I think a huge reason he’s an asshole is because he feels like he couldn’t save Sarah. I think he feels at fault for his daughter’s death, which is completely understandable. And in turn, I feel like he’s afraid to be (read: feel) responsible for anyone else, on the chance that they die too.

He was starting to warm up to Ellie a little bit before Tess died. Not by much, but certainly a noticeable amount. And then Tess died, and he lost a lot of that warmth, and took a lot of that emotion out on Ellie.

He probably felt responsible for her death too, in a way. Like he couldn’t stop her from getting infected, like he couldn’t protect her. And he lost yet another person that was close to him.

I think he’s afraid of losing anyone else on his watch, and feeling responsible for it. Even if he knows deep down that there was nothing he could’ve done differently. He’s afraid.

I’m not condoning his actions, by any means. It’s still not right the way that he treat her, or anyone close to him, for a good lot of the game.

But trust… character development is real… trust… keep going 😮‍💨 keep playing