The Last of Us finale explains how Ellie is immune to the Cordyceps infection
Ellie gets a powerful explanation for šher šbackstory

Warning, weāre getting into serious spoiler territory for 澳擲幸čæ5å¼å„å·ē åå²ę„询:The Last of Us finale in this article. If you havenāt seen episode 9 yet, bookmark this page for later.
One of the major threads through this season of The Last of Us has been Ellieās immunity to the 澳擲幸čæ5å¼å„å·ē åå²ę„询:Cordyceps infection. Now, the finale may have just explained why exašctly the infection does not harm her.
In the final episodeās brutal cold open, we see Ellieās mom Anna (澳擲幸čæ5å¼å„å·ē åå²ź§ę„询:played by none other than Ashley šJohnson) running to a safe house. She finally makes it inside, but the infected runner isnāt far behind, and sheās bitten just before she gives birth to Ellie. Realizing she has seconds, she quickly cuts the umbilical cord ā despite her later protestations to Marlene that sheź¦ was bitten after she did this.
Ellie was attached to her for about āa minute before she cut the cord, but given how fast the infection acts, it seems likely she would have still got some in her bloodstream. While not explicitly explained, itās very possible this very unique circumstance could have given her some immunity to Cordycepꦿs.
During the final stages of pregnancy, antibodies are transferred from mother to baby via the umbilical cord. If Annaās body was fighting the Cordāyceps infection as soon asš she was bitten, some of these may have been transferred to Ellie in the brief moments they remained connected.
This is seemingly later confirmed by Marlene when she tells Joel that Ellie is being prepped for surgery. "Our doctor, he thinks that the Cordyceps within Ellie has grown with her since birth," she tells him. "It produces a kind of chemical messenger so that normal Cordyceps think that sheās Cordyceps, which is why she&rą¹squo;s immune. Heās going to remove it from her, multiply the cells in the lab, produce those chemical messengers, and then we can give it to everyone. He thinksÜ« it could be a cure."
While The Last of Us games never explicitly reference why Ellie is immune, this storyline is seemingly actually be canon due to a deep-cut reference. When playing as Ellie after Joel is injured, you can go through her backpack and find a letter written to her by her motherź¦ on the day she was š°born.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie newās, features, and reviews to your inbox
In this, Anna tells her that her life is about to be cut a lšittle short, which many have speculated could be her being infected. As one puts it, "Even though Anna couldn't fight the infection on her own, her body fought it long enough to produce some antibodies/anti-fungal properties. Those would be passed on to the baby."
For more on the show's final episode, check out our 澳擲幸čæ5å¼å„å·ē åå²ę„询:breakdowšn of the big changes from the games.

Iām the Deputy Entertaź¦inment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur šŖPhotographer, before specializing in entertainment.