While some games introduce you to large casts of characters,The Last of UsPart 1 keeps things intimate. Like many aspects of the game and its story, The Last of Us strives for depth and meaning over vastness. It’s no wonder these characters have captivated audiences for years,sparking fandom and discussionsall over the world.
With the new release of The Last of Us Part 1, it’s worth revisiting these characters and remembering just what made them so special. If you’re experiencing The Last of Us’ story and characters for the first time, you’re in for a memorable experience with a cast of truly remarkably written and beautifully performed characters.
10/10 Marlene
Marlene is cold, calculating, and exactly what the world needs. This is a woman who isn’t afraid to lead. She’s a survivor who also manages to see the big picture. Marlene sees a world where the Fireflies can give something better to people than martial law. Perhaps most importantly, Marlene, even as a hardened survivor, sees a world with hope. She knows that Ellie’s immunity is special and could help them create a vaccine for everyone.
In a world where people sacrifice every day, Ellie is one more sacrifice in the name of a bigger picture and a better world. She’s often painted as an antagonist or a villain, but the world of The Last of Us Part 1 is too complex for things to be so cut and dry. The audience may not get a lot of time with her, but her motives make complete sense in a world often filled with senseless tragedy.
In many ways, Bill is the ultimate survivor, but he’s also something of a cautionary tale. When it comes to creating traps and making something out of nothing, Bill is easily the most skilled person in the series. However, after pushing his partner (and only real friend) away, Bill lives a life in complete isolation. He can be heard talking to himself for prolonged periods of time, and while he helps Joel and Ellie, he never drops his grumpy attitude.
Bill even warns Joel that having someone to care about is only good for getting you killed in this world. Whether or not his warning was genuine (or just rationalizing the self-imposed loss of his own partner) is left to interpretation. Either way, this hardened survivor helps Joel and Ellie on their journey and leaves a memorable impression on both audiences and the duo.
8/10 Tommy
While Tommy may be Joel’s brother, they’re clearly very different people. Tommy is haunted by what the two had to do to survive. He even did time as a Firefly hoping to make a better world. Ultimately, he left the Fireflies, got married, and became the leader of a town called Jackson. Tommy cares for people in an uncaring world and is even willing to help Ellie when Joel just wants to leave and go home.
He isn’t afraid to lead, he isn’t afraid to care, and he genuinely wants to do the right thing. While he doesn’t get a lot of screen time, his attitude and dynamic with Joel make him one of the most important figures in The Last of Us Part 1.
7/10 David
While he presents himself as an ally at first, David quickly becomes the slimiest and most villainous character in The Last of Us Part 1. We’re introduced to him during winter when Joel is hurt, and Ellie is taking care of him.
David eventually kidnaps Ellie and tries to keep her alive to make her “his pet.” When Ellie continually refuses to cooperate, he assaults and tries to kill her in one of the most terrifying fights of the game. While he’s probably not anyone’s favorite character, there’s no doubt that The Last of Us Part 1 wouldn’t be the same without him.
The audience isn’t given much time with Tess, but she still manages to make a major impact on the story and the player. As Joel’s partner, and the brains behind all their deals, Tess is the one who takes the job of transporting Ellie for Marlene.
When she finds out about Ellie’s immunity, she dares to hope that it might actually mean something bigger for the world. Unfortunately, Tess is bitten, and she reveals it when the military is about to capture her, Joel, and Ellie. In a moment of selflessness, she sacrifices herself so Joel and Ellie can get away. For someone who is gone so early, her sacrifice and inspiration continue to ripple throughout the story.
Sam and Henry are brothers, with Sam being a child and Henry nearly being an adult. The story of Sam is a sad one. He just wants to be a kid. He wants to play with toys. He shows empathy toward the people who have turned, wondering if there’s anything left of who they were from the inside.
His relationship with Ellie is pure and beautiful. For a few moments they’re both allowed to be children again. Unfortunately, it’s not meant to last. Sam is bitten and doesn’t tell anyone, leaving his companions to find him turned the next day. His loss is felt deeply by the audience and the characters.
4/10 Henry
Sam’s older brother and protector is a good man. After a brief confrontation with Joel, the two realize they can be allies, but Henry is still willing to leave his new companions behind if it means saving his little brother.
After Sam is bitten, Henry can’t handle it. He kills the newly-turned Sam and then turns the gun on himself. It’s a heartbreaking moment where the world loses two more decent people who were just trying to survive. Henry and Sam’s relationship also mirrors who Joel and Ellie will become and what they’ll mean to one another by the end.
3/10 Riley
Ellie’s friend was just another good person trying to have a childhood in the apocalypse. After learning that she’s going to move to a new location for the Fireflies, Riley convinces Ellie to sneak out of the quarantine zone and go to a nearby mall.
Tragedy strikes when both Ellie and Riley are bitten and decide to die together. In another heartbreaking moment, this is when Ellie finds out she’s immune. It’s hard to make the audience care about someone they know isn’t going to survive, but Left Behind handles every small moment expertly and tugs on every heartstring. It’s a story of love and loss. Like Ellie, the audience will never forget Riley and what the two had together.
2/10 Ellie
In The Last of Us Part 1 (including Left Behind), we see Ellie go from a child to a capable young woman willing to sacrifice herself (if not for Joel’s intervention) to save the world. By the end of the game, she’s no longer that little girl stealing magazines from Bill’s hideout.
We see her grow up during her journey with Joel, and we see how much Joel means to her not just as a fatherly presence, but as one of the only people she can genuinely trust. It’s what makes the ending all the more potent and heartbreaking for both characters. Ellie doesn’t just become a daughter to Joel, she becomes his capable partner and a dangerous survivor in her own right. It’s no wonderfans are captivated by Ellieand her journey through the apocalypse.
This is our main protagonist, our viewpoint into a cruel and uncaring world. We first meet Joel on the night of the outbreak, which is also the night he loses his daughter, Sarah. When we meet him next, he’s cold, distant, and deadly. When he first encounters Ellie, she’s a job, and a job that he doesn’t particularly want. He’s tasked with getting her to the Fireflies, though he learns about Ellie’s importance (her immunity) a little later. Joel’s character arc sees him go from a broken survivor to a loving father once again.
When Joel finds out that the Fireflies will need to kill Ellie in pursuit of a vaccine, he refuses to accept the loss of another daughter. He does the unthinkable and goes on a warpath through the hospital, killing soldiers, nurses, doctors, and ultimately, Marlene, the very woman who hired him in the first place. When Ellie regains consciousness, Joel tells Ellie the big lie, that the Fireflies had other immune people and there was no hope for a cure. It’s a lie told out of fear, love, and the inability to lose Ellie like he lost Sarah. To this day,people argue aboutwhether Joel’s final actions make him the hero or the villain. Like so many moments in The Last of Us, it’s all a matter of perspective.
