first season of The last of us on HBO has come to an end, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t major discussions. The show dives deep into the story of Ellie’s birth to shed light on the events that may have led to her immunity, with the question ultimately being answered directly through Marlene’s conversation with Joel at Firefly Hospital. . Let’s discuss why Ellie is immune in The Last of Us.
Did The Last of Us explain why Ellie is immune?
The player never gets a definitive answer as to why Ellie is immune in The Last of Us. The show, on the other hand, provides the audience with the backstory and information needed to solve the puzzle. Ellie is immune to Cordyceps because it has grown inside her since birth and signals the real Cordyceps that she is already infected.
Related: Can Ellie infect others in The Last of Us?
Marlene explains this to Joel when he wakes up in the hospital after fireflies knock him and Ellie out. Ellie is preparing for surgery, just like in the game. When Joel asks to see her, Marlene explains that the cordyceps inside Ellie since birth acts as a sort of chemical messenger for the real cordyceps. , conveying that she too is among the infected, preventing the fungus from reacting to take control. . his body.
Picture via HBO
Marlene also clarifies that this is Doctor Firefly’s theory, and he wants to extract the unique cordyceps mutation from Ellie’s brain to produce these chemical messengers in a lab to make a cure. It’s relatively close to the game’s reasoning, and we’ll find out later how important the doctor really is to the future narrative.
Ellie has had cordyceps since birth because her mother, Anna, was attacked and bitten during childbirth. Anna only cuts the umbilical cord after the bite, so she is infected while still in labor. This allows the cordyceps to enter Ellie’s body and trigger the immune mutation. This event is not shown directly in the game, so the show is how we came to this knowledge.
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The events of The Last of Us finale continue in Part II, and Joel’s decision has been debated among fans for over a decade. The game chooses not to explain Ellie’s immunity clearly, but the answer given by HBO does not alter the narrative in any way. It just takes what’s there and makes it definitive for the fans.
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