“Hopefully, even if you are not a 19-year-old lesbian, you are still seeing parts of Ellie and parts of her decision-making that resonate with you,” said Gross. “What we’re trying to do is that, as you’re with Ellie in these moment-to-moment decisions, watching these cinematics and discovering all the weight on her, that even if you don’t empathize with her decisions, even if you don’t agree with them, you understand why she feels she has to do it or feels like she can’t stop herself from doing something.”