Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 8 and the original games.The Last of Us episode 8 has one major scene which raises the question of whether Ellie can actually infect other people. Since The Last of Us episode 1, it has been clear that Ellie possesses somewhat of an immunity to the Cordyceps infection. She was first bitten around three weeks before the premiere episode, as showcased in The Last of Us episode 7, before being bitten again in The Last of Us episode 2 by a Clicker.
Neither of these bites affected her in the same way that the infection has been shown to decimate mankind in The Last of Us. Due to the unclear nature of her immunity, the storyline with David and Ellie in The Last of Us episode 8 raises the intriguing question of whether Ellie can infect others. From David's cannibalistic nature and almost eating Ellie's "tainted" meat to Ellie physically biting David at one point in The Last of Us episode 8, the concept of Ellie potentially infecting other people demands explanation.
Ellie Almost Certainly Cannot Infect Others In The Last Of Us
While the end result of what would occur from a group of people eating Ellie - as was threatened in The Last of Us episode 8 - is unclear, there are some hints from The Last of Us Part II surrounding Ellie's immunity and how it works. Throughout the second game, and even the first, players can read various journal entries that provide a wealth of background context on both the characters and world of The Last of Us. In The Last of Us Part II, a journal entry of Ellie's from when she was 16 and living in Jackson can be read, and strongly suggests she cannot infect others.
This journal entry details Ellie's first kiss with her ex-girlfriend Cat. The entry explains that Cat kissed Ellie, after which the latter freaked out through fear of infecting her. As bites are the most common way Cordyceps is spread, Ellie was fearful that her saliva would infect Cat through their kiss. However, the journal entry also reveals that Ellie watched Cat closely after this, and the latter did not turn. From this interesting, albeit limited, information, it can be assumed that Ellie cannot infect others whether through a bite like she gave David, or the horrifying thought of David and his crew ingesting Ellie.
How Exactly Does Ellie's Immunity Work In The Last Of Us?
All of this also brings the unclear nature of Ellie having immunity in The Last of Us to light. The show itself has not yet explained how Ellie's immunity works, yet prior elements from The Last of Us episode 1 and the original game can provide some semblance of an answer. Ellie's bite marks are among these elements, since they are shown throughout The Last of Us to still have Cordyceps running beneath the skin, meaning that while Ellie was infected with Cordyceps, the infection simply did not affect her in the same way it did the rest of mankind.
Cordyceps is still present in Ellie's system, it just does not take over her brain and turn her into the typical infected that has been showcased in The Last of Us thus far. Ellie is not specifically immune from the fungi Cordyceps in The Last of Us, as her body is not killing the fungi as it enters - something explained by an audio log that can be found in the final level of The Last of Us. It is more a case of Ellie's body causing the Cordyceps to mutate into a strain that is non-lethal and does not cause the violent, disease-spreading hosts seen in The Last of Us.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.