We were all set up for the central mission of The Last Of Us. Smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his partner Tess (Anna Torv) were charged with taking Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to a Firefly group on the other side of the country.
But no sooner had the merry (okay, incredibly dour) team set off, tragedy struck and one of the main characters was killed off. In episode two? Ballsy. But what actually happened, and why has it put our heroes in further jeopardy? Let’s travel back to the land of the mutated fungus killers and explore:
What happened to Tess?
The trio have made it through to The Bostonian Museum when they encounter a bloodied and clearly recently murdered guy in a corner. As they patrol the rest of the museum, a cupboard noisily collapses: then they hear a monster. The zombies are death, and can only use sound – or echo locating – to identify humans to feast on, so Joel tells them to be silent.
Bam! The mushroom-headed monster jumps out and Joel attempts to shoot it, before running off to tackle it. Then, in a case of bad luck, another couple pop out, chasing Tess and Ellie. Joel manages to kill them, and when Tess reappears, she says she’s fine but has twisted her ankle.
They arrive at the Capitol building and find the Fireflies they were meant to be meeting for the trade all dead. “It’s over, we’re going home,” Joel says, but Tess snaps back. “It’s not my fucking home… I’m staying. Our luck had to run out sooner or later”.
That's when Ellie correctly realises Tess has been bitten.
She shows Joel the infected bite on her shoulder – it looks like it's been there for a while – and implores Joel to continue with their mission, as Ellie is immune to the fungi attacks. “Save who you can save,” Tess pleads to Joel.
As the tendrils of the dead Fireflies start to activate, it’s a signal for the other swarm of creatures the gang previously saw in the city to descend. They’re on their way, and these guys are fast.
Tess starts kicking over barrels of petrol and pulls out a lighter, and the beasts arrive. But her Zippo lighter refuses to catch the spark. In one of the most horrifying moments of the series so far, a hideous creature grabs her and leans in to 'kiss' her, the tendrils creeping out of his mouth into hers. Ban this sick filth.
Mercifully, the lighter finally works, Tess drops it, and the place explodes.
What happens to Tess in the original video game and does it differ?
In the museum, Joel gets separated from Tess and Ellie. He returns to find Tess fighting a fungus-head, eventually killing it. However, as in the TV show, when they arrive at the Capitol building, Ellie notices that Tess has been bitten on her shoulder.
Tess urges Joel to go on without her, and takes Ellie to meet up with Joel’s brother Tommy and his band of Fireflies. But there are soldiers approaching, and Tess offers to sacrifice herself, fighting them off so Joel and Ellie are given more time to escape. “I will not turn into one of those things,” she says, and although Joel wants to stay and fight the soldiers, he eventually relents. As they escape, they hear Tess scream, and she’s shot by the approaching soldiers.
In both scenarios, Tess is selflessly prepared to die to ensure that Joel and Ellie escape to safety before she’s monstered.
And then, there were two.
The Last Of Us continues weekly on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
