Warning! This article contains spoilers for both The Last of Us episode 4 and the original game.The Last of Us episode 4 introduced Ellie's book of puns which has a much deeper meaning in regard to Ellie's character, her relationship with Joel, and her secretive past. At the beginning of The Last of Us episode 4, Joel and Ellie stop at an abandoned gas station on their way to Wyoming to siphon fuel for their truck. While waiting for Joel to obtain the gas, Ellie es the time by telling jokes from a book of puns she had in her pack.
These puns continue throughout the majority of The Last of Us episode 4 in a bid to lighten the episode's dark tone. After the conflict that arises from Joel and Ellie encountering The Last of Us episode 4's Hunters that reside in Kansas City, the pun books are a welcome change of tone. However, outside the comic relief provided by them, the pun book and how it links to Ellie actually has a deeper meaning in various ways.
Ellie’s Puns Further Her Similarities To Sarah In The Last Of Us
Firstly, the pun book in The Last of Us episode 4 is a way of bringing Joel and Ellie together. While Ellie is a very hardened, less sensitive girl than most due to being born after the outbreak, the puns in The Last of Us episode 4 are a smart way to highlight her still young age and childlike tendencies. In doing so, HBO's The Last of Us continues drawing similarities between Ellie and Sarah, therefore bringing Joel and Ellie closer together as a result. This is evident in The Last of Us episode 4's ending, in which Joel and Ellie truly bond for the first time by laughing at Ellie's puns.
The puns are used as a way to break Joel down, by allowing him to witness the younger, naive aspects of Ellie's personality. This means that he can no longer ignore her similarities to Sarah, despite continuously shutting off his emotional side in an attempt to do so. Outside this though, the pun book also provides a link to Ellie's past that will be explored in the coming episodes of The Last of Us.
Ellie’s Pun Book Has A Connection To Last Of Us’ Riley
The aforementioned link comes in the form of Riley, whose presence has loomed over Ellie's entire story throughout HBO's The Last of Us thus far despite not actually appearing as of yet. The Last of Us' Riley is a link to Ellie's past, someone that was mentioned by Marlene in The Last of Us episode 1 and is tied to Ellie's past trauma. In both the original game and HBO's The Last of Us, Riley was present with Ellie when she was first bitten, with the connection of the pun book being showcased in the DLC for the game, The Last of Us: Left Behind.
In that DLC story, which will be showcased at some point in HBO's The Last of Us, Riley is the one who gives Ellie the book. This provides a clever link to her puns throughout The Last of Us episode 4. While they could be seen as Ellie simply trying to the time, they provide a subtly heartbreaking way of her using something that connected her to an old companion to try and connect with another. It gives the pun book a much more melancholy feeling, which will undoubtedly worsen once HBO's The Last of Us fully dives into Ellie and Riley's past.
The Last of Us episode 5 releases on Friday, February 10th on HBO Max.