For HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, co-creators Neil Druckmann — writer of the Naughty Dog series upon which the show is based — and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) have made some changes, allowing for the story to better suit the TV medium. For example, Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlett) backstory was deepened for the show — to much acclaim — in Episode 3, “Long Long Time.” In Episode 5, the young Sam (Keivonn Woodard) reveals his bite to Ellie; in an act of desperation, she tries to heal his bite with her could-hold-the-cure blood.
Another change? The relationship between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna). In the game, the brothers have a more strained relationship, but, in the show, they’re close enough for Joel to leave his regimented life in the Boston Quarantine Zone (QZ) and trek across several Infected-filled states. So, what happened to Tommy in The Last of Us — and how does his role impact the larger story?
Why Did Tommy Leave Joel?
After Sarah’s death, Joel and Tommy end up in the Boston Quarantine Zone. In both the game and the show, the brothers strike out together because they’re all the other has left. But the price of staying together — and staying alive in the harsh FEDRA-run QZ — meant taking on dangerous odd jobs. And that’s where the two versions of the brothers’ relationship start to diverge. In the game, these brutal jobs harden Joel. He retreats inward and becomes cold; nihilism is the way he gets through it. Tommy, on the other hand, can’t escape the guilt and nightmares.
In the end, the brothers have a relationship-altering argument due to their starkly different viewpoints, and Tommy says he never wants to see Joel again. And Joel does stay away. He hears rumors about Tommy’s whereabouts, but he hasn’t spoken to him or made much of an effort to keep tabs on him since their relationship-ending argument.
But, in the show, part of Joel’s everyday life in the QZ involves checking in on Tommy; he visits a radio operator in the pilot episode, and the operator says he hasn’t heard anything from Tommy in three weeks. That’s not the norm. Tommy will usually send a message within a day of receiving one from Joel. In fact, Joel and Tess’ plan is to secure a car battery so that they can drive west and find Tommy. Seemingly, the brothers didn’t have the blowout argument from the game. The shift feels right for the HBO adaptation; viewers get a better sense of the brothers’ close-knit relationship — and that they’re the only family from the before times either one has left.
Was Tommy A Firefly?
Yes, Tommy was a Firefly in both stories. The video game version of Tommy ends up being so haunted by the jobs he and Joel take on that he has nightmares and sinks into a depression. Eventually, he can’t take the everyday horrors anymore. He finds Joel’s action inhumane and is sickened by FEDRA’s tyranny. After talking to Marlene — the head of the Fireflies — he joins the rebel group, hoping to end FEDRA’s militarized rule of the QZ.
Unfortunately, Joel doesn’t understand why Tommy joined up with the group. This ideological rift is what leads to the massive argument between the two, which culminates in Tommy saying to Joel: “I don't ever want to see your goddamned face again.” After that, Tommy leaves the Boston QZ with some Fireflies and heads out West. Eventually, Tommy becomes disillusioned with the Fireflies, too. He ends up staying in a settlement outside FEDRA’s control in Jackson, Wyoming — as he does in HBO's adaptation — and marries Maria, one of the safe haven’s founders.
The show’s version of events is different. In HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, Ellie asks Joel some personal questions during their journey west. That all leads to Joel talking about Tommy. He shares that Tommy, before the Cordyceps outbreak, had joined the army for a time and that he’s the kind of person who often falls into those sorts of things. And that dedicated, dutiful personality made Tommy a perfect fit for the Fireflies — whether Joel approved or not.
How Old Is Tommy Miller In The Last Of Us?
Although his age is never specified in the game (or show), Tommy is Joel’s younger brother. That said, on Outbreak Day — 2013 in the game — he’s likely around 25 years old or so. Twenty years later, then, Tommy would be around 45 years old or so during the main events of The Last of Us: Part 1.
Is Tommy Still Alive In The Last Of Us 2?
Spoilers for The Last of Us: Part 1 (and some of Part 2)In The Last of Us: Part 2, Tommy is alive and well with his wife, Maria, in the settlement she founded and leads in Jackson, Wyoming. Upon seeing each other for the first time in decades, Joel and Tommy have an emotional reunion. A few weeks later, Joel even confides in Tommy, saying he prevented the Fireflies from killing Ellie — thus thwarting their plans to find a cure. Tommy assures Joel that he would have done the same.
For years, the brothers go on patrol together. In the game’s early chapters, Joel and Tommy are the ones who save Abby — the game’s eventual antagonist — from Infected. After the trio take refuge at a lodge where Abby’s group of Washington Liberation Front (WLF) soldiers are staying, things go south for the brothers. The WLF soldiers, and Abby, realize who Joel and Tommy are, and exact their revenge on Joel.
Although Tommy tries to stop them from killing his brother, he ends up injured, too. When Maria refuses to send a group from Jackson to pursue Abby and her soldiers, Tommy heads to Seattle — where the group is based — to exact revenge himself, and, theoretically, save Ellie the trouble. While it’s not clear how a Season 2 will shake out, it is evident that, despite any departure from the games, Tommy remains an essential character in The Last of Us.