HBO's adaptation of the 2013 game The Last of Us boasts well-rounded and meticulously written characters. The post-apocalyptic drama is led by Joel Miller and his cargo-turned-foster-daughter, Ellie. As the infection continues to ravage whatever is left of the United States and the rest of the world, Joel and Ellie travel across America banking on the hope that Ellie's blood is the key to the antidote that will wipe out Cordyceps.
So far, Joel and Ellie's The Last of Us journey has featured run-ins with strong human groups such as FEDRA, deadly attacks by the infected, and of course, Ellie's subtle digs and her dad puns, as featured below.
10 "Gotcha! '80s Means Trouble. Code Broken."
In The Last of Us season 1, episode 1, "When You're Lost in the Darkness," Marlene entrusts Joel to drop Ellie to a team of Fireflies waiting for her at the old State House. Joel and his smuggling partner, Tess agree because of the gains in the deal.
Ellie soon arrives at Joel's apartment and being a quirky, and inquisitive 14-year-old, she starts to snoop around, and ask questions. She successfully breaks Joel's radio code after picking up his book called, Number 1 Hits. She finds a piece of paper that Joel uses to receive messages from his smuggling partners, B/F (Bill and Frank). After Joel wakes up, Ellie tells him there was a song playing on the radio called, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." Sensing the tense look on his face, she figures that an '80s song signifies trouble.
9 "Marlene Said They Get it From Smugglers. Guess Not You Guys."
On their first morning, Joel and Tess struggle to chew hardened jerky while Ellie munches on a chicken sandwich. This prompts The Last of Us' best survivor, Tess to ask Ellie why she's so important.
Ellie replies Marlene sent her with chicken that came from smugglers, knowing full well that Joel and Tess have been in the business for a while. She is no different from kids her age. She is razor-tongued due to the world she grew up in and the ghastly things she's seen. Above all else, Ellie is a typical teenager who resorts to good-natured teasing at any given chance.
8 "Do You Think We Have Pools In The QZ?"
While trying to navigate their way out of Cordyceps ridden, Boston, Joel, and Tess instruct Ellie to cross the inundated hotel lobby to get to the other side. At first, Ellie thinks she's being asked to swim and says she doesn't know how to. She makes fun of the state of affairs in Boston QZ, asking if the two of them thought they had pools back there.
Joel and Tess who have made their way in and out of numerous devastated areas know navigation quite well, but Ellie has to poke fun at experienced elders just to get by.
7 "Ding! Ding! Yes, Sir, I Would Like Your Finest Suite, Please."
Ellie doesn't just trudge through the hotel lobby waters, but she takes her time inspecting the wreckage. She makes her way to the reception desk and acts as if she's about to check in.
Ellie rings the reception bell and asks for the finest suite in the abandoned hotel. Her act brings a smile to Joel and Tess' faces, and it tells them no matter how strong, witty, and snarky Ellie appears to be, she is a kid after all.
6 "The Circus."
The Last of Us season 1, episode 2 "Infected" confirms that Ellie knows how to use her folding pocket knife. Earlier, in The Last of Us premiere, she used it to stab a FEDRA agent's knee, and now she plays with it while Tess figures out their path.
Joel who has been observing Ellie attempts to make small talk and asks her where she learned knife juggling. The quick-witted Ellie gives a typical teen answer, saying, "the circus." Joel rolls his eyes at her and Ellie knows she has to make small talk if they are to stick together.
5 "They Have Hot Water. I Am Taking A Shower. And Then You're Showering Because Seriously."
Ellie and Joel reach Bill and Frank's house towards the end of The Last of Us season 1, episode 3, "Long, Long Time." Joel softens his attitude towards her after reading Bill's heartfelt letter. He is able to deal with Ellie's humorous remarks and even manages to crack a smile when she says he needs a shower.
Ellie isn't afraid to speak the truth or call Joel out on his unsanitary condition. However, she doesn't do it in a respectable way. Unafraid to use her sarcasm, Ellie points out that Joel has been neglecting his personal hygiene.
4 "It's Like A Spaceship."
At the end of "Long, Long Time," Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie use Frank's blue blue-and-white pick-up truck to get to Tommy. But before they drive off, Joel figures from Ellie's excitement it's her first time in a car. She inspects the side mirror, sun visor, and whatnot out of sheer happiness.
Joel tries to cut Ellie's happiness short, but she doesn't budge. She doesn't let Joel's jaded behavior get to her and keeps acting like a 14-year-old happy-go-lucky child that the world didn't let her be.
3 "You Don't Know."
The Last of Us season 1, episode 4, "Please Hold to My Hand" opens with Joel using a hose to siphon gas out of abandoned cars. Ellie asks him about the whole mechanism, and Joel answers in a broken sentence, saying, "It's when liquid travels against gravity...because... pressure..."
It doesn't take Ellie more than a second to figure out that Joel doesn't know anything about siphoning. It's a funny moment and a callback to The Last of Us season 1, episode 1, "When You're Lost in the Darkness," where Joel's daughter, Sarah mocked him and uncle Tommy for not knowing where Jakarta was.
2 "It Doesn't Matter How Much You Push The Envelope, It Will Still Be Stationary."
Ellie fishes out a "No Pun Intended: Volume Too," from her backpack and reads out one of the jokes to Joel. She giggles, and he looks at her in disbelief, just as he would at his daughter, Sarah.
Ellie's joke provides a brief moment of comic relief and a much-needed break from what she and Joel have been through since they teamed up. She's added a new dimension to Joel's life, somewhat akin to one that died with Sarah's heartbreaking death on outbreak day.
1 "Did You Know Diarrhea Is Hereditary? It Runs In Your Jeans."
Ellie reads out another joke from her "No Pun Intended: Volume Too," to Joel in The Last of Us season 1, episode 4, "Please Hold to My Hand." This time around, Joel actually laughs, and they share a light-hearted moment together.
He finally opens up to her by the end of The Last of Us season 1, episode 5 "Endure and Survive," He tells her about going all the way to Wyoming to see his brother, Tommy, and about his plan of action. Whether they want to admit it or not, Joel does become Ellie's foster father mid-season and, therefore, is highly protective of her.