A small subset of The Last of Us fans have been shipping Joel and Ellie – understandably, people have a few problems with that.
Yes, you read that correctly. Out there on the internet, there are people shipping Joel and Ellie, the father-daughter-ish duo at the heart of HBO’s video game adaptation. For the laymen, this means wanting them to be together, be it romantically, sexually, or anything in-between.
In the games, there’s no shortage of “ships”, whether it’s Joel and Tess, Ellie and Dina, or – in some fan fiction – Ellie and Abby, the half-and-half antagonist of Part II.
There’s no right or wrong in people wanting these characters to be together – but it’s different with Joel and Ellie, and it’s quite simple: he’s an adult and she’s a child, as hundreds of fans have pointed out.
The Last of Us fans confront people shipping Joel & Ellie
After Episode 4 aired, tweets began emerging from fans who’d seen others shipping the two characters. In a screenshot, one user suggested Ellie was staring at his crotch because she wanted to have sex with him.
PEOPLE ARE SHIPPING JOEL AND ELLIE!?!?! pic.twitter.com/WuivNK7Qy5
— kiki is pondering her orb (@elfbotomy) February 5, 2023
This specific ship, known as “Joellie”, has sparked a large wave of condemnation across Twitter. “Absolutely disgusting holy sh*t, I know I should’ve guessed that some horrible people ship Joel and Ellie but man. I’ve been blessed until today to avoid it somehow,” one user wrote.
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WDYM PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO SHIP JOEL AND ELLIE pic.twitter.com/7KZZ5P55sb
— irene (@avatricism) February 5, 2023
“This is definitely an instance where it doesn’t matter that the characters are fictional… please seek help I’m fr,” another wrote. “It baffles me that ppl actually ship Joel and Ellie lol. They got chemistry but so far from that way?” a third tweeted.
“Genuinely love Joel and Ellie as a father/daughter pair, Joellie shippers y’all are freaks and need help,” a fourth wrote. “Why are some of y’all shipping Joel and Ellie? Us gamers can’t have anything be adapted without weirdos ruining it,” another tweeted.
The Last of Us Episodes 1-4 are streaming now.
You can find out more about the show’s latest episode below:
Episode 4 review | Ending explained | Who is Kathleen? | Henry and Sam | What song plays at the end? | How are animals still alive? | No Pun Intended explained