The narrative element that drives the action The last of us It’s Ellie’s immunity to the Cordyceps infection that has ravaged mankind. Eventually the whole plot unfolds from there, and so it ends up in Joel’s path.
But how and why is Ellie finally immune? Is she really the only immune person in The Last of Us? These are constant questions for anyone coming into contact with the game or the series, although there’s no definitive answer. But in today’s video we look at some of the key theories surrounding Ellie’s immunity that might shed some light on the topic.
through the mother
Ellie was born in the spring of 2019, a time when Cordyceps infection was spreading across the United States, leading to the collapse of civilization. From what we know of her origin story, Ellie is the daughter of a woman named Anna, a nurse associated with the fireflies, and a friend of Marlene, the group’s leader. And that’s where the first theory about Ellie’s immunity comes from.
Playback/Playstation
In The last of us, We learn from a letter left by Anna Ellie that she died the day after her daughter was born. And while the circumstances of her death are unclear, it’s suspected she was bitten by an infected a crucial element for our theory to make sense.
This theory states that Ellie’s mother was infected while pregnant with her, meaning that Ellie was exposed to the Cordyceps infection when she was still a fetus. This could mean that she was instilled with her immunity before she was born and therefore it had no effect on her when she was exposed to the Cordyceps infection through a bite. This theory gained strength with the confirmation that Ashley Johnsonwho played Ellie in the original game, will play Anna in the HBO series.
Playback/HBO
In the trailer, Ashley Johnson can be seen holding a newborn baby in what appears to be a flashback to Ellie’s birth. This sequence could confirm that Anna, Ellie’s mother, became infected during her pregnancy, which in turn caused her immunity. But while this has been the theory most widely accepted by fans for years, it’s also the one that poses the most narrative issues, as we’ll discuss below.
natural immunity
There are a few factors that discredit the theory of immunity by Ellie’s mother. Because if Anna was bitten while pregnant with Ellie, she would have had to be in the final stages of her pregnancy to give birth before she died which would be too late for any immunity to develop.
When she found out that Ellie is immune, Marlene would have connected the dots. However, both in the game and in the series, Marlene is as surprised as anyone at the girl’s immunity.
And a third aspect that discredits this theory is that it would mean that Ellie has had the mutant fungus in her system since birth. Therefore, the routine scans of the Boston ZQ would have accused her of contagion years ago and summarily executed her. And here we come to the theory of natural immunity.
Playback/Playstation
It is worth noting that in the game of The last of us, A surgeon’s tape recorder indicates that Ellie’s white blood cell count is not increasing despite the presence of Cordyceps in her bloodstream. From this information we can conclude that the character’s immune system does not fight the virus in the same way that our body would fight the flu, for example, after being vaccinated.
Ellie’s case is compared to “the discovery of penicillin,” suggesting her immunity is simply the result of a mutation. This would render Ellie naturally immune and put an end to theories that suggest she may have been infected as a fetus and developed an immune response.
mutation of the infected
A third theory stems from the fact that the infected that bit Ellie wasn’t the same one that bit Riley in the Left Behind expansion, leaving room for some conjecture about a possible mutant strain leading to an inactive one infection led. While Cordyceps in the universe of The last of us If it’s a mutation that affects humans, Ellie’s infection would just be… another mutation.
Playback/Playstation
This theory indicates that the infected that bit Ellie would carry an inactive mutant strain, which would therefore not evolve in any system, not just Ellie. For example, if he bit Riley, we would have a very different protagonist The last of us.
But in the case of this theory, could a second bite, this one from a common infected, kill Ellie? The answer is no. Finally, the mutant tribe mutated their own immune system as well, something that was hinted at over there in the dialogue about white blood cell counts. As a result, Ellie was able to inhale the spores as normal ingame without becoming contaminated. Since there are no spurs in the series, they created the narrative device of a “second bite”.
But if the theory of being infected with a mutant strain is correct, then surely there should be other infected humans out there, right? As well as other immunes besides Ellie. Then what explains the concept of Ellie being considered unique?
Playback/Playstation
Well it turns out FEDRA instantly killed anyone scanned as infected without any questions asked. There is a scene in the game where a woman is detected by the scan as infected, even though she yells in full conviction that she is not, and is immediately eliminated. With the mutant strain theory in mind, we wonder: how many immune individuals were killed by FEDRA simply because their scans showed infection?
Regardless of people who are bitten and immediately take their own lives or encourage others to do so in order not to become monsters.
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