The Last of Us‘ Ellie is one of the modern video game icons. While she’s only appeared in two games thus far, she is a nuanced, three-dimensional character who we get to see grow from a foul-mouthed, witty teen to a world-weary, deeply complex young woman. And while Naughty Dog is still holding a few key details about Ellie close to its chest (some day we’ll learn how she got that scar), there is still plenty to know about Ellie and her story.
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That said, there are a few details that might’ve slipped by even the most eagle-eyed players. Here are three details even The Last of Us diehards might have missed. The list is ordered roughly in terms of least to most obscure, though it’s a very loose ordering.
3) Her Last Name Was Revealed by the Japanese Manual
Most fans likely know that Ellie’s last name is Williams thanks to the TV series. However, that wasn’t the first place we learned that detail. Until the show and remastered made the name canon, fans speculated about the truth of the Williams’ surname, but it did appear in one unlikely place before it was made official.
Anyone who picked up the Japanese copy of The Last of Us would see that the game manual lists the main characters as Joel Miller and Ellie Williams. This wouldn’t be confirmed as their last names until several years later, making that Japanese manual a fun footnote in the hit franchise’s storied history.
It is seemingly still up for debate if those were always the intended last names, or Naughty Dog played into the fandom a little bit when confirming them. Either way, it’ll be fun to see if any future TLOU games bring in any more members of the Miller or Williams clans. After all, we still don’t know anything concrete about Ellie’s father.
2) She Was Originally Going to Kill Tess
Tess Servopoulos is a relatively minor character in The Last of Us in terms of screen time. She is Joe’s smuggling partner and convinces him to take Ellie to the Capitol Building. Unfortunately, she’s bitten while the trio is getting out of Boston and dies. That part, you must already know, but originally, Tess was going to be the main antagonist of The Last of Us. Naughty Dog abandoned the concept relatively early on, but you can find concept art of her holding a knife to Joel’s throat while the hero is tied to a chair.
The initial idea was that Tess would have a brother who was killed during the smuggling attempt, and Tess would blame the duo. She’d then round up a crew and hunt them across America. Toward the end of the game, she would have captured Joel, and Ellie would save the day by killing Tess. This would show Ellie’s growth in the coming-of-age tale. It would’ve been the catalyst for her to become Joe’s protector after he spent the game protecting her. As you can probably guess, some elements of this concept influenced Abby’s story in The Last of Us Part 2.
1) You Can Catch Her Secretly Picking Up Items
During Ellie and Joel’s adventure in The Last of Us, you’ll notice that Ellie often picks things up from the environment that you’ll see her with in cutscenes. That includes things like Bill’s adult magazines and a toy for Sam. Generally, Ellie’s AI is programmed to do this when you aren’t looking, helping make the moment a surprise. However, if you notice Ellie going out of frame, you can whip your camera around and spot her in the act.
It’s an incredibly small detail that doesn’t affect the game at all. And because you have to be so quick and know exactly when it happens, most players will miss these moments. However, it goes to show the depth Naughty Dog went to when designing the world of The Last of Us. They easily could’ve just made the items automatically go into Ellie’s inventory, but Naughty Dog wants the world to feel as life-like as possible. By adding in these tiny extra scenes, they’re able to add that little sense of believability that stands out when you notice them.
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Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films -
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
