Top 10 Last of Us Deaths RANKED
Top 10 Last of Us Deaths RANKED
The 10 Saddest Final Fantasy Deaths
Welcome to MojoPlays. The Last of Us is an unforgiving world, deaths are frequent and can happen when you least expect it. Nothing is satisfying in this world. And these heartbreaking deaths are testament to that. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most painful deaths from “The Last of Us” series and ranking them based on importance to the plot and emotional heft. This goes without saying, but a major spoiler warning is in effect!
#10: Marlene
The ending to “The Last of Us” is perhaps the greatest ending in gaming history. Or at least one of them. As much as the second game wants us to question morality and our perception of good and evil, the first game did a perfectly good job of that on its own. Especially with the death of Marlene. Rather than sacrificing Ellie to potentially help save the world, Joel steals her back from the Fireflies and kills Marlene in cold blood to prevent her from pursuing them. The ramifications of Joel’s actions and Marlene’s death were discussed for years, and that is a sign of truly impactful storytelling and character work.
#9: Yara
We’re suckers for a good sacrifice, and “The Last of Us Part II” has a great one. Lev and Abby are confronted by Isaac, the leader of the Washington Liberation Front. Just as he’s about to shoot them, the previously unconscious Yara wakes up and shoots him in the back. In return, she is riddled with bullets from other WLF soldiers. Yara was a badass character, what with killing Emily with a broken arm and Isaac with a likely fatal stab wound. Luckily, she went out in an equally badass way. We wish we could have spent more time with her.
#8: Jerry Anderson
Much like Marlene’s death, the demise of Jerry Anderson - AKA The Surgeon - was morally questionable. While he did threaten Joel with a scalpel, he likely wouldn’t have done anything. And rather than simply confiscating the scalpel from Jerry and pushing him out of the way, Joel decides to bury it deep within his throat. It’s another one of Joel’s horrific actions that made us question his morality and his detrimental role in this post-apocalyptic world. Jerry is obviously important to “Part II,” as the story takes those themes and expands them by making his death the instigating event of the entire story. It really helped put Joel’s actions into perspective.
#7: Owen & Mel
Nora’s death at the hands of Ellie was nasty, but the deaths of Owen & Mel are on a whole other level. It probably has something to do with the fact that Mel was pregnant. Furthering the whole “Ellie as villain” thing, this scene also involves Ellie killing people while trying to suss out Abby’s location. Owen gets the jump on Ellie, causing her to shoot him in the chest. When Mel instinctively retaliates, Ellie stabs her in the neck with her own knife. And when she learns that Mel was pregnant, she once again grows horrified by her own actions. As if the game wasn’t depressing enough, they just had to go and have the protagonist kill a pregnant woman! Talk about misery porn.
#6: Riley
Even though we never saw Riley die on screen, we know that her death left an impact on Ellie as noted by her words to Joel at the end of the first game. How it happens is heartbreaking too, as she and Ellie were only making their feelings about each other known, before a horde of runners descended on them and left the two young girls bitten. Of course we know that Ellie survived due to an immunity she didn’t know she had, but Riley wanted to go out poetically, rather than by a bullet. It’s likely what’s left of her is likely still out there; doomed to roam the landscape as a Clicker. Not exactly a poetic end in the long term.
#5: Tess
We didn’t spend a lot of time with Tess in the original “Last of Us,” but she still played a major role in both the story and Joel’s character development. While with Tess, Joel was still a gruff, hardened smuggler who wanted nothing to do with Ellie. Even when Ellie claimed to be immune, Joel didn’t believe her. That is, until Tess was bitten. Tess’s belief in Ellie, combined with her devotion in getting her to safety, inspired Joel and caused him to start believing as well. Her death is also incredibly sad, as she literally pushes away Joel’s help, wells up, and goes out in a blaze of glory. Like we said, we love a good sacrifice.
#4: Jesse
Dina’s ex-boyfriend Jesse follows Ellie and Dina to Seattle, where he joins them on their search for Tommy. After the gang finds Tommy and decides to head back to Jackson, they are ambushed by Abby and Jesse is shot through the cheek. His death is arguably the most surprising in the entire “Last of Us” series, as it quite literally comes out of nowhere. He goes down immediately after barging through the doors. It’s a wonderfully directed sequence, and his sudden demise helps conceptualize the life-and-death nature of this dangerous world. One second you’re talking with a friend, the next you’re getting a bullet through the cheek.
#3: Henry & Sam
The tenuous line between life and death is explored even deeper in “The Last of Us” through the deaths of Henry and Sam. Henry bonds with Joel and Ellie with Sam on the night preceding the deadly events. It’s a touching sequence, but it also contains an undercurrent of tragedy, as it’s clear that something is troubling Sam. And then he reveals the bite. The next morning, a turned Sam is killed by Henry, and Henry in turn commits suicide out of grief. It’s another harsh statement on the ever-changing situations of this world - a literal difference between night and day. That hard cut to black visualizes the finality of death, and with it, Ellie is permanently changed.
#2: Joel
Last of Us: Joel's Origin (Last of Us 2 Spoiler Free) | MojoPlays
Joel’s death is not what people were expecting, and it’s caused quite a rift within “The Last of Us” fandom. Druckmann and his team took a major risk with Joel’s death and the manner in which it is carried out in order to get us riled up for payback, while making a thematic statement about cyclical violence. It's also a shocking reality check to remind us that Joel was never a hero. He was beloved, yes, but it doesn’t change the fact that he did terrible things in the past. It was a unique way to kill off such a major and beloved character, and even if the results were controversial, we have to commend Druckmann for taking a risk and trying something different.
#1: Sarah
Sarah Kerrigan - Her Complete Origin
As important as Joel’s demise is to the overall story, there’s simply no beating the emotional impact of Sarah’s death. We don’t spend a lot of time with Sarah, but the strong writing and performances helped us grow attached to her nevertheless. And when she’s gunned down by the military, we are subjected to one of the saddest scenes in gaming history. Losing a child is perhaps the most tragic thing that a human being can experience, and watching Joel desperately lose control is unspeakably heartbreaking. It’s fitting that this scene hard cuts to the title screen, as it hauntingly sets the game’s dour and calamitous tone. And props to Troy Baker, because God damn...
