HBO's adaptation of the mega-hit 2013 game, The Last of Us, features a post-apocalyptic world that's overrun with Infected. It is therefore obvious that the Cordyceps outbreak has ravaged the world and wiped out the human population.
The Last of Us has a few fascinating characters such as the lead, Joel Miller, and his cargo, Ellie. Joel is more hardened with times than the teenager, Ellie, who has a sharp sense of humor and offers a fresh perspective on life and their world. Besides Joel and Ellie, The Last of Us boasts equally well-rounded supporting characters.
9 Kathleen
Melanie Lynskey's Kathleen is the ruthless Kansas City resistance leader whose deep-seated desire for vengeance costs her life at the end of The Last of Us season 1, episode 5, "Endure and Survive." Her brother Michael was the original KC resistance leader, and he was tipped off to FEDRA by a collaborator named Henry.
Kathleen deposes FEDRA in the KC QZ and successfully installs a civilian-military government for her people. She chastises former FEDRA collaborators, including Dr. Edelstein who worked with the authoritative regime for their own benefit. Kathleen isn't anywhere close to the people who collaborated with FEDRA for medicines and apples. She, however, isn't as forgiving her as brother, Michael, and orders a manhunt for Henry. She is mauled by an Infected just as she zeroes in on Henry and Sam.
8 Sarah Miller
Joel Miller's daughter, Sarah, is first seen in The Last of Us season 1 episode 1, "When You're Lost In the Darkness." She repairs her dad's damaged watch for him on his thirty-sixth birthday. She also cooks him eggs and bacon for breakfast and hopes to spend more time with him.
Sarah has a strong sense of civic duty in that she sometimes pays visits to her elderly neighbor, Nana. She is affectionate towards her uncle, Joel's younger brother, Tommy. Sarah has some compelling quotes in HBO's The Last of Us to her credit, and the horrendous circumstances of her death make it difficult to part with her character.
7 Sam
Henry's younger brother, Sam is a survivor and a fighter in every sense of the word. He endures hunger for ten days while he and his brother are holed up at a hideout, escaping the wrath of the Kansas City resistance.
Sam battled Leukemia and saw terrible things for his age. Despite this, he manages to be positive and decorates the hideout with superhero artwork using crayons. He's friendly towards Ellie, and the two of them bond well during their brief time together. Sam is bitten by an Infected and eventually reveals his bite mark to Ellie, asking that she stay awake with him. By the next morning, however, the Cordyceps infection gets to Sam, and Henry is forced to kill him.
6 Henry
Henry is a former collaborator and thanks to him, Michael was executed by FEDRA. His story, however, isn't all that simple. At first, he comes across as a typical rat working with the authoritative FEDRA regime, but it turns out he sold Michael's location in exchange for a rare Leukemia drug to save young Sam's life.
In the end, Henry redeems himself by saving Ellie from infected Sam's deadly attack. Unable to come to terms with it, he shoots himself for killing the very brother he turned into a collaborator for.
5 Tommy Miller
Joel's younger brother, Tommy starts out as a fun character in The Last of Us premiere. He's Sarah's loving uncle and shares a great bond with the father-daughter duo. Tommy saves Joel just as he's about to be shot by a U.S. soldier on outbreak day. Thereafter, he and his brother adopt extreme measures, such as killing people to survive.
Eventually, Tommy becomes disillusioned with his life and parts ways with Joel to join the Fireflies. As seen, he ends up leaving the Fireflies and settles in the peaceful Jackson community with his wife, Maria. Tommy still preserves his sense of idealism and hope for a better tomorrow, and that's why he agrees to take Ellie to the Fireflies research lab in The Last of Us season 1, episode 6 "Kin."
4 Maria
Tommy's wife, Maria, is a former assistant district attorney, and in The Last of Us episode 6, she serves as a democratically elected Jackson community councilor. She fulfills her civic role with zeal, looking after Jackson residents in whatever way she can. She spots Joel and Ellie while leading a patrol and escorts them back to her community.
Maria is considerate enough to leave fresh clothes and a menstrual cup with instructions for Ellie and offers to trim her hair for her. She isn't particularly fond of Joel because she knows the truth about his and Tommy's past. She has forgiven Tommy but views Joel with suspicion, a point that Ellie brings up during their time together.
3 Tess
Joel's smuggling partner and one of the best survivors in The Last of Us, Tess has one of the best redemption arcs in the show. While she does have a questionable past, she makes amends by requesting Joel to continue their journey and take Ellie to Bill and Frank. She is bitten in The Last of Us season 1, episode 2 "Infected."
Tess reveals her bite mark to Joel and Ellie towards the end of the episode right before they are under an attack by a hoard of Infected. She stays back and sacrifices herself by blowing by the Capitol Building thereby annihilating the Infected and making a safe passage for Joel and Ellie.
2 Joel Miller
Joel starts The Last of Us as an awkward but protective single parent to Sarah and at the end of the episode, becomes a hardened survivor who doesn't hesitate to burn the dead body of a child.
Sarah Miller's heartbreaking death and the Cordyceps outbreak take their toll on Joel, but Ellie proves to be an inflection point in his life. He begins to believe in Ellie's medical importance, in that she's immune to the infection, and tries his best to keep her safe. Worn out from years of trying to survive and his age, Joel pleads with Tommy to take Ellie to the Fireflies. However, when Ellie says she doesn't want him to abandon her, he has a change of heart and accompanies her instead.
1 Ellie
The fourteen-year-old Ellie is the heart and soul of The Last of Us. Despite having seen far too many horrible things, she still hopes for a better tomorrow. She's also the show's vehicle for comedic relief.
In The Last of Us premiere, Ellie comes across as a foul-mouthed kid who doesn't know life beyond FEDRA's military school and QZ. She takes it upon herself to save the world once Marlene educates her about her potential importance in the Cordyceps cure. Seeing as The Last of Us' plot hinges on Ellie, her character development is going to be fascinating moving forward.