Tess and Ellie's Relationship in The Last of Us Makes the Story Better

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Episode 2 of The Last of Us.Look past the doom, despair, and fungus zombies, and the truth of The Last of Us remains: Naughty Dog's industry-changing dystopia was always about love. What types of relationships are forged during the end of the world's coda? Can any connections be true, let alone healthy, when necessity demands a survivalist perspective? Despite appearances, genuine relationships can undoubtedly flourish; healthy's another matter entirely (here's looking at you, protagonists, even though we wouldn't change a thing).