The Last of Us star garners strong reactions from fans after revealing one of her character Ellie's main goals. HBO's The Last of Us, the television adaptation of the 2013 video game produced by Naughty Dog, will feature Bella Ramsey as lead character Ellie, with Pedro Pascal starring opposite her as Joel, her unlikely road trip partner. The post-apocalyptic video game, which spawned a sequel in 2020, is highly acclaimed and extremely popular among players for its fascinating, bleak world and touching story, leading to plenty of anticipation for the show. So far, the series is promising a faithful adaptation of the game, with the game's writer and director Neil Druckmann serving as the series' co-creator.

One of the throughlines of both the video game and the series is the bond between Ellie and Joel, which Ramsey and Pascal clearly understand the importance of, since they have reportedly developed a sweet friendship working on the show together. Most recently, the official The Last of Us HBO Twitter account posted a snippet of Ramsey's comments at a panel at Brazil's Comic-Con Experience (CCXP), in which she says one of Ellie's biggest priorities is "to make Joel laugh." Fans were quick to praise Ramsey's intimate knowledge of Ellie and share emotional reactions to the prospect of seeing Ellie's shenanigans in live-action. See the original tweet with her quote and several of the excited replies from fans below:

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Ellie And Joel's Bond, Explained

The Last of Us Ellie Joel Bella Ramsey Pedro Pascal

While both The Last of Us video game and series will share plenty of dark, serious, and emotional moments, it's the moments of levity that truly stand out and create a bond between characters. For example, a crucial memory in The Last of Us Part 2 revolves around Joel teaching Ellie how to play guitar and singing to her. While dramatic scenes will be inherent in the dark show, it is essential that it include everything that makes Ellie and Joel human, which includes showing Ellie's goofier side, since she is, after all, a teenager.

Due to the darkness of the world they inhabit, the small, fun moments, like Ellie's puns in the summer season of the video game, offer a break from the bleakness for both characters and players, as well as slowly seeping through Joel's gruff facade. It's true that Joel and Ellie's moving bond is partly due to the things that each has lost, with Joel's loss of his daughter obviously remaining prevalent throughout the games as well as the series, based on the trailer. However, an even more important element of Joel and Ellie's relationship revolves around what they have found in each other, and those moments of levity are of immense value for the characters despite simply seeming fun or silly.

Ramsey's comments about Ellie striving to get a laugh out of Joel show that she understands not only the tragic parts of Joel and Ellie's bond, but the happy, hopeful parts as well. The reactions from The Last of Us fans indicate their approval of Ramsey's casting, as well as their feelings about the inevitably tragic trajectory of the show. While it's exciting that Ramsey really understands Joel and Ellie's relationship in The Last of Us, her excellent performance will likely make the series even more devastating, which fans have already started preparing for based on the above tweets.

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