Warning! This article contains spoilers for both The Last of Us episode 2 and the original game.The Last of Us episode 2 provides more hints to the origin of Ellie's bite, with Ellie lying about being in the mall alone. On their journey to the State House, Tess begins probing Ellie about her past. Upon mention of Ellie's bite, Tess asks how she got infected to which Ellie replies she snuck into an abandoned mall in the Boston QZ and was attacked.
Tess asks how old she is and if she was alone in the mall, being impressed by her guts after Ellie lies that she was alone. The camera pointedly focuses on Ellie as she states she is lying, and Bella Ramsey's performance clearly indicates the character's untruthfulness. Ellie's story about the mall will be a big feature going forward, and links to a character hint from The episode 1: Riley.
Riley Was In The Mall With Ellie When She Got Bit
As is known from the game on which The Last of Us is based - more specifically the 2014 DLC package The Last of Us: Left Behind - Riley was in the mall with Ellie. The story is confirmed to be explored in The Last of Us show, with Storm Reid playing Riley. Multiple shots from the official marketing of the show highlight many elements from the mall story, such as Ellie and Riley riding a merry-go-round and turning on the mall's lights. Despite this, Ellie lies to Tess and says she was alone when bitten.
Why Ellie Lies About Riley Being In The Mall In The Last Of Us
This begs the question of why Ellie lies in the first place. The most likely reason actually links Joel and Ellie together before the inevitable bonding the two will share. Ellie lies to Tess about Riley not being present due to the survivor's guilt she feels. Ellie's immunity in The Last of Us will play into Ellie's sympathetic character, and how she often resents her immunity due to the number of people who have died from the infection while she lives.
If she was to be truthful with Tess and mention Riley, she would likely become upset due to ing painful memories. This is similar to Joel, whose world-weary, cold demeanor after The Last of Us' 20-year time jump is employed to shield himself from the painful memories of Sarah's death. Over time though, it is likely Ellie will begin to open up about Riley when the show inevitably focuses on Ellie's bite in later episodes of The Last of Us.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.