Thinking about the sniper section always
The first shot rings out and they all duck. Joel does not move until he sees Ellie and has a hand on her back to guide her to cover behind the car. And he keeps it there until they’re fully behind it and he checks to see where the shots are coming from.
“Stay here.” “What?”
Immediate fear. Some guys trying to snipe them and she doesn’t know from where, and Joel has the audacity to say ‘stay here’. She knows exactly what he’s thinking. That he is going after him. But Ellie fears for him, as capable as he is. She cares about him. She doesn’t want to lose him. Not in a setting like this. And just like their night out in the woods and after they crashed, he reassures her. He’s so good at that, isn’t he?
He faces her directly. He holsters his gun, turns completely around, puts his hands out in a ‘listen to me. I’m sure of this’ fashion, looks her dead in the eye, and speaks to her gently. Firmly, determined, but gentle.
“If you don’t move, he’s not gonna hit you.” Again, this same reassurance <3 she’s expressed fear over him more than anything, and he reassures her that she will be okay if she doesn’t move. Nothing about his safety, only hers and how to maintain it.
And he tells her his plan. He’s not hiding what he’s trying to do from her. He does this so she knows his mindset, where he’s going, and how he’s doing. Trying to calm her down the ways he knows how.
“But if you go out there, he’s gonna kill you.” I LOVE MUTUAL CONCERN. But she just says it outright. Expresses that fear and care outright.
“It’s dark and he has shit aim, nobody’s gonna kill me” what a roast. But true. He was an old man with a death wish.
“Then he’s gonna kill us!” She’s trying to keep him with her. She’s trying to give him a reason to stay down there with them. With her. So that he can stay down there and be by her side to protect her like they’ve become so adept at doing. And he thinks about this for a second. He doesn’t want to lose them, especially Ellie. But in the end, he knows better. He’s the one out of the four of them who can do this. And unless he runs out of ammo, they’re stuck there. And Joel wouldn’t willingly send any of them into possible fire if he can help it.
“Do you trust me?” She has no reason not to. He’s proven time and time again that he is trustworthy. From killing that first QZ soldier to the ambush to now. She has seen him protect her without a second thought. He has gained her trust through every encounter with infected or people. He’s gained it through their nights and days. He’s been honest in everything he’s told her. There’s very little room left to not trust him.
And eventually she nods, as reluctant as it is. If she says yes, he does it. If she says no, he does it anyway. As much as she wants him down there with her, she does trust him to protect her. To protect them.
And she watches him go until he’s completely out of sight [bonus- the very light and almost off screen hand on her arm as he’s walking away :’)]. Because she fears for him. Because she’s scared of him getting hurt. Of losing him. She cares about him, more than she knows what to deal with, and way more than he’s comfortable with. And to know he still tries to get rid of her next episode 🤣
And then Joel gets in the house and kills the old man, a shot goes off and Ellie immediately shoots up from behind the car. Because, for a moment, she thinks it’s him. But there wasn’t a struggle. Not multiple shots or any signs of them fighting. Just one shot, and it was his revolver, so she knows it was him. Besides, he promised her no one was going to kill him. And she trusts him
