Summary
The Last of Ushas been left at another interesting crossroads where it could either be bookended and never picked up again, or instantly picked up at any time with any narrative imaginable. The latter seems assured at this point due to how the IP is constantly milked for all its popularity is currently worth and there is surely no way another seven years pass now without a sequel toThe Last of Us Part 2releasing or at least being announced. If it wasn’t forThe Last of Us’ multiplayer spin-offaPart 3might’ve even come sooner, but with that game reportedly on ice a threequel could be expedited anyhow.
Either way, it would be surprising for a mainline game inThe Last of Us’ franchise to suddenly not feature Ellie, especially if it does go withPart 3in its title. It would be disappointing to see Naughty Dog reprise Ellie again for popularity’s sake alone, and thankfully there are still multiple intriguing avenues of storytelling the character could explore, such aslearning more about Ellie’s family inThe Last of Us. But as for where Ellie ends up in a possiblePart 3, it would be excellent to see her find at least temporary affiliation with a group that wasn’t as decent as Tommy’s in Jackson.
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Inseason four ofThe Walking Dead, before Rick, Carl, Michonne, and Daryl arrive at Terminus, there’s a brief storyline for Daryl with him isolated from the group where he encounters and begrudgingly accompanies a small group of scavengers. Called the Claimers, this group operates on its own loose moral code while behaving reprehensibly under a questionable set of rules.
The main idea is that individuals cannot lie to one another—lest they get beaten to death—and anything they wish to have in their possession must be explicitly claimed before someone else can claim it, but it’s never that simple and the rules are easily exploitable. The Claimers aren’t around for long as Rick is able to embrace a necessary bloodlust to save himself, Carl, Michonne, and Daryl when they are ambushed, but the Claimers are still an interesting group to learn about for the time that Daryl spends with them.
Daryl is also a decent individual and being with the Claimers shows that he’s at least willing to attempt to survive by other peoples’ rules rather than going out alone into the world anymore, and that’s something Ellie could exhibit similarly inThe Last of Us Part 3. It’s much more likely that Ellie would come across a group like the Claimers than a community like Jackson if she does intend to distance herself from those she’s now fairly distant from already, and maybe a morally disturbing group like the Claimers is one she might believe she deserves at this point in her life.
The Rattlers seem like the closest option in terms of groups already named and established inThe Last of Us, but an entirely new group would also be neat. That said, despite thedivisive actions Ellie performedin order to do what she believed was right inPart 2, fans still perceive her as a morally correct person because they know what her motivations were.
It’s unfortunate that the same can’t be said wholly for Abby, and yet maybe more time spent playing as her now could be a salve for that as well inThe Last of Us. Regardless, it could certainly help realign Ellie’s moral compass to have her interact with a group as vile asThe Walking Dead’s Claimers, and seeing where she might end up thereafter would be equally exciting.
The Last of Us Part 3is rumored to be in development.
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