Who is eli really? Well I think he is a deep, mysterious human who is not at all emo. I know how he dresses which supports the statement that he is emo, but some children dress in black to express what has happened to them in the past. And when you watch the show you can see about his dark past. I think the events that occured with his past girlfriend deeply effected him. I think clare really helped and is helping eli cope with his past trauma. So who is eli? That's for you to decide, but I think there is much mais to eli than we've seen in the show so far.