How Ellie is key to the zombie apocalypse?

Fans
were treated to the first full trailer for the Naughty Dog’s upcoming HBO
adaptation (featuring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie), on
September 26 as part of The Last of Us Day. Although there was no actual
dialogue between the characters in the trailer, it provided an emotive
depiction of the post-apocalyptic world that HBO has produced for its TV
audience.

The Last
of Us is a multiplayer video game which revolves around the lives of Ellie,
Marlene, Riley Abel and Joel who try to survive in the post-apocalyptic
America, where everyone gets infected with Cordyceps, a rare brain
disease that causes genetic mutation. However, it is soon revealed that Ellie,
a 13 years old orphan, is immune to the disease and might be a valuable asset
for the engineering of a vaccine against the epidemic. 

Also Read: The Last of Us filming locations

How Ellie is key to the zombie apocalypse?

Ellie
and her best friend Riley Abel embark on a journey to find the Fireflies.
However, things take a dark turn, when they are bitten by a zombie, thus
transmitting the virus to them. Riley kills the zombie, but soon reaches a
conclusion regarding the matter. The two decide to wait until the final moment
of their inevitable death. Surprisingly, Riley succumbs to the disease, unlike
Ellie who only has small fungi growing around the wound. 

Ellie
was 14 years old when she was afflicted with Cordyceps brain disease. She
quickly discovered that she was immune to it. Marlene, Ellie’s mother’s best
friend, believed she was the key to reverse engineering a vaccine. Joel Miller,
a smuggler, was assigned by Marlene to help Ellie to get outside the QZ. The
simple drop-off turned into a year-long journey across America, and the two
became close during the turbulent times.

Also Read: The Last of Us trailer: Pedro Pascal is on a mission in zombie-infested US

Ellie’s most significant and distinct ability is her total immunity to the fungus. She became resistant to the bites and spores of the infectious disease due to strange mutagenesis in her brain that evolved after her initial infection. Despite the fact that she is afflicted, the infected (zombies) do not recognise her as one of their own and continue to try to kill her. It is assumed that if she was thoroughly studied, a cure or vaccine for the infection could be developed. This is never explained, however, because the research would lead to her death, which Joel forbids.