Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 3.The Last of Us episode 3 features a scene in which Ellie finds a trapped infected which has a profound meaning for her overall character development. The Last of Us episode 3 picks up almost directly from where episode 2 left off, with Joel and Ellie traveling to Bill and Frank's town after the death of Tess. On the way there, Joel and Ellie make a pit stop at an abandoned diner in order for Joel to recover some stashed supplies.
During this sequence, as Joel tries to jog his memory of where he stashed the cache, Ellie finds a basement beneath the building. Her inquisitive nature lures her into the basement where she comes face to face with a trapped infected. Not only is this scene important to Ellie's The Last of Us immunity, but has a deeper meaning concerning her character and the harrowing journey she will go on.
Ellie Cutting The Infected's Head Open Shows What's Growing Inside Her
Immediately it becomes clear that the infected human is trapped beneath fallen debris, meaning Ellie is given the opportunity to get close to one relatively danger-free for the first time. Again her inquisitive nature is highlighted here, as Ellie cuts open the infected host's head. While this may seem unnecessarily violent at first, the scene has a meaning to Ellie's character. As is clear from the state of her arm after being bitten twice, the Cordyceps infection is still passed into Ellie's body. However, as is also evident from The Last of Us' central plot, Ellie's body has immunity to the spread.
With every other infected host, shown in horrifying detail with The Last of Us episode 2's Clickers, the fungal infection spreads from the inside out and takes over the human host completely. With Ellie, however, her condition makes it so that the infection is transmitted into her, yet does not spread in the same way. Ellie cutting open the head of the infected allows her to see the fungal growth that is inside her, giving her an almost existential look at her own immunity through another infected human.
Ellie's Infected Encounter Hints At A Darker Future
Warning! This section contains brief game spoilers for The Last of Us.This sequence, however, can also be used to explore the dark future Ellie faces. As is known from both the remainder of The Last of Us' story from the game and the game's sequel, Ellie will have to do some very dark deeds in the near and distant future. Ellie's cut of the infected and subsequent execution of it can hint at what Ellie is capable of - performed excellently by The Last of Us' Bella Ramsey.
This sequence shows Ellie is not fearful of getting her hands dirty. Being born and raised in a bleak dystopia, it makes sense for Ellie to be mature beyond her years. Her murder of the infected in The Last of Us episode 3 proves this before the rest of her journey takes place. With The Last of Us episode 4 undoubtedly beginning the arc centering on Sam and Henry, two important characters from the game, this scene in episode 3 could not have been more perfectly timed to set up Ellie's bleak future.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.