Spoiler Warning For The Last Of Us Part 1 and 2.
There was a strange assumption that HBO’s would recast Bella Ramsey’s role as Ellie for the inevitable second season. It takes place several years after the original, with our heroine now an older, more hardened woman who's already begun to form lasting relationships and come to terms with the lies she’d had to live with. Joel decided to make life-changing choices on her behalf and doomed humanity to a continued fate it might have otherwise avoided. Her character arc is so poignantly heartbreaking thanks to Ashley Johnson’s stellar performance. She is Ellie, and alwayꦗs will be in the medium of video games. The same goes for Bella Ramsey, with the TV show proving her irreplaceable.
I wasn’t sold on Ramsey at first. She seemed to be leaning into Ellie’s brash personality more than necessary, losing the charm as she performed lines I’d committed 🐻to memory because the source material means so much to me. It wasn’t until Left Behind that her spin on the character floored me, proving that Ramsey wasn’t just the perfect choice, but perhaps the only one. Throughout her bittersweet date with Riley, she is simultaneously anxious, excited, terrified, and blissfully welcoming of the person she wants to be.
Blossoming romance is juxtaposed starkly with tragedy as Ramsey is tasked with depicting burgeoning love squandered into inevitable grief within mere moments. Facial expressions are more than enough to express the sheer gravity of it all, and Ramsey's dialogue only serves to floor us further. Casting her out now would not only hinder the narrative touchstones to come, but make me lose all interest.
Our emotional investment is rooted in Ramsey, even more so if you’re a fan who started with the show and has no experience with the games. We spent nine long weeks in her shoes, understanding how it feels to be a young girl raised in the post-apocalypse, who suddenly h🥃as a fate thrust upon her she might have no desire in pursuing. But as she says in the final episode - it can’t be for nothing. I don’t like to compare Ramsey and Johnson in terms of raw performance, and deciding a superior variation is downright unproductive to the end product.
Each of them come with distinct expectations and variables determined by the creative mediums in which they exist, sh♐ining in every facet that matters and even faltering in their own ways. It makes them wholly unique, and Ramsey should be given a chance to continue Ellie’s story regardless of whether her screen presence doesn’t match the jump we saw in Part 2. This was always going to be a conversation HBO would need to have given the show’s obvious success, and how the tougher parts of this narrative to adapt are still very far in the future.
Ellie is noticeably older in the sequel, having aged into adulthood and becoming a far more independent figure that doesn’t rely on Joel anymore. If anything, she has come to resಌent him. For context, Ramsey is 19 in the real world and was likely cast because of both her physical appearance resembling a teenager and acting skills that speak for themselveꦑs. She even bound her chest for the role, so it isn’t too much of a leap to believe this version of Ellie has aged a few years in spite of her immaturity.
We’re willing to roll with alterations to the overarching lore and character details, so bending Ellie in ways that benefit Ramsey and allow her performance to grow is far from unreasonable. To be honest, I think it’s the best path for HBO to take. Neil Druckmann has said following the finale that Ramsey will not be recast unless she wants to leave, so chances are that conversation has already been had as the second season looms. It’s yet to start filming and perhaps writing is still taking place. Fans will want Ramsey to remain, and even though it’s clearly her decision to make, her enthusiasm for the character, love for Pedro Pascal, and respect for🌸 this universe are all clear signs that we shouldn’t be seeking to replace this masterful take on Ellie anytime soon.
This debate has surfaced largely thanks to another face we’ll be seeing for the first time in future seasons. Abby is - for lack of a better term - absolutely f***ing jacked. She could snap Ellie like a twig if she wanted to, and this physical divide is made horrendously clear during their many encounters throughout the second game. Ellie is a scrappy and desperate fighter willing to scratch, cut, and bite. Abby is more nuanced and formidable, so Ramsey’s decision to remain as Ellie will more than likely influence their dynamic. Fight scenes wouldn’t feel real if you spend even a second comparing the two, yet this is another conclusion that changes depending 𓂃on who HBO casts as Abby in the first place. There is no way to tell.
While The Last of Us makes all the right choices in its transition to television, it’s also hugely predictable thanks to how closely it sticks to the original narrative. Ramsey’s take on Ellie and her more petite figure as she approaches the realm of adulthood will force her pursuit to avenge Joel’s death to 🌞become a different beast altogether. The show is still defined by violence, but it’s notably absent and only ever used to drive the narrative forward or show us how ruthless its world can be. It’s more understated, and will need to either abandon that notion or double down🍷 on it depending on how it plans on depicting Ellie and Abby.
With Bella Ramsey more than likely in it for thღe long haul, I want HBO to give her all the roo🌜m she needs in order to shine. The first season is incredible, although the future stories this universe has to tell will be the real test.
