By Frankie-Robin Cooper
“Everyone I have cared for has either died or left me,” Ellie shouts in episode 6 of the Netflix adaptation of The Last of Us. “Everyone… fucking except for you! So don’t tell me that I would be safe with someone else because the truth is, I would just be more scared!”
I know I’m not the only one who cried during this scene. No one is going to say it, so I am: Millennials and Gen Z cannot get enough of the found family trope. Tell me honestly are y’all alright?
Hollywood has been profiting off of our mommy and daddy-issues for years now and we are all too happy to let it happen if we get to see another gloomy, disenchanted middle-aged man unwillingly adopt an endangered orphan with an attitude who will eventually become his entire world.
However, the fact that this trope is so beloved by Millennials and Gen Z can tell us a lot about what our generation thinks a family should look and act like.
This trope is the central theme in The Witcher and in The Last of Us. It is what drives these stories forward and develops their characters. Geralt of Rivia adopts Ciri AKA Cirilla, the granddaughter of Calanthe, former queen of Cintra, and the prophesied Child of the Elder Blood. In The Last of Us, Joel Miller adopts Ellie Williams, the only human being who is immune to the cordyceps pandemic.
Both Geralt and Joel are reluctant at first to take their child under their care. Both characters are constantly in survival mode, navigating their harsh realities and constantly making sacrifices just to see another day. For their part, neither Ciri or Ellie are easy to travel with. They test their limits, they endanger themselves and others, and they are mouthy and insubordinate. And who can blame them? Both girls are in extremely hot water and neither have any control over their situation or their lives.
Geralt is forced to take Ciri because of the Law of Surprise, and Joel is forced to take Ellie firstly out of negotiation, and secondly to honor the memory of Tess. As these stories progress, these characters who start out at odds with each other develop a student and mentor-like relationship, which eventually evolves into that of a parent and a child.
No fan of the Netflix adaptation of The Last of Us easily forgets the ending of episode 8 in which Ellie, having killed a cannibalistic, pedophilic cult leader, is embraced by Joel with the words “I got you, Baby Girl.” Likewise no fan of The Witcher doubts the connection that Geralt has to Ciri as he often breaks his vow of neutrality to protect her from the war.
The reason that this version of the found family trope works so well is that both the father figure and the daughter figure grow and develop as characters from it. The father figure gains a sense of meaning and purpose in an otherwise nihilistic and disorganized world. The adopted daughter gains a protector and a sense of security or consistency during the darkest days of her life.
So, why is all of the hype for the found father and not the found mother? Both Ciri and Ellie have adoptive mother figures as well as adoptive father figures.
“Pox, plague shit and leprosy! I’m going to kill those cursed idiots!” Triss Marigold screams in The Blood of Elves when she finds out the witchers of Kaer Morhen make Ciri train during her menstrual cycle. Triss acts as Ciri’s first mother figure, a prelude to Yennefer. And of course, Ellie has Tess until she is killed by the Infected.
One simple answer to the question of why these mother figures, as beloved as they are, do not receive the same attention as the father figures is simply that they are not the main characters. The stories are about Geralt of Rivia and Joel Miller and their relationships with their respective children. Other characters help along the way, but the story isn’t about them.
Another explanation is that this trope of an old man taking the orphan under his care is a complete reversal of the “evil stepmother” trope which plagues fairy tales and Disney adaptations. Instead of an older woman kidnapping a child and raising her under cruel conditions, an older man unwillingly takes the child into his protection and grows fond of her over time.
Yennefer somewhat fits the description of an evil stepmother description in Ciri’s story, at least for some time. She takes Ciri from her classes at Melitele in order to teach her magic, and in all frankness is quite cruel to her. However, Yennefer and Ciri’s relationship does not remain stagnant and antagonistic, as the evil stepmother trope often does. They develop a loving mother-daughter relationship, defying what usually happens in this trope.
The evil stepmother trope in its usual form is problematic because it casts a close-minded gaze on the concept of adoption. In these stories, the child runs away from the evil stepmother in order to find her biological parents, who treat her much better (Rapunzel, for example). This trope, repeated over and over again through countless stories, paints a picture that a child cannot be happy under the protection of anyone who is not their biological parent, and that stepparents must inherently be evil.
The goomy-old-man-turned-father-figure trope is the reversal of this trope, and iterates that not only can relationships between children and stepparents be positive, but also loving and long-lasting.
“So time heals all wounds I guess?” Ellie says after Joel tells her he is in the process of moving on from his biological daughter’s death.
Joel’s response: “It wasn’t time that did that.”
This exchange mark’s the moment that Ellie became Joel’s adoptive daughter; it is the moment he recognizes that he needs Ellie as much as Ellie needs him. It is a moment of vulnerability and grace.
This trope also shows a contrast between how Millennials and Gen Z perceive fatherhood and masculinity in comparison to previous generations.
Geralt of Rivia and Joel Miller are, without question, masculine-coded. They are tough, manly men. And, they are loving men, albeit reluctantly. The important thing is that they can be both.
This trope is inherently feminist because it testifies that men can be whatever they want regardless of their gender. Not only can men be fathers, but they can be kind, nurturing fathers. And that doesn’t affect their ability to shoot a gun, chop someone or something’s head off, or otherwise murder in the most gory and violent way possible. And I think that’s beautiful.
The gloomy-old-man-adopts-a-spunky-orphan-trope is not new by any stretch of the imagination, but it is incredibly wholesome and its success with younger generations cannot be denied. This trope breaks stereotypes and presents the bond of family in ways that are unconventional but incredibly wholesome. Simply put, everyone loves a gloomy old man who also radiates girl-dad energy.