Ellie and Riley in The Last of Us

Ellie is a playable character in The Last of Us and one of the major protagonists of the game. A teenage girl fighting to survive in the post-apocalyptic setting of the game, Ellie meets Riley (another teen) while in the Boston quarantine zone. The two teenagers grow closer throughout the game with romantic feelings hinted at as their relationship progresses, and eventually they share a kiss in the Left Behind DLC expansion. In an AMA on Reddit about the Left Behind DLC, Neil Druckmann (Creative Director of The Last of Us) clarifies that they did indeed intend for the kiss and relationship between the two girls to be interpreted as romantic. Fans have discussed the kiss on the Last of Us Wiki, the majority of the commentary being positive. As the relationship is only explicitly shown in the DLC, however, we are listing these characters as implicitly represented.

LGBTQ references in this game:

Bill

Ellie and Riley

Citations:

  1. (n.d.). Ellie (character page). The Last of Us Wiki. Retrieved from http://thelastofus.wikia.com/wiki/Ellie
  2. (n.d.). Riley (character page). The Last of Us Wiki. Retrieved from http://thelastofus.wikia.com/wiki/Riley_Abel
  3. (2014, February 17). Ellie and Riley Kiss Scene – The Last of Us: Left Behind. YouTube Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87pgeRTh-Hs
  4. (2014, February). Ellie and Riley Kissing Controversy (Forum Thread on Last of Us Wiki). Retrieved from http://thelastofus.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:24692
  5. (n.d.) Ellie, Riley (character entries) TV Tropes Wiki, The Last of Us. Retrieved from http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/TheLastOfUs
  6. Neil Druckmann. (2014, February 21). Hi, we’re Neil Druckmann (Creative Director) and Bruce Straley (Game Director) of The Last of Us and The Last of Us: Left Behind at Naughty Dog. AUA!. Reddit. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1ykno8/hi_were_neil_druckmann_creative_director_and/cfldkan?context=10000