The Last of Us: Why Is Ellie So Important to Marlene and the Fireflies?

There is no doubt that Marlene and the Fireflies are the reasons why Joel and Tess were given the job to take Ellie to the other Fireflies. As such, they are the reasons why the entire storyline actually exists. But the thing is that neither Joel nor Tess know why Ellie is so important to Marlene and the Fireflies as they simply decided to smuggle her out of the Boston Quarantine Zone (QZ) without even knowing that she was infected. So, why is Ellie so important to Marlene and the Fireflies?

Ellis is so important to Marlene and the Fireflies because she is immune to the effects of the Cordyceps Brain Infection. The Fireflies are some of the few people that are looking to create a vaccine for the infection, and that is where Ellie comes in handy because she is immune to Cordyceps.

The fact that Ellie is immune is one of the biggest reasons why she is the driving force of the entire storyline of The Last of Us. Of course, this is where the entire morality issue in the storyline comes in because Ellie’s immunity to the infection makes things more difficult for Joel and the Fireflies to decide what needs to be done. So, with that said, let’s talk more about Ellie’s importance to Marlene and the Fireflies.

Why Is Ellie So Important To The Fireflies?

Back in episode 1 of The Last of Us, we saw that Ellie was someone that Marlene and the Fireflies deemed so important that they weren’t willing to let her go and were always doing tests on her to make sure that she was not infected. However, at the end of the first episode, we also saw that Ellie was actually infected but was not affected by the effects of the Cordyceps Brain Infection (CBI).

Of course, we know that Joel and Tess were given the task to smuggle Ellie safely out of the Boston QZ to the Boston Capitol Building. But when they discovered that she was infected, that was when they doubted their task of smuggling Ellie as Joel thought that it was too risky to do so. Nevertheless, Tess went through with the plan but made sure to clear things up with Ellie to ask why she was so important to Marlene and the Fireflies. So, why is Ellie so important to the Fireflies?

While we often look at the Fireflies as people that are quite militant in their approach against FEDRA as they are a rebel group that is actively seeking to bring FEDRA down, the thing is that this organization is also actively looking for a way to stop the CBI by developing a cure or a vaccine. Of course, developing a cure or a vaccine would also allow the Fireflies to weaken FEDRA as the people would flock over to support the Fireflies due to their efforts.

Ellie explained in episode 2 that she heard that the Fireflies had a base in the west and were working on a cure to the infection in a hospital where they have all the equipment and the surgeons that are actively trying to create a solution to the outbreak. In that regard, Ellie is so important to them because they believe that she is the key to solving the entire CBI outbreak that has lasted for more than two decades already.

In a sense, Ellie is supposedly the miracle cure to the pandemic. That’s because, for some reason, she is immune to the infection, as that was something that she discovered just recently when she was attacked by an infected but managed to keep her sanity and did not experience any adverse effects to the infection at all. In fact, in episode 2, she was bitten by a Clicker but did not succumb to the infection as it is quite clear that she is indeed immune to the CBI.

So, with that said, Ellie’s immunity to the infection is what makes her so important to Marlene and the Fireflies. This is probably the reason why Tess was so adamant about smuggling Ellie to safety because, deep inside, she probably still believes that a cure or a vaccine is possible. And that is why Tess told Joel that getting Ellie to the Fireflies is the best way that he could make up for all of the things that they did in the past.

What Are Marlene And The Fireflies Planning To Do With Ellie?

Considering that Ellie is so important to the Fireflies, it goes without saying that Marlene and the others are looking to find a way to use her to develop a vaccine or a cure in their facility in the west. But what exactly are Marlene and the Fireflies planning to do with Ellie?

There is a good reason why neither Joel nor Tess fully trusts Marlene and the Fireflies as it is quite clear that they aren’t the nicest people in the world despite the fact that they have goals that are aimed for the betterment of society as a whole.

That means that it is possible that the Fireflies are looking to use Ellie in a manner that may not exactly be in line with moral standards, as it is possible that they aren’t the best kind of people in the world. This implies that, despite the fact that Ellie is probably the key to solving the CBI, the Fireflies probably don’t care about her at all and are willing to do what it takes to develop a cure or a vaccine.

As such, there is a good chance that the Fireflies are going to hurt or even kill and dissect Ellie to get to the bottom of her immunity to the CBI. So, in that regard, this is where the morality question of The Last of Us comes into play as it becomes a question of Joel allowing the Fireflies to find a possible cure or vaccine or him giving Ellie the chance at life that his daughter, Sarah, never had.