Not only did the recent trailer for The Last of Us Part II provide us with our first stunning gameplay footage and cinematics, but also revealed, via a minor detail, why Ellie is gonna find and kill every last one of them.
In the trailer, which is available to watch below, there were two very distinct versions of Ellie on show. One was a having a touching moment with her significant other, Dina, whilst the other was a vengeful, violent and brutal - even for The Last of Us.
A keen-eyed Redditor recently posted their findings, to The Last of Us' dedicated subreddit, which seems to reveal what brings about Ellie's darker side.
The new Gameplay reveals why Ellie goes on a quest of vengeance *Spoiler* from r/thelastofus
The image attached to the post shows the nice moment between Ellie and Dina but focus is put on the new character's bracelet as when we meet the brutal version Ellie, she can be seen wearing the exact same bracelet. And while it's possible that Dina and Ellie had some kind of friendship-bracelet type of thing going on - wherein they each have one - considering the context, it's very unlikely.
The top comment over on Reddit reveals more interesting information regarding the bracelet - such as it's real-life origins:
It's called a hamsa. Druckmann's referencing his Israeli roots with this, a ubiquitous symbol in the Middle East that often appears on jewelry and household items. It symbolizes the hand of G-d, a sign of protection, luck, fortune, etc., wards away evil. Like, you'd hang a hamsa charm on your front door to keep away negative energy, wear a hamsa charm on a necklace/keychain for good luck, and a lot of drivers have hamsa charms on their rearview mirrors for protection.
Pretty cool that Druckmann's tapped such a symbolic and deeply reverent part of Middle Eastern iconography for the sequel.
What do you think about this detail? Is Dina doomed, or is it something else that motivates the vengeful Ellie?
Check out the trailer, which was revealed during Sony's E3 conference, below: