Elle

Elle
Biographical information
Alias	Black Lotus
Created by	Niander Wallace, Jr.
Physical description
Race	Replicant
Gender	Female
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Behind the scenes
Portrayed by	Jessica Henwick (English) Arisa Shida (Japanese) Ryoko Kobayashi (motion capture)

Elle, also referred to as Black Lotus, was a replicant produced in the year 2032 by Niander Wallace, Jr. in order to assassinate his father.

After surviving being hunted for sport, Elle suffered a bout of amnesia. Following her recollection of being hunted, she vowed to find those who hunted her and kill them.

Biography

Creation and the doll hunt

Elle, shortly after waking

Elle was a replicant ostensibly manufactured to be completely subservient to humans. In reality, she had been created by Niander Wallace, Jr. to kill his father. After experiencing a memory in which she received a black lotus tattoo from Wallace – known to her only as a boyfriend – as she lay by a pool, she woke in the same place, but it now appeared dilapidated. She went outside, finding other replicants who, like her, had no recollection of how they got there or that they were replicants. The group was then attacked by a group of hunters and they dispersed, Elle ran away with Miu.

As the hunters tracked and killed other replicants, Elle and Miu managed to hijack a hunter's buggy, picking up two other replicants as they were pursued. Elle soon lost control of the vehicle and it crashed, with her and Miu surviving. One of the hunters, Hayden Hooper, was left alone with the pair. He tossed a knife to them and urged Elle to attack her, but she was unable to. He goaded her further by killing Miu, then striking Elle with his rifle and kicking her. Elle soon was able to retaliate, getting into a brief fistfight with Hooper. She managed to grab his knife and stab him before taking off with his camera. She then wandered into the desert until finding and boarding a vehicle.

Amnesia and revenge

In October 2032, Elle awoke in the back of a transport vehicle with a black lotus tattoo on her shoulder and carrying Hooper's encrypted camera, recalling nothing from her past. She ended up in the city of Los Angeles, but it did not appear to be exactly as she remembered. After a brief confrontation with an angry sushi bar employee, Elle was attacked by a gang in an alleyway and recalled memories of being attacked by Hooper. Much to her own amazement, Elle managed to fend off her attackers.

Recalling the address of her home, she was pointed to a building she did not recognize, aside from a yellow wall in the area with an angel painted upon it. She then encountered Doc Badger, who invited her inside of his shop. While there, she hid as Drove, one of the gang members who attacked her, came in, questioning Doc if he had seen Elle. After Doc did not give Elle up, Drove left and Elle showed Doc the camera. She offered to take care of the gang for him if he decrypted the camera.

Elle reflects on her first killing

Borrowing a katana from the shop, Elle tracked down the gang and confronted them, managing once again to overpower them and kill their leader, warning the survivors to leave Doc Badger alone. This prompted her to recall stabbing Hooper and taking his camera. She returned to Doc, who said he was unable to decrypt the camera, but that an upstairs neighbor could. He took her to the top floor, where they found Joseph passed out on his couch.

After Elle woke Joseph by pouring a bottle of liquor on him, Doc introduced them, with Joseph reluctantly agreeing to decrypt the camera. As he started the process, Elle noticed a news broadcast on Joseph's television showing a meeting between Senator Arthur Bannister and Niander Wallace, Sr.. Recognizing Bannister as someone who hunted her in a desert, she asked where she could find the senator. Joseph refused to help, however, so she left with the camera.

Making her way to the Pickfair Hotel seen in the broadcast, she followed Bannister to a spinner. She commandeered a car in order to tail him to an underground boxing arena, managing to enter and incapacitate the security detail. She confronted him in a private balcony seat and attempted to question him. Bannister told her she was a replicant who had been built the previous week. He then tried to call for help which forced Elle to take action against him. They scuffled for a few moments, with Bannister managing to choke her twice in the scuffle. After recalling a memory of her encounter in the desert, Elle managed to get the upper hand and eventually dropped Bannister off of the balcony, killing him.

She managed to leave the boxing arena, nearly being caught by Officer Alani Davis before being pursued by another officer. She managed to escape him inside an alleyway, but experienced a vivid and upsetting flashback of being hunted in the desert alongside other replicants. She then saw Joseph raise a stun gun and shoot her.

Elle later woke in Joseph's apartment, learning from him that he found her by utilizing a police radio and that he was continuing to decrypt the camera. She then refused a drink from him, which he noted to not taste as good as it did prior to the Blackout. Noting that she is unaware of the Blackout, she ponders whether she truly ever had memories at all.

Joseph tests Elle

Later, while watching news coverage of Bannister's death, Elle asked Joseph about replicants. After answering her, Joseph checked her eye for a serial number, but did not find one, indicating she was not a Nexus-8. To be even more certain she was not a replicant, Joseph subjected Elle to a Voight-Kampff test. During the test, she was asked if she remembered ever being in love, causing her to recall her lover who had given her the black lotus tattoo, having noted that it symbolized purity. Joseph then ended the test, reiterating to Elle that she was not a replicant and was more likely to be just suffering from amnesia.

After taking a rest, Elle went to Joseph's computer, finding that the camera had been decrypted. On it, she found Hooper's footage of Bannister and his friends hunting replicants in the desert. Elle became particularly unsettled upon hearing someone in the footage mention that the replicants they hunted, including herself, were designed to be fully submissive to humans.

After fully recalling the memory in the desert, Elle had an enraged response, beginning to trash Joseph's apartment until he managed to calm her. Coming to terms with being a replicant, Elle vowed to track down her hunters and kill them. She asked Joseph for his help, to which he agreed.

Later, after resting, Elle awoke, wondering why her dreams had become more vivid. Finding a gun in Joseph's apartment, she took it to the roof, shooting bottles with it. However, Joseph soon came, reprimanding her for rummaging through his belongings. They went inside and ate, Elle asking if alcohol would help her forget memories, but Joseph explained it would not, as replicants were incapable of forgetting their memories. She then asked him again to help her, to which he agreed, although he advised she give up.

Elle sharpened the katana from Doc's shop as Joseph examined the footage with an Esper machine, identifying one of the hunters as a cop, evident by the watch he wore. Joseph then received a call and told Elle he was too busy to print off the images produced by the Esper and told her to have Doc Badger do it instead.

Doc later came to Joseph's apartment and printed off the photos for her. Elle then set out for Earl and Josephine Grant's apartment. Upon arrival, she watched Josephine through the window before disabling the two police officers who were serving as security. Inside, she found a photo of the Grants during the hunt.

Elle confronts Josephine

As she ventured further into the apartment, she was spotted by Josephine, who she chased into an officer and managed to pin her to the desk. Elle then tied Josephine to a chair to interrogate her about the hunt, though she claimed to have only been a bystander and that any memories Elle had of her doing otherwise were possibly false. Nevertheless, Josephine claimed to not know who planned the hunting trip and that they had been invited by Doctor M.

Chief Grant soon arrived and Elle held a gun to Josephine's head. Chief Grant, too, claimed to not know who planned the hunt, which he compared to hunting animals, pointing out that Blade Runners often killed replicants, and that her mere presence on Earth was illegal. Grant then attempted to have Elle let her guard down by saying he wanted to help her, but then suddenly attacked. After a struggle, Elle stabbed Grant. As he died, Grant fired a shot that missed Elle, but fatally hit his wife in the chest. In her final words, Josephine remarked that Elle's feelings were not real and that she did not actually care. Officer Davis then arrived and tried to get Elle to stand down, but Elle stood firm in wishing to no longer be hunted, saying that she had not started this conflict.

Before she could elaborate, Blade Runner Brook Marlowe crashed through the window and began firing at Elle. The two fought throughout the apartment until ending up in the kitchen. Marlowe fired his shotgun into the wall, opening a gas line. Seizing an opportunity, Elle hit the stove with her sword, the ensuing spark causing a massive explosion that threw her out of the apartment.

Back on the street, Elle pondered Josephine's words, wondering why – if her emotions indeed were not real – revenge hurt as much as it did. Injured, she made her way back to Joseph's apartment and had her wounds treated. She asked him what a Blade Runner was and he answered that it was someone who retires replicants. Further, Joseph refused to help her find Doctor M, instead suggesting she abandon her pursuit for vengeance. Officer Davis soon arrived, prompting Elle to hide in an adjacent room until soon leaving the apartment through a window.

Elle used a Vid-Phon to contact Doctor M's office, pretending to be a delivery person in order to obtain the address. She quickly made her way there and scaled the building to enter. Inside, she incapacitated a guard, but accidentally tripped a laser, silently alerting Doctor M to her presence, allowing him to stun her.

Elle, shackled to Doctor M's machine

She awoke restrained to a machine, which Doctor M and his colleague, Goodman, used to view her memories, of which they found some that Elle remembered differently than they had been programmed and others that had been given to her by an unknown party. She soon broke free from her restraints and grabbed Goodman. M fired a shot at Goodman's shoulder, causing Elle to let go of him and hide. When M fired a shot that hit the machine, shrouding the room in a foggy gas, Elle held her blade to his neck, learning that Niander Wallace, Sr. organized the doll hunt. When security guards burst into the room, she killed Doctor M and knocked the guard out. Goodman then confirmed to her that Wallace was responsible for the hunt and that her memory of being with her boyfriend by a pool was in fact real.

Elle returned to Joseph's apartment, bringing up his past as a Blade Runner. However, Joseph promised her that his career was long since passed and that if he wanted her dead, he would have already killed her. Elle then stated her intent to kill Wallace, a task that Joseph regarded as impossible, suggesting to Elle that she leave Los Angeles instead. Undeterred, Elle stated she was not going to ask him to help and would do it alone.

She managed to enter the Wallace Corporation by hiding on the ceiling inside of a freight truck. From the garage, she entered a ventilation system, dropped into a hallway, and disabled two guards on her way into an elevator. Inside, she shot out a camera, but this alerted security, causing the elevator to be locked down. She managed to climb out of the elevator and the shaft, soon finding herself inside of a server room. Taking on several guards, she was given sniper support by Joseph, allowing her to continue to the aviary. There, she was hunted through the foliage by Marlowe and nearly slashed him with her sword. A fistfight ensued, with Marlowe emerging victor, but before he could kill Elle, Marlowe was shot in the shoulder by Joseph, allowing Elle's escape.

Elle then ascended to the Wallace penthouse, gaining entry via a hand scanner that identified her as Niander Wallace, Jr. Inside, she searched for Wallace Sr., who ambushed her, shooting her several times. Elle questioned him about the doll hunt, but this fell on deaf ears, as Wallace instead lectured her on her unimportance as a replicant and his belief that free will and choice were illusions. Elle stated that replicants could feel pain, prompting a delighted Wallace to open fire again. However, Elle dodged this bullet and a scuffle ensued, ending when Elle managed to turn Wallace's gun on himself, placing it under his chin and firing. Security detail led by Agent Hignight soon arrived and opened fire as Elle ran, diving out of the window to escape. She was caught by Joseph on his bike and they flew away from the scene.

They went back to Joseph's apartment and Elle rested, but only to be awoken by flashbacks of her encounters with the hunters and Wallace. Knowing she would always be haunted due to the unfading nature of replicant memories, Joseph pointed out that human memories sometimes lingered as well. Over a drink, Joseph told her about a memory from when he was a Blade Runner, when he had fallen for a replicant, Selene and eventually retired her.

This prompted Elle to again recall being with a lover by a pool and she asked the lover why he was not looking for her, to which he answered that perhaps she should have been looking for him. She told Joseph that she wished to find her lover, so he provided her with a device that allowed her to sketch the man from her memory, a task that took her until dawn. She noticed Joseph later stare at the sketch and asked if he knew the man depicted, which he denied, claiming to merely not like his face.

Elle examined a hard copy of the sketch after it had been printed, which prompted her to recall Doctor M's assistant, Goodman. She wondered if he could help her identify the man from her memory, to which Joseph suggested she have her bad memories erased instead, so she could finally be free from them.

They made their way to Goodman's lab, learning that in order to erase any memories, they would all have to be purged. Elle decided to go through with this and entered Goodman's machine and got Joseph's reassurance that he would be there when she woke up. She closed her eyes as the machine's tank filled with a red gas, shedding a tear as she recalled memories with Joseph. Soon, however, the tank was severed from the machine by Water Lily, who attacked Elle and did not answer when Elle asked her who she was.

Elle quickly noticed a resemblance between the two of them, to which Water Lily responded that she was a superior model and had been tasked to eliminate obsolete models such as Elle. The two proceeded to fight until they were interrupted by LAPD personnel, prompting the two to escape. In an alley, Elle was met by Officer Davis, who wished to offer her protection while they build a case against Wallace. However, Elle insisted that the two of them walked different paths and fled.

Elle ran to Joseph's apartment, finding him on the rooftop, injured from a violent encounter with Marlowe. When Joseph noticed that Elle recognized her and thus hadn't had her memory wiped, Elle said that she'd continue to live after a tragedy, as other people could do. Joseph voiced his belief that Wallace thought Elle was dead and again suggested she leave the city, but Elle believed they would continue to be in danger so long as Wallace still lived. She vowed to end the conflict herself and the two looked over the rooftops at the former Tyrell Corporation headquarters.

Elle infiltrated this building, disabling guards on her way to the late Eldon Tyrell's expansive office. There, Wallace welcomed her and Elle questioned him about his motivation in creating her and leading her on a pursuit of vengeance. Instead, Wallace commented that Elle had become exactly what he intended her to be, but due to her defiance, she would die soon. Elle attempted to attack him, but was unsuccessful due to her programming. Water Lily then attacked and the two engaged in a sword fight.

Elle soon ran to the replicant manufacture wing, where Wallace caught Joseph planting a series of C4 explosives. Water Lily followed soon after and their fight continued. Water Lily managed to stab Elle through the hand, but Elle slid her hand along the blade to the hilt and disarmed her opponent, gaining the upper hand. Soon, Wallace noted Water Lily's flaws that made her inferior to Elle and stabbed her. Elle again tried to attack Wallace, but again failed. He then offered Elle a place at his side, prompting her to sheathe her sword. However, she then quickly drew the katana and slashed Wallace's eyes, saying she would be the last thing he ever saw.

She then went to Joseph, who apologized for any hurt he brought to her, but she noted that she had only good memories. He then told her that she had a soul and was more human than himself. Elle retrieved the detonator for him and they began to make their way out of the room. However, Joseph pushed Elle through the door and sealed himself inside before detonating the C4.

Trouble in Fracktown

One month later, Elle left Los Angeles, driving into the desert on Joseph's spinner bike. She headed east until the spinner bike was disabled by a group of scavengers. After they loaded the spinner bike onto their vehicle, they prepared to kill Elle, who attacked and incapacitated all three of them.

Elle took the scavengers' vehicle and soon arrived in Fracktown, finding Junkett Jones, a mechanic who agreed to repair the bike's damaged relay board. She was then approached by Emile Barnes, who continuously insisted on buying the bike from her, to which she declined. Soon, Miguel Roman interrupted and Barnes left after receiving a message. After Junkett made note of an injury Elle sustained from the ambush, Miguel offered to take Elle to his wife, a medic.

Miguel took Elle to the Inland Empire Clean Energy Co-Op's medical facility, introducing her to his wife Nyoko and daughter Kaja. After Nyoko mended her wound, Elle cleaned herself up and agreed to play with Kaja.

After playing for a while, Elle and Kaja were called to dinner. However, the meal was quickly interrupted when Miguel was shot in the shoulder as he prepared to make a toast to Elle. Seeing the drone that fired the shot, Elle threw a knife into it and headed out to fend off the attackers, sent by Barnes. However, several residents were taken hostage, including Nyoko and Kaja. Unable to save the hostages without risking their lives, Elle and the others watched as they were taken away.

Miguel summoned Elle after learning from Dixon, a captured attacker, that Barnes had sent them to kill both Miguel and Elle so that he would no longer have significant resistance. Miguel then took Elle from his home, revealing that he knew she was a replicant due to his past as a Blade Runner. He then gave her a katana – an heirloom from Nyoko's family – and asked that she rescue his wife and daughter. Junkett Jones further armed Elle with PKD-9, a nano-plastic explosive that could be remotely detonated, and her repaired spinner bike.

On her way to Barnes' facility, Elle came across an apparent dumping ground for replicants killed by Kozlov at the Golden Garter. Upon her arrival, she entered the facility with Dixon's card and defeated several security guard before reaching the captives, providing Nyoko with the explosives. They were soon confronted by Kozlov and a group of guards that Elle easily defeated before regrouping with Nyoko and Kaja. The three managed to escape on the spinner bike, with Kaja detonating explosives set by her mother.

Elle brought Nyoko and Kaja back to Miguel. She debriefed with Miguel, joined by Dixon and Junkett, who informed them that Kozlov was turning the town against them, claiming that the bombing was unprovoked. She then added that, according to Preston, Sancho killed the other escaped prisoners. This alerted Dixon, who knew Preston to be a traitor, prompting them to rush to the medical tent, where Nyoko was treating Preston's wounds. Finding him strangling her, Elle quickly intervened and Preston was taken to the brig.

After receiving a call from Kozlov, supposedly offering a truce, Miguel set out to meet him in Fracktown, but Elle accompanied him, not wishing to lose another friend to recklessness. She offered herself as the recipient of Kozlov's revenge, soon taunting him with his killings of pleasure models, referring to them as her "sisters." The two fought and once Elle disarmed Kozlov, he confessed to all of his and Barnes' misdeeds, turning the town in the co-op's favor. Elle then bid farewell to Miguel and his family, feeling she still had answers to find in the desert.