Top X Brutal Deaths in The Last of Us TV Show
Script written by Johnny Reynolds
Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Brutal Deaths in “The Last of Us” TV Show. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most violent or upsetting demises seen in HBO’s adaptation. That means a major spoiler warning is in effect. Which death shocked you the most? Sound off in the comments!
#10: Bryan
“Please Hold to My Hand”
This character is a case of the show building upon what happens in the source material. During the game’s Pittsburgh chapter, Ellie must save Joel by shooting the man attacking him. While it's a headshot in the game, things don’t go so smoothly in the show. After the duo is ambushed in Kansas City, it seems like this moment is about to play out. Ellie shoots the attacker from behind, hitting him in the spine and paralyzing him. We then learn his name is Bryan as he begins to beg for his life. As Joel prepares to finish the job, they’re not easy final words to listen to. And though Bryan dies off-screen, he isn’t soon forgotten.
#9: Tess
“Infected”
Fans of the game obviously knew all the deaths that were coming. Yet the showrunners did their best to make them feel fresh. In the case of Tess, they made her demise a bit more disturbing and theatrical. As she, Joel, and Ellie make their way to the Massachusetts State House, Tess is bitten during an encounter with Infected. Knowing that another horde is coming, she implores Joel to keep going with Ellie. In the game, it’s a shootout with FEDRA that claims Tess. Here, she douses the floor with gasoline and litters it with grenades in anticipation. Although we get an extremely unsettling shot of a Stalker speeding up her infection, she drops her lighter and blows them all to kingdom come.
#8: Alec
“Kin”
Although this raider never gets to speak on-screen, his death has far-reaching consequences. After leaving Tommy’s commune in Episode 6, Joel and Ellie journey to the University of Eastern Colorado in search of the Fireflies. They learn where to look next, but are interrupted when raiders arrive. While attempting to flee, one of them attacks Joel, who swiftly snaps his neck before realizing he’s been stabbed. Joel’s possible demise is a gut-punch cliffhanger for viewers and poor Ellie. This death is also what leads David and his cannibals to hunt the pair in Episode 8. Not only that, but it’s implied Alec’s body is used to feed an unknowing community, including his wife and child. That’s all kinds of wrong.
#7: Anna
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“Look for the Light”
Ellie’s mother is long gone by the time “The Last of Us” game takes place. But HBO gave us a flashback to show her final moments and they’re about as heartbreaking as you might think. As she’s going into labor, Anna is chased back to a farmhouse by an Infected. While she manages to fight her pursuer off, she’s bitten on her leg. She’s only allowed mere moments with her new daughter before Marlene shows up. The doomed mother entrusts Ellie to her friend before asking the unthinkable. Although this death isn’t as violent as others, it certainly brutalizes our emotions. Knowing she’s played by Ashley Johnson, Ellie’s actor from the games, makes this scene all the sadder.
#6: Perry
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“Endure and Survive”
Jeffrey Pierce, who played Tommy in “The Last of Us” game, joined HBO’s cast to play an entirely new character. Perry acts as second-in-command to Kathleen, a dangerous rebel leader in Kansas City. Kathleen’s hunt for Henry in Episode 5 results in the most horrific Infected encounter of the whole show as well as Perry’s very unfortunate end. The horde is bad enough to deal with, but they bring an immensely strong and durable Bloater with them. While it easily dispatches allies around him, Perry tells his leader to get to safety as he prepares to take it on alone. Honorable, sure, but very foolish. The Bloater rips Perry’s head off as soon as it touches him.
#5: Kathleen
“Endure and Survive”
Well, just because she’s told to find safety doesn’t mean she does. Kathleen acts as a major villain during the fourth and fifth episodes. She relentlessly hunts Henry for ratting out her brother to FEDRA, which led to his death. Her vengeance blinds her to everything, even the prospect of an Infected horde underneath her city. The conflict comes to a boil during Episode 5’s climax, and the Bloater isn’t the only intriguing enemy around. We see a little girl Clicker use her unnerving flexibility to chase Ellie, and it’s her who rescues our heroes in the end. As Kathleen has her prey cornered, the Clicker jumps her from behind, wailing on and sinking her teeth into her.
#4: Marlene
“Look for the Light”
We knew this moment was coming, and yet the ruthlessness still surprised us. During the finale, Joel and Ellie finally track down the Fireflies in Salt Lake City. That would normally be cause for celebration, except Marlene informs our hero that developing a cordyceps cure means Ellie has to die. Not willing to lose a second daughter, Joel mercilessly murders his way through the makeshift militia, including a very important doctor. When Marlene tries to reason with him, he puts a bullet in her stomach and another in her head while she begs for her life. The series didn’t need to alter much when adapting this scene. In both the show and the game, it’s absolutely cold-blooded.
#3: Henry & Sam
“Endure and Survive”
Episode 5 is a doozy, to be sure. Not only do we get memorably violent ends to some villains, but to some heroes as well. The group is able to make it out of the climax relatively unscathed. The exception, of course, is young Sam, who gets bitten on the leg. While this death scene plays out more or less the same in both mediums, the show adds some upsetting details. Sam being deaf in the show adds an extra dose of empathy, as does Ellie’s attempt to save him by giving him some of her blood. Regardless, seeing Henry shoot his younger brother to save Ellie is heartbreaking. But when he takes his own life, that’s true despair.
#2: David
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“When We Are in Need”
If ever there was a villain who got what he had coming, it’s David. In both the show and the game, he presents himself as a friendly stranger before the villainous reveal. He leads a group of survivors in Colorado. With food scarce, David and his men have taken to cannibalism, though many of his people seem to be unaware. As if that isn’t horrid enough, he also prefers his romantic partners on the far younger side. And he’s extremely impressed by what he sees in Ellie. Extra nasty additions to his background make him all the more hateable. So when Ellie gains the upper hand against her adversary, we cheer her on.
#1: Sarah
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“When You’re Lost in the Darkness”
As is the case with the game, it’s hard to top the brutality of the opening death. The first episode details more of Joel and Sarah’s day than we get in the game, greatly building upon their relationship. When the world starts to fall apart, they flee their home with Tommy. That plan only gets them so far as Infected and military swarm the area. Under orders to clear an area, a soldier guns down Joel and Sarah. While Tommy saves his brother, nothing can be done for Sarah. Even for those in the know, it isn’t an easy scene to watch. It’s harrowing, utterly heartbreaking, and it perfectly sets the mood for what’s to come.
