How to Write a Character Who GROWS on You (The Last of Us)

i would have had like twice as many clips to use for this if i had just waited to upload until after ep8 came out.. 🙃

I never found Ellie annoying. As a writer, she's fascinating to me, because NO ONE write's kids like that. Every last YA book out there, the Protag is a small adult. Ellie feels like a real teen to me, still young enough to have a childlike air around her, but mature enough that she's trying to come into her own as well. I think she's beautiful, and I absolutely love what Last of Us is doing with their story as well.

That little scream escaping when Ellie witnessed someone taking themselves out was EXTREMELY natural and disturbing. I've heard people make that noise before, and I've made it myself. It cuts right into you as a human.

She doesn't seem too annoying, everyone was a jerk to her, so she's a jerk to them

Ellie has never been annoying. She’s just a traumatized child that grew up in a post apocalyptic world. She uses humor and sarcasm to help her cope. She’s a real multifaceted character

I find it a little baffling that people genuinely dislike Ellie in the show like,,, tell me you’ve never spent time around children/teens without telling me you’ve never spent time around children/teens. Part of why I honestly love tv Ellie more than game Ellie is that she ACTS like the child she really is. It’s so rare for shows to genuinely portray this age group so it’s very refreshing and makes the story all the more tragic.

Ellie may be a very normal teenager but I wouldn't call her dumb. She does prove to be intelligent in how she figures out Joel's smuggling code and in how she learns the skills necessary to survive

I don't think Ellie is 'brain dead' or deserving of negative judgment for what she did to try to help Sam in ep 5. I think it garners even more empathy from the audience when we see her actively trying to save her new friend from a horrible situation after she opens up about being scared of ending up alone, and telling Joel and Henry before seeing if her plan worked might get Sam killed needlessly. The whole episode we see a new side of Ellie being a 'protector' to a younger child, similar to how Joel has been for Ellie, and her immunity gives her a feeling of purpose and responsibility that she should help anyone she can. But her naivety and optimism are what sets her apart from Joel, and due to her lack of knowledge and wholehearted belief that it would work it gives the viewers hope as well- until both they and Ellie are hit by the realization that hope is a luxury in this type of world.

Seeing this video apart of me realizes why I despise her character so much in the beginning. It's centered heavily on self-loathing of the past teenager we all once were. A lot of her mannerisms and habits are very similar to the way that I was before I grew up and became "less irritating","more useful ", and yet the trade-off for these things is always your own personal happiness.

I think this Ellie is a very rare instance of a realistic depiction of the modern teenager.

i honestly never found her braindead or annoying at all, im surprised other people do. She's never aggressive without being treated aggressively first, she isnt afraid to ask questions instead of acting like she knows everything as many teens do, and she is really empathetic, optimistic, and brave as shown by how she empathizes with joel and how she tried to save sam and is unafraid of danger. I think you can say a lot of things about her but I dont personally feel like any of it as annoying

I honestly feel like way too many people unjustly criticize child and teen characters for being "annoying" — and I feel like that often comes from a place of not engaging with real children and teens. Are there bad writers that make them insufferable? Yeah, sure! But childhood comes with a lot of discoveries and curiosity and behaviours that haven't been corrected. It's especially wild to me how many fans criticized Ellie, for example, for showing clear signs of suffering from traumatic experiences. To mee, that's simply a realistic portrayal of a teenager carrying way more weight than they should have to. Some might no like it, but to say there's no character-driven, justifiable reasons of why a character is this way is frankly bewildering. This isn't a critique of your video! It's just something I've noticed throughout multiple media, and it bothers me so much! So sorry for venting, and thank you so much for uploading! I'm glad you addressed this in a more thought provoking way and offering a different perspective from what I usually see.

i also think that an important part of Ellie's character is how she craves attention and relationships and life because she is immuned … everyone can die of the infection, except her, so she's terrified of being alone abover everything, worst than any other teenager, she needs to hang on to life because without that she's alone in world that is rotting away without her

I also work with teenagers and young adults, and Ellie is arguably the most skillfully written teenager I've seen in a popular movie or TV show in at least the last 5 years.

That cry Ellie gives when Henry dies gives me chills every. single. time. I think it was one of the most impactful moments of her character until now — you can see the foundation of her liveliness and teenage recklessness sort of die in that split second.

I particularly love how you said that Ellie and Joel's connection was made "because of her personality, not in spite of her personality". These are such simple words yet they really encapsulate why exactly I have found so so many relationships in stories to be disengaging, or feel like they've bridged the gap between them in a way that feels more cheap than earned. I really appreciate stories that don't shy away from any of the character's particular traits, or problems they might create within a relationship, and address all of it with how the conflict between the characters is resolved. it makes everything about the characters feel meaningful and important in one way or another. the more different your characters are from one another the more work it takes to pull this off but it feels so rewarding to watch when it happens

i think what’s also important to acknowledge is that a lot of these sort of “class clown” archetypes use their humor as a coping mechanism. while you see this sort of breakdown of a character a lot, i think when it’s done thoughtfully it really works because it’s real. i have a handful of friends that have lived through so much trauma and the way they get through hard situations is making light of it. i very much see that mirrored in ellie.

Bella Ramsey's performance as Ellie is so believable and true to how Ellie is in the game, i never found ellie annoying because she reminded me so much of teenage me and she's just a rebellious idiot kid. hell, i think the way they act as her is really damn accurate, especially their voice

Maybe it's because I've been through some traumas in my life, maybe because I did some work on myself, but I never considered her annoying.

From the beginning of the video, you touch in an important writing tip: a character doesn’t have to be perfect to be compelling. In fact, it’s best if they aren’t. A big critique I hear with post-apocalyptic works, especially in YA fiction, is often how capable the privileged and clueless teenage lead is. Yes, okay, self-insert glory is a valid explanation, but it still comes across as fake because most teenagers don’t have the life experience or emotional stability to handle leading a revolution or whatever. 😂 Having Ellie be somewhat flippant and irreverent is annoying, sure, but as you said, she feels more real that way and there is so much space for her to grow as a person.