Stunning HBO’s The Last Of Us art by Alice X. Zhang replicates Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) insolent attitude toward the Firefly revolutionary faction.
Spoilers for The Last of Us episode 1 below!New art of Ellie highlights her spunky attitude toward the Fireflies in The Last of Us episode 1. Bella Ramsey stars as Ellie, a foul-mouthed 14-year-old orphan at the center of HBO’s adaptation of the award-winning PlayStation 3 video game of the same name. The horror drama follows hardened black market smuggler Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) as he and his partner Tess (Anna Torv) escort Ellie through a zombie-infested United States to reach the Fireflies, a militant revolutionary faction that aims to save the world.
Artist Alice X. Zhang took to social media to share her stunning The Last of Us art that shows Ellie’s attitude toward the Fireflies. Check out the artwork below:
Zhang’s Ellie rendering is inspired by the character’s episode 1 introductory scene which sees her chained inside a dank apartment room. A member of the Fireflies demands Ellie to count to 10 slowly to which the precocious teen responds, “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. F*ck. You.” She punctuates the line with a middle finger.
Why Ellie Was Held Captive by the Fireflies
Although Ellie was under the Fireflies’ watchful eyes for half of The Last of Us episode 1, the narrative did not explicitly state why she was chained and held against her will. However, Firefly leader Marlene (Merle Dandridge) alludes to Ellie’s past and states that she has a much greater purpose in the world. However, the conclusion of episode 1 offers an answer to Ellie’s imprisonment.
The Last of Us episode 1 ended with Joel and Tess leading Ellie out of the Boston Quarantine Zone in an attempt to meet with a group of Fireflies at the Old State House. When they breach the QZ’s perimeter wall, they stumble upon a Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA) soldier who detains and scans them with his fungal infection scanner. When he reaches Ellie, she stabs the soldier before Joel beats him to death. Tess picks up the scanner and finds that it read Ellie as positive with the Cordyceps infection. However, Ellie quickly explains to Tess that she was bitten three weeks ago but has not yet turned, revealing that she carries a rare immunity to the deadly fungus that has plagued the world.
The Fireflies likely held Ellie in chains to protect themselves in case the infection somehow affected her at a slower pace. In order to assure she would not kill them, they kept her locked up and studied her with questions to assess her mental acuity. Marlene releasing Ellie earlier in the episode showed that Firefly leader was confident that Ellie would not turn and was truly immune. With The Last of Us episode 2 airing Sunday, audiences will see if Joel, Ellie, and Tess make it to the Firefly rendezvous point after traversing an infected-filled Boston.
Source: Alice X. Zhang/Twitter
