Ramsey shares her ‘Last of Us’ character will undergo a turbulent transformation.
Bella Ramsey candidly spoke about her character, Ellie, in the successful series The Last of Us, where she co-starred with Pedro Pascal. During the show The Envelope Emmys Roundtable of Spectrum News, she narrated a particular scene from the first season and what would its effect be on the future of Ellie’s character development.
It was a spine-chilling scene in episode 8 involving Ellie and a character named Dave. What unfolds is a gruesome tableau, where Ellie kills David with an ax. What's more, is that Ellie could have stopped after delivering the killing blow but, she didn't. She continued, unrelenting in her assault. This wasn’t just an act of violence; it was an exorcism of pent-up pain, fear, and loss.
"I think at the end of Episode 8, when she's just had this experience with David. She's been kept captive by him, and then she kills him with the ax. That moment is a catharsis. It's a release of all the pain and the fear that she's been experiencing. And the loss."
A pivotal line in this scene is when David tells Ellie that she has a “violent heart,” which she initially resists but realizes to be true. Ramsey described this moment as a “catharsis” for Ellie. Ellie realized she was not scared of her violent act, but rather her unbridled savagery.
"That moment is so pivotal, because there's a line David says to her when she's in the cage: 'you have a violent heart.' She resists that instantly, because she knows, deep down, that she does. And then this moment at the end of the episode, you see that violence. She does have a violent heart. David was right."
Viewers appetite for gripping storylines and enthralling characters has been increasing. Hollywood found a goldmine when the eponymous video game franchise by Naughty Dog game studio was adapted into a series for television.
Fans Eagerly Await Ellie’s Dark Evolution on Screen
The scene will be recognized by fans of the video game counterpart as the beginning of Ellie’s dark descent. In the second installment of the game, the consequences of Ellie’s actions started to dawn on her. She began grappling with its effects and this is where her character took on darker shades. She evolved from an optimistic and hopeful personality to a more pensive and downcast one.
Here lies the magic of adaptation. Showrunner Craig Mazin revealed that the second season will stay loyal to the essence of The Last of Us: Part II game. However, there’s a possibility that the storytelling might deviate similar to what they did in the first season. Fans are already wondering at how much of the game will be covered in the upcoming season. They are eagerly waiting and at the edge of their seats speculating how many seasons will it take to fully unpack the entirety of The Last of Us: Part II game.
What’s unequivocal is that Ellie’s character is poised for a far more substantial role in the upcoming season. Despite a time jump that occurs in the games, Bella Ramsey will continue portraying Ellie. The seeds for her tumultuous journey have already been sown in the first season, and as Ramsey hinted, this transformation in Ellie’s character is likely to be the linchpin for the seasons ahead.
