Warning: spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 1 episode 9.
The appearance of Ashley Johnson as Ellile’s mother in a flashback scene was one of the most anticipated moments of the whole The Last of Us TV series.
Ashley was the original Ellie in the franchise, starring as the character through voice acting and motion capture, until Bella Ramsey took over the role in the HBO version, leading the cast with Pedro Pascal as Joel.
The programme eventually answers a major point in the episode 9 finale: how did Ellie acquire resistant to Cordyceps in the first place?
Here’s how it goes down.
How is Ellie immune to Cordyceps?
How Ellie developed immune to Cordyceps has remained a mystery since the beginning of The Last of Us. Until now, that is.
While it was only hinted at in the video game, the truth is revealed in the opening seconds of episode nine of the TV programme.
In a flashback, Ellie’s mother Anna is being pursued by an infected while suffering from labour pains.
Anna is able to enter a Firefly safehouse and proceed upstairs, but the infected breaks into the room.
During the ensuing melee, Anna is able to stab the infected to death with the dagger that Ellie subsequently receives.
Anna notices she’s been bitten in the leg as she realises she’s given birth to her daughter on the floor.
Although knowing that her life is finished, Anna promptly cuts the umbilical chord and comforts her newborn child until Marlene and the other Fireflies come.
Marlene is convinced that she severed the umbilical lead before being bitten by Anna, which we all know is not the case.
As a result, it appears that Ellie is immune to Cordyceps since her mother was sick while pregnant and perhaps passed antibodies to her through the umbilical cord.
If Anna had been truthful with Marlene and told her that she had severed the umbilical lead after being bitten, Ellie may have been killed as a precaution.
On the other side, if they realised Ellie wasn’t changing despite being exposed, it may have led to an earlier study for a cure for the virus. What ifs have such power!
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW.
Source My Celebrity Life.