The Last of Us quickly established itself as a true monument of video games by offering 2014 poignant storytelling and an alternate version of the zombie, with infected finding inspiration from a real fungus, named the Cordyceps. We quickly become attached to the characters and they return it well, by offering us moving, touching, but also terribly sad moments. Life is difficult in this post-apocalyptic world and survival hangs by a thread. Naughty Dog we are reminded of this regularly with many dead characters on screen. Today we are going to go back to eight of the most traumatic deaths than the two games of the license The Last of Us offered to us.
#1 Joel’s Death
Might as well burst the abscess from the start with the death that will have been the most talked about of the two games of the license, and from the outset to use harsh words: The Last of Us 2 killed off its main character from the first game. And even if, thinking about it, it was almost necessary in the narration, it was a real trauma for a lot of people. This death is from Ellie’s point of viewand she and the viewer are both forced to watch Abby and her friends put her father to death of substitution.
#2 Sarah’s Death
Since the topic of Joel came up, as much to talk about his daughter, who died at the start of the first game, in the intro sequence. Joel and Sarah meet a soldier who is reluctant to trust them. The latter going to kill Joel, his friend Tommy emerges and kills the soldier instead, but the shot goes off and it is Sarah who will be hit. To see the death of a child live is a shock, to see a taboo in the middle of the video game, and many studios refuse it.
#3 Henry and Sam, two brothers
These two characters are two brothers whom Joel and Ellie meet during their journey and with whom they join forces. After Sam gets infected and keeps it a secret, he leaves at night. When our characters find him, it’s already too late for him. Opposing his execution, Henry points his gun at Joel, changes his mind, blames our characters, and kills himself.
#4 Jerry Anderson the surgeon
Jerry may not talk to you, but this is the surgeon who was to operate on Ellie at the end of the first game. The operation meant Ellie’s death but found the cure to prevent being infected with Cordyceps. Joel killed him to get Ellie out of the hospital.. Her daughter, Abby, found Jerry’s body and was devastated to learn that her father had been killed. This sequence is the trigger for the second game.
#5 Jess, ex-future dad
Friend of Ellie and ex-boyfriend of Dina, Jess dies of a bullet in the head, fired by Abby in the amphitheater which served as a landmark for the revenge team.. His death is lightning fast: the door is opened, gunshot, Jessie falls to the ground. Impossible for us to mourn his death that we must already save Ellie’s buttocks. The saddest thing here is that Jess will never be able to see her son, as Dina was pregnant with JJ when she died.
#6 Owen, Mel and their child
All young parents who have played The Last of Us 2 were traumatized by what happens to Owen and Mel. She points their gun at them, forcing them to reveal Abby’s location in exchange for their lives, but they fight back. In the chaos of battle, Ellie ends up killing all three of them. Mel, Owen, and their unborn baby. This event will only increase Abby’s resentment towards Ellie.
#7 Tess, our first friend
At the beginning of The Last of Us first name, Tess acts as a mentor for the player, and a friend for Joel. She is the one who convinces him to escort Ellie to Tommy to take him to the Fireflies. Joel is introduced as cold and unsympathetic at the start of the game, but as we approach the end of the tutorial, Tess finds herself trapped and infected.. Refusing this, she will implore Joel to continue his journey with Ellie. His death by soldiers after his infection and the respect of his last will will be the engine of the epic adventure of our two characters.
#8 Yara’s Death
In The Last of Us 2, our feelings are ambiguous between Ellie’s camp and Abby’s camp. On the latter side, she is accompanied by Lev and her sister Yara. The latter are taken in by soldiers of the Washington Liberation Front, WLF and its leader Isaac. When the latter has found them, he first tries to convince Abby to withdraw. But the latter refuses to abandon Yara. Seeing her refusal, Isaac points his gun at Abby, but Yara quickly steps in, saving her and Lev so they can get away. Lev will be devastated at his sister’s sacrifice, especially since he had accidentally killed his mother shortly before.
Bonus #9: Rabbit
Because that streak of streamer Negaoryx and the brutality of the scene is too precious to forget.
Did it bring back difficult memories for you? If ever the license The Last of Us that interests you, you still have the series in preparation at HBO which unfortunately risks missing one of the important scenes of the games. We have dedicated an article to him here.
