The latest episode of HBO The last of us is full of outstanding scenes. During episode 8, “When we are in trouble,” is full of suspense, drama and even a little bit more action than the show usually has to offer. The moment that has viewers in a stranglehold right now is one of the quietest: when Pedro Pascal’s Joel calls Bella Ramsey’s Ellie “baby girl.” It’s just one line, but in the overarching story of The last of us, it means everything.
Why It Matters That Joel Named Ellie ‘Baby Girl’
In both the HBO show and the Naughty Dog game, the relationship Joel and Ellie have nurtured throughout their odyssey across the country doesn’t really peak until winter. Finally, they’ve finally gotten over their initial grievances about traveling together and started to really open up about their past and their hopes for the future. While the specifics of when and where differ between the show and the game, Joel and Ellie have spoken out about grief, shared the things they wish they could have done in a world not overtaken by the cordyceps mushroom, and openly caring shown for each other. They have fought and survived together for a long time, but now they seem able to let their guard down. Ellie finds the camaraderie she’s been missing in this desecrated world, and Joel opens up to care for someone like he hasn’t in 20 years.
He finally acknowledges this with words when he calls Ellie “Baby Girl”, which was a term of endearment he used for his daughter Sarah before she was killed by the military during the first Cordyceps outbreak, as seen in the first episode was. before this week, The last of us made several clues, big and small, that suggested Joel’s initially reserved attitude toward Ellie was deeply rooted in his own grief. Consider his occasional glances at his broken watch that Sarah gave him the night of her death.
While Joel and Ellie have previously shared some brief moments of connection, at one point in his life, Joel has loved and cared for a young girl, only to tear her away in the most traumatic of ways. The show made this explicit in episode six as Joel and his brother Tommy discuss how his growing bond with Ellie has him fearing for her life and his ability to protect her. This was to the point where Joel was willing to leave her in his brother’s care, fearing he would abandon Ellie just as he feels he abandoned Sarah.
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As we get to the final scene of this week’s eighth episode, Ellie protected Joel just as much as he protected her. The gap between them was completely bridged, and Ellie was forced to survive the traumatic events of battling a group of cannibals and predators without Joel’s help. Finding her bloodied and scared in the winter cold, Joel holds her and calls her “little girl”. In one simple nickname, Joel and Ellie’s budding relationship becomes indelible.
The fan reaction to Joel calling Ellie “Baby Girl”.
Meanwhile, fans are having a moment about it.
And who could blame them? Pascal and Ramsey put their entire The Last of Ussy into this scene. They both sold that shit. Now all that The last of us Newcomers watching, properly invested in Joel and Ellie’s relationship, I’m excited to see what these fans think of the events of next week’s finale, which I’m sure will be widely accepted and not divisive at all.
