With The Last of Us 2 trapped in purgatory as it's release date has been delayed indefinitely, players are stuck simply speculating on the game that is yet to come. However, even without the full game to go on, there are a number of hints as to what can be expected from the game when it finally arrives.
Specifically, how Joel's negative influence on Ellie might express itself in the next game in the series. From what Naughty Dog has shown so far, that influence could be what leads to Ellie's entire character-arc for The Last of Us 2, with her attempting to distance herself from Joel and his violent outlook on life or potentially or even unwitting falling into the same trap.
Joel's Life as a Bandit
Joel's violent behavior has been mentioned before, but it bears repeating for the sake of exploring how Ellie may have changed over the years between the original game and The Last of Us 2. Notably, some of the most iconic moments from the first The Last of Us show of Joel as a gruff, cool action hero who doesn't take any trouble from anyone. However, that "gruff" behavior comes with some pretty unforgivable actions, such as torture on multiple occasions, relentless murder as seen in the final chapter, and an almost instinctual habit of responding to problems with violence.
A lot of this can easily be explained by the twenty years that Joel has spent trying to survive in the post-apocalyptic America between the opening sequence of The Last of Us and his next appearance. Plenty of unfortunate circumstances unfold that darken Joel's character, turning him into the monster that David describes towards the end of the game, but two very specific lines explain exactly how low the man has fallen after losing his daughter. First there's Tommy confronting his brother about what he chose to do in order to keep them alive, and then there's Joel mentioning that he recognized the road trap that pulls him and Ellie from their truck because he's set them up himself.
Exactly how long Joel spent as a bandit isn't entirely clear, but his path to becoming a smuggler alongside Tess at the start of the game certainly included a number of questionable choices for the sake of survival. It's even implied that whatever Joel chose to do was the driving force that sent Tommy to join the Fireflies, as he couldn't keep justifying what his brother had been doing to people. These character defects are certainly intentional to make the building relationship between Joel and Ellie a much more touching and compelling story, but as the game takes its natural course, it will have to show the effects on the characters in The Last of Us 2.
Ellie Gets Revenge
So, as mentioned before, there simply hasn't been enough to really know for sure what the plot of The Last of Us 2 will be, aside from some leaks and rumors. However, from the actual footage that has been shown from the early game, it is clear that at some point, Ellie joins up with a group of survivors before an inciting incident occurs that likely kills a number of members of her new family. Then, Joel appears to arrive in time to help her with some mission that she's on, one that doesn't seem to be a desperate escape to safety, but an assault on an enemy force.
Now, this could be a result of some of Ellie's new friends being captured and their rescue being a large part of the early plot of The Last of Us 2. However, if Joel's influence has really affected Ellie, then she might be turning her sights on the people who attacked her and her new friends out of an instinctual need to get even. Of course, this could still be true with or without a rescue storyline, with Ellie becoming obsessed with making her enemies pay as much as she wants to free her allies.
Having Ellie going down some of the same dark paths that Joel went down could be one of the most divisive outcomes for The Last of Us 2, as while the writing may be on the wall, but it still would come as a shock to see this type of change. However, it seems that Joel somewhat approves of what she has decided to do, claiming that he wouldn't let her do it alone, as opposed to would let her follow her plans at all. So, with both of them seemingly on the same wavelength, at least at the beginning of their partnership, it would seem that Ellie is following in her surrogate father's footsteps. It's unclear if this is what Joel wants by this point, though.
Ellie's Escalating Kills
Looking back again to the original The Last of Us, Ellie slowly ramps up how accustomed to violence that she allows herself to become comfortable with. At first she only kills zombies, leaving the killing of living humans to Joel, right up until it becomes a life or death situation where she has to save her traveling companion. From there, she escalates to willing participant in most fights with either a gun or her switchblade, all the way up to the brutal slaughtering of David, a sinister villain who's presence likely still haunts Ellie's nightmares.
While many of these kills are justified as self-defense, with a number of them being David's men out to kill her and Joel, Ellie still begins to grow accustomed to all of the killing. No longer is she hesitant about pulling the trigger or weighing the life and death situation. Ellie is now instinctively hunting down her enemies, laying traps for them, and dispatching them as if they are simply an obstacle to overcome.
When The Last of Us 2 finally arrives, players will likely get the chance to continue doing the same, as killing rooms full of enemies is the primary game mechanic of the original and will likely continue in the series. However, until then, fans will just have to be patient to see exactly what effect Joel's history of violence will have had on an impressionable, young Ellie as she grows up.
The Last of Us 2 is currently in development for PS4.
