The Last Of Us: The 10 Best Main Characters

The Last of Us is a masterpiece of gaming. Part Children of Men, part The Road, The Last of Us tells a very moving story about a cross-country trip through zombie-infected America. And while all the zombie stuff is obviously great, the game generated most of its praise owing to its stellar writing, fantastic performances, and remarkable characters.

It’s no secret that video game writing isn’t of the highest caliber. When it comes to entertainment mediums and their respective stories, video games are pretty far down on the list. But games like The Last of Us are slowly changing that perception.

10 Joel

Joel is the lead protagonist of The Last of Us, and he is arguably the greatest protagonist in modern gaming. Like many great pieces of literature, the game asks us to question Joel’s morality and motivation. Is he a good but flawed and tragic person trying his best in a post-apocalyptic hellscape, or is he a selfish villain willing to doom the world for his own personal satisfaction?

The ending to The Last of Us leaves viewers to answer these questions on their own, and it may throw players’ perceptions into chaos.

9 Ellie

Joining Joel is Ellie, a young girl who is seemingly immune to the virus. Joel is initially hesitant to protect Ellie, both because of his lone wolf persona and because she reminds him too much of his deceased daughter – memories he’d rather keep buried.

Of course, Ellie eventually grows on Joel, and he comes to accept her as his daughter. Ellie is a great character. Unlike many other sidekicks in escort games, Ellie is smart, takes no nonsense, and can certainly hold her own in battle. Of course, there is also a loving tenderness and childish innocence hidden underneath the tough exterior.

8 Tommy

Tommy isn’t in The Last of Us for long, but his screen presence is nevertheless memorable. Tommy is Joel’s estranged brother, having moved out west to join the Fireflies following their falling out. He now runs a power plant in Wyoming with his wife.

Tommy shares many of Joel’s traits, but he also differs from his brother in many important ways. Perhaps the most important is his willingness to embrace Sarah’s memory, offering Joel a picture of his deceased daughter – a picture that Joel is quick to throw back in his face.

7 Bill

One of the game’s most memorable characters is Bill, played by wonderful character actor W. Earl Brown. Bill is the only inhabitant of Lincoln, having outfitted the small town with numerous booby traps (one of which snags and nearly kills Joel). Bill is an archetypical “survivor” character, but he also has a wonderful sense of depth and dimension.

Falling out with his partner Frank did a lot to harden Bill, and he will do anything to survive in this post-apocalyptic world. There’s not much tenderness within Bill, but then again, this new world doesn’t call for much tenderness.

6 Marlene

From a plot perspective, Marlene serves as the leader of the Fireflies. But her role is more interesting from a thematic point of view. By the end of the story, she serves as a pragmatic opposite to Joel.

Joel dooms the world by killing Marlene, fleeing the Fireflies, and keeping Ellie safe for his own selfish gain. Marlene wishes to sacrifice Ellie so she can study her brain and hopefully develop a cure for the virus. It certainly makes for an interesting dichotomy.

5 David

The Last of Us contains a few human antagonists – the most famous of which is David. The world of The Last of Us is a violent, cold, and merciless place, and that is horrifically summarized through David’s character. David initially runs into Ellie at the lakeside resort, offering her medicine in return for her food.

It’s not until later that the truth comes out – David is the leader of a band of cannibals, and they kidnap and kill roaming survivors to use as food. It doesn’t get much worse than that.

4 Sarah

Sarah isn’t in The Last of Us for long, but she makes an indelible impression. It’s a testament to the writing of The Last of Us that players know so much about Sarah despite her painful lack of screen time. It’s obvious that Sarah is self-sufficient and independent, a character trait that is largely due to Joel’s taxing work schedule.

It’s also obvious that Sarah loves her father very much, even gifting him an expensive watch for his birthday. Unfortunately, her tragic death is the understandable catalyst for Joel’s personal downfall into violence, depression, and nihilism.

3 Henry

Henry largely serves as Joel’s counterpart, protecting his younger brother, Sam. Henry is obviously less experienced than Joel, and he often relies on Joel’s help in escaping the more precarious situations. Like Joel, he is very protective of his younger brother, and will seemingly do anything to protect him.

But he and Joel share one major character difference, and that’s their ability to carry on. Whereas Joel carries on after Sarah’s death, Henry immediately commits suicide after killing a turned Sam.

2 Sam

Henry serves as Joel’s counterpart, just as Sam serves as Ellie’s. Sam is Henry’s much younger brother, and he is largely at the whims of his older brother’s combat prowess. Unlike Ellie, Sam is generally useless in combat.

He is also much more childish than Ellie, despite being roughly the same age. It speaks to their differing experiences. Whereas Sam has been protected by his older brother, Ellie has been forced to survive on her own – and, therefore, become a more pragmatic and cold-hearted survivalist.

1 Tess

Speaking of cold-hearted survivalists, Tess is perhaps the coldest of them all. Tess serves as Joel’s smuggling partner, and she proves just as tough and relentless as the protagonist. Her role is small, but also very important for Joel’s character development.

Tess is bitten, and she quickly realizes that Ellie’s immunity is legit (as she is more advanced in infection than Ellie, despite her wound being much fresher). She successfully convinces Joel to take on Ellie, and she goes out in an incredibly badass way, ensuring her spot in the memories of Last of Us players everywhere.

About The Author

Nathan Sharp
(852 Articles Published)

Nathan Sharp is a writer from outside Toronto, Ontario. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years. His preferences include drama, action, and horror, with the former being a particular point of interest and fascination.

He also has a love of video games, particularly those of Rockstar.

Whether it be about film, television, or video games, Nathan loves a good discussion and has written hundreds of articles for Screen Rant.

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