The Last of Us Season 2 unveils the emotional backstory of Ellie's moth tattoo

The backstory behind Ellie's iconic moth tattoo on her arm has finally been revealed. The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 6, The Price, was released on May 18, 2025, and takes viewers on a flashback ride. The episode finally addresses the reason that caused a rift between Joel and Ellie.

Every little detail shown in HBO's post-apocalyptic series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey holds significance, whether it's Ellie keeping coffee beans on Joel's grave or Joel's broken watch. In the latest episode of The Last of Us, the viewers finally get to know about Ellie's moth tattoo.

On Ellie's 15th birthday, we get a shot of a moth sketch pinned on her board. Additionally, if you look closely, you might also find a customized moth design on Ellie's guitar that Joel gave her on her birthday. Eventually, on Ellie's 17th birthday, the viewers get to see the moth tattoo on her arm for the first time.

When Joel enters Ellie's room with her birthday cake to surprise her, he finds her with Kat, a nineteen-year-old (it seemed like they were in a relationship at that point). It looks like Kat had inked the moth tattoo on Ellie's arm. When Joel notices Ellie's tattoo, out of rage, he asks Kate to leave. As Joel begins to rant,

"So all the teenage sh*t all at once. Drugs, tattoos, sex. Experimenting with girls."

In the next scene, when things cool down a bit between the daughter and father, Joel finally asks Ellie about the moth tattoo. We get a close shot of it, and surprisingly, Joel compliments it.

"It's actually not bad. Better than the one I made on your guitar anyway."

What does Ellie's moth tattoo symbolize in The Last of Us Season 2?

In The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 6, Joel finally asks Ellie about her fascination with the moths. To which, she replies

"Nothing, just read about them in the books on dreams and stuffs. It's kinda symbolic"

Joel seems a bit taken aback by the symbolism as he begins to inquire about it. Soon he finds out from Gail that moth represents death and not change/transformation, which he initially thought it to be. Naturally, he grows quite worried about Ellie.

However turns out Ellie's obsession with moths has nothing to do with her death. Ellie is immune to the Cordyceps infection because she was born with it, meaning she already had Cordyceps. Ellie truly believed that her destiny was to die at the Firefly hospital to help create a cure, but Joel didn’t let that happen. Ellie wasn't too elated about Joel rescuing her because she believed her death could cure several others.

In several cultures—like Medieval Europe, Mexican folklore, and Central and South American traditions—moths, especially large and black ones, often represent bad omens, death, endings, and mystery. But if you look closely at Ellie's arm, you'll also find some ferns just below the moth tattoo. Ferns are considered to bring in good luck- in Japanese culture, it stands for resilience, new life, and family, while in the Victorian era, it represents humility. These traits have played an important part in Ellie's life- from showing resilience to facing the death of near ones.

Additionally, tattoos helped Ellie hide the bite mark, and they also represented a teenage rage building inside Ellie- a symbol to assert independence. It symbolizes a transformation within Ellie- where she seems to confront and question Joel about his motives.

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Also read: The Last of Us showrunner has already pointed out 2 big changes to the Season 3 of the HBO series.

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