Lots of speculation has run rampant on forums, discussion threads and social media about the buff and deadly woman featured in Naughty Dog's latest cinematic trailer for The Last of Us Part II. Well, some people have been able to cross out a few names and hone in on who it may have been. Many believe it's Ellie's mother.
The popular internet theory with the most support on the Last of Us sub-Reddit is that it was Ellie's mother. This is the conclusion many people have come to after watching the trailer and piecing together the clues.
Why do they believe that the woman was Ellie's mother? Well, the first major point of contention is whether or not she was about to be killed by that cult she was a part of for being pregnant. How do we know she's pregnant? Well, we don't. However, many believe that when the older woman strings up the buff soldier lady and prepares to disembowel her with the knife, she says "They are nested with sin."
Some took that line to mean that she was being gutted for being pregnant, possibly for extra-marital relations. Others poked holes in that theory because there are also men that we see who have also been lynched and gutted, with their entrails hanging out. Some argued that this is just how this particular cult within The Last of Us Part II operates, while others believe that the crime for this woman is directly related to the possibility of her being pregnant.
Within the original timeline of The Last of Us, Ellie was only 14, and so she was born six years after the plague broke out. Many believe that time-wise it would make sense that the woman could be Ellie's mother.
That evidence has also been coupled with the fact that Naughty Dog released everyone's name in the trailer except for the woman who was about to be hanged. We know that actress Laura Bailey is voicing her but we don't know who she is since her name was blacked out by four blank spaces, sort of like what you see below.
Die hard fans of The Last of Us presumed that since there were four black spaces it could relate to the name being "Anna", Ellie's mom. The fact that they revealed the voice cast and other characters but not this particular character name means she obviously plays a very vital role in the game's story.
Some people almost ran with the theory that perhaps it was a buff and mature Ellie many years down the line. Maybe she had become hardened and joined a cult. However, that theory was quickly put to rest when Naughty Dog's sound designer Robert Krekel chimed in on a Twitter feed to explain (and possibly dash the hopes and dreams of a few) that the lady in the trailer being strung up was not Ellie.
The thing is, we don't even know if that woman survives the attack at the end of the cinematic trailer for The Last of Us Part II. All we see is here, the Asian woman and the young boy with the bow and arrow preparing for an incoming attack. Anything could happen. Obviously, if she dies then it's not Ellie's mom. However, one thing stands certain above all else: we just have to wait for more information.
