<P> Ellie lost her mother at birth and grew up in an orphanage . She later attends a military boarding school in the Boston quarantine zone, where she befriends Riley Abel, a fellow rebel who protects her from bullies, as depicted in the comic book series The Last of Us: American Dreams . During the events of Left Behind, which take place several weeks before the beginning of The Last of Us, Riley returns to Ellie after a long absence and tells her that she has joined the Fireflies, a revolutionary militia group . While spending time together at an abandoned shopping mall near the quarantine zone, Riley reveals that she is about to be posted to another city, and Ellie hesitantly supports her decisions . Riley abandons her Firefly pendant when Ellie pleads for her to remain . In response, she impulsively kisses Riley who happily responds . Drawn by the noise of their activities, the Infected pursues Ellie and Riley . They attempt to escape, but are bitten . The pair considers suicide, but choses to spend their final hours together . However, Ellie survives the infection and seeks help from Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies . She agrees to escort Ellie as she tries to find a cure thanks to her immunity to the Infected . Marlene is later wounded, and early in The Last of Us, assigns Joel the task of escorting Ellie . </P> <P> Initially annoyed by Joel's surliness, Ellie begins to feel a strong attachment to him . However, upon learning that he intends to leave her with his brother Tommy and return to Boston, she runs away . She later confronts him demanding that he not abandon her . This strengthens the bond between them, and they continue their journey . After experiencing a traumatizing encounter in the Winter, where Ellie is nearly raped and murdered by a band of cannibals and their leader David, she becomes withdrawn and introverted . When Joel finally gets her to the Fireflies, it is discovered that Ellie requires an operation to remove the mutant strain of the Cordyceps fungus growing on her brain, which may be used to create a vaccine; the operation will likely kill her . While she is being prepared for surgery, Joel kills Marlene and the Fireflies, makes his way to the operating room, and carries Ellie to safety . Because she was unconscious during the battle, Ellie is unaware of what has transpired . As they leave the hospital, Joel lies about the events, telling her that the Fireflies had found many other subjects, and had stopped looking for a cure . When Ellie later confronts him about it, describing her survivor's guilt and demanding to know the truth, Joel reassures her that he is telling the truth; she replies "Okay". </P> <P> At the December 2016 PlayStation Experience event, a sequel titled The Last of Us Part II was announced as being in early development . The game's first trailer reveals the return of Ellie and Joel . Events take place about five years after the first game; Ellie, who will be 19 during Part II, has been confirmed as the main playable character . </P> <P> Ellie's character received generally positive feedback . Jason Killingsworth of Edge praised Ellie's complexity and commended Naughty Dog for not having made her "a subordinate...precocious teen girl that Joel must babysit". Ashley Reed and Andy Hartup of GamesRadar named Ellie one of the "most inspirational female characters in games", writing that she is "one of the most modern, realistic characters ever designed". Eurogamer's Ellie Gibson commended the character's strength and vulnerability, praising the game's subversion of the damsel in distress cliché . GamesRadar listed Ellie among the best characters of the video game generation, stating that her courage exceeds that of most male characters . IGN's Greg Miller compared Ellie to Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite (2013), and felt that the former was a "much more rounded out, full - fledged" character . Conversely, Game Informer's Kimberley Wallace felt that the game focused too much on Joel, "hardly capitalizing on Ellie's importance", and Chris Suellentrop of The New York Times judged that Ellie is cast "in a secondary, more subordinate role". </P>

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