i’d love to see joel open up about his anxiety and panic attacks (or for ellie to figure it out after witnessing it first-hand) and ellie to help him work through it. she’s smart, and she’s grown up in this world, and i have a feeling she’d know how to bring him back down - it’s another thing that would just make them stronger as a team, to know that this thing joel is terrified will get someone else killed is actually something they can try to manage together. with that trust, with ellie understanding and being able to assist and take action when necessary instead of being unaware of it, they’ll be better off, not worse (as is the case throughout their journey)