Ellie Williams is the central character of The Last of Us series. She serves as the protagonist of The Last of Us: American Dreams, the playable deuteragonist of The Last of Us Part I, the playable protagonist of The Last of Us: Left Behind, the playable dual protagonist of The Last of Us Part II.
The Last of Us Part I is set 20 years in the future, after a sudden bacterial zombie apocolypse has destroyed society. Ellie, 14 yrs old, is special because she was bitten by an infected, but did not turn. After sharing this with an older mentor figure, Marlene, they decide that she must be sent accross the country to a scientific research facillity run by the a rebel group known as the Fireflys. After Marlene is injured, this task is then entrusted to the greif striken and distant smuggler — Joel Miller.
Ellie and Joel initially have a rocky relationship. Ellie struggled to make him trust her, as Joel believed that she was lying about being immune to the infection.She was unable to talk about anything personal with him, as Joel would shut her out when she attempted to make general conversation or brought up emotional matters like Tess and Sam's deaths.However, as time passed, Ellie establishes not only a daughter-father relationship, but a bond of protection with Joel.
Despite everything that Ellie goes through in the dangerous and unwelcoming world she lives in, she remains strong. The choices she makes are still what she truly believes to be right in her heart. Every sacrifice she makes, of which there are many, is the path she travels for the sake of justice. She can be selfish, and immature, and violent, and illogical but at the end of the day she is an incredible character who perseveres when the odds are stacked against her.