Bella Ramsay, who played Ellie in the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, apparently gets the beloved character in a completely different way than the diehard fans. What do her most-recent comments mean for season 2!
Even though the final episode of HBO's The Last of Us already aired a few months back, the hype just doesn't seem to die down. With a confirmed second and third season, with Season 2 coming out in late 2024 (if we're lucky), fans have to find other pastimes to make the wait bearable. Or they have to obsess over everything cast members say. Might as well do that one.
Spoiler warning: this article will discuss the events of the show and both games. Get out of here if you lived under a rock for the past years and go catch up!
"She has a violent heart. David was right" – Bella Ramsay Upsets Fans With Comments On Ellie
There is one scene in The Last of Us that was one hell of a gut punch when the game first came out and continued to rip our hearts out ten years later when it was HBO's turn to have a go at it.
Set in the winter section of the game where players take control of Ellie for the first time, she meets David. While desperately trying to keep Joel alive after his grave wound, she now has to deal with a guy no one would like to meet... like, ever.
David is horrible, for many different reasons that even slightly differ in the game and in the show, but the point still stands: he deserved everything he got and even worse.
What makes David so horrible? Im gonna make it quick: he's a cannibal and, most likely, a pedophile. I don't think I really need to reiterate any further.
- For those of you who can't get enough of TLOU: did you even know there are graphic novels with a completely new story, revolving Ellie's time in the QZ?
It gets even worse when David tells Ellie in Episode 8 of the show that he sees them as equals because they are so similar to each other. That's stuff you don't wanna hear from a psychopathic cult leader.
Now it gets spicy, though, because Bella Ramsay agrees. Here's what they said at the Los Angeles Times Drama Roundtable:
"There's a line that David says to [Ellie] when she's in the cage. He's like, 'you have a violent heart.' And I think she resists that instantly because she knows, deep down, that she does. And then in this moment [where she kills him] at the end of the episode you see that violence. She does have a violent heart. David was right."
Agreeing with someone like David is a tough pill to swallow. So, how come?
"That moment is a catharsis. It's a release of all the pain and the fear that she's been experiencing. And the loss." [..] "And then this moment at the end of the episode, you see that violence. She does have a violent heart. David was right." pic.twitter.com/DoziNY9qPk
— The Last of Us News (@TheLastofUsNews) June 17, 2023
The Game And The Show Are Quite Different
Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog, creator of The Last of Us, who was heavily involved in the making of the show, and Craig Mazin, director, executive producer and writer of the HBO adaptation may had a little more in mind than just making The Last of Us available to those who don't like to play video games themselves, when they adapted the game for TV. It seems like they want to add some spins to an already beloved narrative, and you can already see the hints.
I won't sit here and say that Ellie couldn't hurt a fly and is not violent, because she is. A few years after that particular scene with David, she packs up her things and kills half of Seattle's population for vengeance. That's inherently violent (even though I will admit I had the time of my life doing so).
But I have to make a case for Bella here, because - unlike many Twitter users who went absolutely bonkers about what Bella said - I get where she's coming from, and there's a few reasons for that.
trying to support Bella through everything but they terribly mischaracterized Ellie by saying she has a violent heart
— amy (@spellwells) June 17, 2023
Game-Ellie and Show-Ellie are actually two people in their own right. And Show-Ellie does seem a little bit more prone to unnecessary violence. Game-Ellie didn't shy away from violence either, but the fascination Ellie has with that in the show is for sure no coincidence. Cutting an Infected just for the hell of it? Yeah, we didn't see that in the game. Still a long way to be that level of "violent heart" that cannibalistic David was, to be clear.
In fact, David doesn't even say that line in the game. He just tells Ellie that she "has heart, is loyal, and special." There's gotta be a reason for that change.
What Does That Mean For Season 2?
Mazin and Druckman obviously got something cooking there. This could either take The Last of Us Part II's story to a new extreme or give us a whole new perspective on it.
Ellie not having a violent heart is a huge point in the second game. Going on her vengeful quest, losing herself and basically everyone she cares about in the process? It only hurts this much because she is not inherently violent. She doesn't enjoy that, she's not cruel, she's enraged and she pays the price in the end.
- Go on and respect the man we lost .
This could be a good way for the show to set Ellie and Abby further apart. Basically, those two are two sides of the same coin, with one of them taking things a teeny tiny bit too far. It may also help to ease the fans into liking Abby more by showing that Ellie is not this perfect character who did nothing wrong in her life, ever.
Still, I won't leave without saying: Ellie does not have a violent heart, and to me, she is this perfect character and she did nothing wrong in her life, ever.
To show that I'm not biased, though, I'm gonna show you something TLOU-related that actually sucks: