger and refuses to join him. David decides he cannot convert her and prepares to have her butchered. Returning with another one of his men to hold her down, Ellie bites David on the arm and confesses that she is infected. David checks her arm and sees the Cordyceps growing on her. While he is staggered by this, Ellie takes advantage of the situation and runs away. She almost escapes the town, but is cornered by David in an abandoned restaurant. Hiding from David, Ellie realizes she needs to kill him to escape, since he has the keys to the building's locked exit, and what's worse, David had started a fire to smoke her out of hiding. After a pitched struggle, Ellie manages to cease David's Machete from him, and kill him. Horrified and enraged by the situation, Ellie goes into a fury, repeatedly striking David's corpse until someone grabs her and takes the blade away from her hands. Ellie struggles, but soon realizes that the man grabbing her is actually Joel, having awoken from his coma and come looking for her. Relieved to see him again, Ellie bursts into tears, telling him about how David had accosted her. Horrified by her perils, Joel promises to never leave Ellie alone again.
Spring comes around, and despite Joel's many attempts to cheer her up, Ellie is still traumatized by her experiences with David. Furthermore, as the two of them draw closer to the Firefly base in Saltlake City, Ellie begins to fall into a haze, nervous about what will happen when they finally meet the fireflies, and worried over if they will actually be able to make a cure from her. During their trip through the city, Ellie's mood improves once she witnesses a pack of Giraffe's traveling through the ruins of the city. Watching the unexpected scene with Joel she seems to cheer up, but is still anxious. She tells Joel she will go with him wherever he wants after they are done with the Fireflies, and gives him the picture of his daughter she found back at Jackson.
Before she can make it to the hospital, Ellie falls and gets swept away in a rushing river which had formed in the remains of an old subway station. Possibly from shock she looses consciousness. When she awakens, she is laying on her side in the back seat of a moving car, wearing a patient's apron. looking up she sees Joel driving the car, telling her to take it easy, since she's still recovering from an anesthetic. Asking him what happens, Joel tells her that the fireflies had found other immune people in the time it took for them to finally get there, and concluded that making a cure was impossible. Joel Drives Ellie back to Jackson, where he plans on staying with her. Ellie, disappointed that the Fireflies couldn't make a cure, and not sure if Joel is telling the truth, tells him about her survivor's guilt over Riley's infection, and how after seeing so many people die since then, she feels like she can't get over her guilt if she feels there is any way to make a cure. As such, she asks Joel to promise to her he wasn't lying, which he does.
Living in Jackson, Ellie lives in her own house separate from where Joel does, but still frequently visits him. She was resistant to spend time with him at first, still doubting what he said was true, but he quickly smoothed things over with her by teaching her how to play the guitar. The next few years pass without major incident, Joel effectively adopts Ellie, and she befriends a girl named Dina, and her boyfriend Jesse. She has a short-lived relationship with another girl named Cat, during which time she deliberately burns off the Cordyceps on her arm with acid, and has Cat put a tattoo over the injury, claiming the wound was an accident. Some time after she breaks up with Cat, she begins to develop a crush on Dina. This whole time, Joel never learns that Ellie is a lesbian, and incorrectly believes she is in love with Jesse.
While Ellie's life in Jackson is happy, as she gets older she begins to worry that Joel had indeed lied about the fireflies not believing they could use her, and at the age of sixteen, feeling guilty after hearing about how two teenagers from Jackson got infected, she Sneaks out at night, setting out to revisit Salt lake City and see if the fireflies are still there. While there, she finds the hospital the Fireflies were staying at now abandoned, and an audio recorder with notes from one of the former fireflies; she is shocked to hear the firefly who recorded it claiming that they were trying to catch her and Joel as they left, but ultimately decided against it since "the one man who could have made a cure is dead".
Joel catches up with Ellie, relieved to see her alive. However once Ellie presses him for more information as to what happened there, he grows quiet. Ellie threatens to run away and never come back if Joel doesn't tell her the truth, forcing him to confess what really happened. Joel lied when he said the Fireflies had found other immune people; in fact they were very confident they could make a cure based on Ellie's body. The problem however was that to extract the mutated Cordyceps in Ellie's brain, they would have to kill her. Unwilling to lose another Daughter, Joel rampaged through the facility, killing many fireflies, including the surgeon who was about to operate on her. Ellie is infuriated by Joel's deception and while she returns to Jackson, she says she never wants to see him again.
Ellie mostly sticks to her guns for the next two years, but begins to miss Joel, and considers letting him back into her life. One night, during a ball in Jackson, Dina asks Ellie for a dance. She had broken up with Jesse recently, and seemed like she was finally reciprocating Ellie's feelings. During the dance, Dina ends up kissing her. This causes a scene when the owner of the establishment angrily tells them to break it up, because there are children present. The two of them apologize, although Dina makes a quick remark about him setting a worse example for any kids present. The owner fires back by calling Dina a dike; Prompting Ellie to turn around and start shouting at him. As they argue Joel steps in and shoves the Owner, telling him to stay away from her. Maria breaks up the fight, but Ellie is now angry at Joel for stepping in when she told him she never wanted to see him again. Joel understands her frustration, and leaves. Ellie feels bad about hurting Joel's feelings, and decides to speak to him in private. They talk about her relationship with Dina, and how Joel wants Ellie to be happy with someone she cares about. Ellie then shifts the conversation to talking about what happened in Salt Lake City. She tells him that she feels so betrayed because if she did die to create a cure, then she would have felt like her life mattered. Joel responds by telling her that "If the lord gave him a second chance, he would do it all over again." Ellie tells Joel she doesn't think she can ever forgive him for what he did, but she does want to try; letting him back into her life.
Ellie begins to make plans to start socializing with Joel again, thinking of movies they could watch together, and other things she could do to get back to how things used to be; but tragically, Joel would be kidnapped and murdered the next day by a mysterious woman Ellie's age with a Ponytail. Ellie tried to save him, but was restrained by the mysterious woman's cohorts, and forced to watch as she beat him to death with a golf-club.
Filled with rage, Ellie swears vengeance. She knows Joel's Killer was likely a former firefly, and, tracking her as best as she can, Finds that the murderer is part of a militia group called the WLF (Washington Liberation Front) Located in Seattle. Ellie, alongside Dina, Jesse, and Tommy, assault Seattle, killing many WLF members, including every member of the posse which killed Joel except for the woman who struck the killing blow, who they discover is named Abby. Ellie wants to keep up the attack, not satisfied until the woman who killed Joel was brought to justice, but is forced to return to Jackson when it is revealed that Dina is pregnant with Jesse's baby. Ellie and her companions prepare to leave when, the night before they are set to head out, Abby attacks their hideout, herself wanting revenge for the friends she has lost, killing Jesse and shooting one of Tommy's eyes out.
Ellie battles Abby in a long and grueling fight which leaves both of them wounded, but unfortunately is defeated. Abby almost kills her, but is stopped by Dina. Dina, however, is then shot in the shoulder with an arrow by a child who was traveling with Abby, and seems to be the same age Ellie was when she traveled with Joel. Abby prepares to kill Dina, causing Ellie to plead for her partner's life, telling Abby she is pregnant. Abby is unmoved by this, as one of her companions Ellie killed was also pregnant, (Although she did attack Ellie, forcing her to kill her in self defense). Abby however stays her hand when the child tells her to stop. Abby tells Ellie to get out of Seattle and never let her see her again, and leaves.
Humiliated and left without Closure, Ellie returns to Jackson, and begins a new life on a farm with Dina, raising her baby with her. However she is still haunted by Joel's death, and cannot let her hatred of Abby go. One day, Tommy comes to visit, and tells Ellie that, Abby has been spotted in Santa Barbara. He cannot go on account of his injury, but wants her to. Dina begs Ellie not to go searching for revenge again, but cannot convince her. Ellie would travel alone this time.
Two months later, Ellie would find Abby in Santa Barbara, although under unexpected circumstances. Abby and her child companion have been kidnapped by slavers, and, as punishment for attempting to escape, were crucified several days before she arrived. Ellie battles through the camp, freeing the slaves as she does, and finds Abby and her companion tied to posts by the shore, emaciated, but alive. Ellie takes pity on them, especially given how Abby seems to be taking care of the child like Joel took care of her, and cuts them down, even helping Abby load the child into a nearby boat so they can leave. However, Before they can shove off, Ellie feels a resurgence of hatred for her surrogate father's killer, and challenges Abby to a fight. Tired and too weak to defend herself, Abby refuses, spurring Ellie to threaten the child's life; forcing her to accept. The two of them fight again, with Ellie unsurrpsingly coming out on top this time, although not before Abby could bite off two of her fingers in desperation. Having Defeated Abby, Ellie prepares to kill her, but has a vision of Joel the night before he died, and relents. Breaking into tears, Ellie tells Abby to just leave, which she does.
Returning to the farm, Ellie can't find Dina or her baby anywhere. She tries to play the guitar Joel gave her yeas ago, but finds it too difficult with her missing fingers. More depressed than ever before, Ellie leaves the farm.
Appearance[]
Ellie has straight, auburn hair. At age 14, she usually wears it in a ponytail. At age 19, she's cropped her hair to a bob, styled half-up/half-down. She has a permanent scar on her right eyebrow.
Her clothes and accessories are always dirty because of the post-apocalyptic environment she lives in. She carries her first love's, Riley's, firefly pendant at all times. At age 19, Ellie also wears her Dina's hamza bracelet. On her right forearm is a tattoo of two pieces of greenery and a moth; below it is the scar tissue of a chemical burn meant to cover an old zombie bite.
Personality[]
Ellie is a sarcastic and witty. She's seen the worst in people and continues to fight on. Along with Joel, she's a survivalist. She also has a keen eye for details. In new places, Ellie notices every little thing. Her immunity from the zombie infection makes her very ruthless in protecting her secret. She's loyal to the people she loves; to a fault as it sometimes leads to her acting recklessly. She fears that she’ll end up alone.
Sexuality[]
Ellie seems to accept her sexuality, yet hides it from her adoptive father, Joel. She worries what his reaction might be, although he turns out to be accepting. Ellie's lesbian identity is first revealed during The Last Of Us: Left Behind
Reaction[]
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Relationships[]
Riley[]
The Last Of Us: Left Behind focuses partially on this relationship, and how we know anything about Riley. Riley and Ellie were best friends after meeting in a FEDRA military school. Riley chooses to abandon Ellie and join the Fireflies, a revolutionary militia group. She returns and brings Ellie to an abandoned mall, where they share a kiss. A group of zombie runners attacks the girls, leaving them both bitten. Riley dies, and Ellie finds out she is immune.
Cat[]
Cat is Ellie's ex-girlfriend who is only mentioned through dialogue or in Ellie's journal during "The Birthday Gift" and "Finding Strings" sections of the game. In "The Birthday Gift" there is a section where Ellie notes that Cat sat close to her during movie night, and wonders if it was on purpose. And in "Finding Strings" there is a section detailing their first kiss, where Ellie pushed Cat off of her out of fear of infecting her, then lied and said she did that out of anxiety due to it being her first kiss. There is another section where she remarks how open Cat is about their relationship, referring to Ellie as her girlfriend, and Ellie wonders if she should tell Joel and fears how he'll react. Through dialogue we learn that Dina disliked Cat due to jealousy.
Dina[]
Dina and Ellie are established as being in the same friend group before the events of The Last of Us 2. Two weeks after Jesse and Dina break up, Dina kisses Ellie at a dance. The next day, Ellie and Dina go on a patrol route and smoke weed they find and have sex with each other for the first time in a library basement hideout. The day ends with Dina and Jesse finding Joel dead and tortured, and both Tommy and Ellie injured and traumatized.
After this event, Dina and Ellie began dating as they are evidently closer. Ellie decides to go after the people who killed her adoptive father and Dina insists she come along. They make their way through a post-apocalyptic Seattle, full of infected and soldiers. Near the end of "Seattle Day 1 - Ellie", Ellie jumps on a train car and it falls, sending her into an abandoned station of infected and is attacked. Her mask breaks, and this is when Dina finds out Ellie is immune. After escaping the infected, Dina collapses and Ellie carries her to an abandoned theatre. Ellie tells Dina about her immunity, and Dina reveals she is pregnant. They later share a moment where Dina is vomiting and sick and Ellie comforts her, making up from their previous argument. Dina also gifts Ellie her bracelet, made of leather, blue beads and a hamsa. After a few days in Seattle, Ellie ends up back at the theater defeated and ready to go home to get Dina the medical attention she needs. Abby breaks into the theater and shoots Jesse dead, and severely injuring Tommy and Ellie. Dina saves Ellie's life, getting herself severely injured as well.
The story then skips quite a few months, to when Dina has given birth to her son, JJ. Ellie and Dina live in a farm house together, taking care of their child and the sheep. Ellie now suffers from PTSD, nightmares and panic attacks from being in Seattle and witnessing Joel's gruesome death. She decides she needs to go get Abby at last, and Dina says she cannot do this again. Ellie goes all the way to Santa Barbara, and when she comes back, Dina and JJ have moved from the farm house.
It is unknown what exactly happens after these events. Many fans claim Dina and JJ moved back to Jackson and are waiting for Ellie to return, and others claim Ellie has ruined their relationship forever.
Tropes[]
See Also[]
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| LESBIAN | Cat • Ellie Williams • Riley Abel |
| GAY | Bill • Frank • Jimmy |
| BISEXUAL | Dina |
| TRANS | Lev |