Naughty Dog's The Last of Us is a series of games that explore how the world and mankind changed as the Cordyceps Brain Infection devastated humanity over many years. The Last of Us games are very violent. Allegiances shift and depressing moments are just around the corner, and the series embraces the logic that no one is ever safe in its world. Naughty Dog also makes an effort to show that The Last of Us is not merely about surviving, but finding a purpose in all of it and preserving one's humanity, however hard it may end up being. This post contains spoilers for The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2.
All of this is important when providing context about The Last of Us and its characters, and this applies to an extent to all of the game's protagonists and side characters alike. It applies to Joel, whose personal history and affection for Ellie led him to kill many people just to save a single person. It applies to Ellie, whose thirst for vengeance led her to lose everyone and everything, ending her journey with less than when she started. Lastly, it applies to Tommy — Joel's younger brother — when he tries to find meaning beyond survival by joining the Fireflies prior to the events of the first game, and then again when he hopes to find connivance in Ellie while planning revenge for Joel's death in Part 2.
Tommy's Story and Psychology in The Last of Us
The Last of Us games are very much about the psychology of the characters and how their choices and actions affect the story on a much deeper level. Tommy and Joel share much more than their brotherly bond, as they both watched Sarah - Joel's daughter - die from her wounds, and they did everything together to survive, which then led Tommy to suffer from nightmares so vivid that he wanted nothing to do with Joel anymore. When they parted ways Tommy joined the Fireflies, one of the factions in The Last of Us, as he believed in the group's cause.
This didn't last, and Tommy sought redemption through building a safe community in Jackson with a woman named Maria. Things were shaken up when Joel showed up there, years later, with Ellie by his side and trying to take her to the Fireflies. Tommy eventually helped, and told Joel he would always be welcome in Jackson. That's where Joel went back to after rescuing Ellie from the Fireflies at the end of The Last of Us, and they lived there together for a few years up until the events of The Last of Us Part 2, when Joel is killed by the game's deuteragonist, Abby.
Joel's death inevitably shakes Tommy deep down, and after initially being on board with Maria's plan of not seeking revenge, he decides to take on Abby and her group on his own. He is later joined by Ellie, her girlfriend Dina, and Dina's ex boyfriend Jesse, who is also the father of Ellie and Dina's baby. Tommy's actions set in motion a chain of events that eventually leads to Jesse being killed and Tommy being shot in the head by Abby, even though he survives the shot and loses mobility and an eye for it.
After this, Tommy is bitter about what happened to Joel and to himself, and Maria takes time off from him. Despite always being the sympathetic brother when compared to Joel, who always was colder in his ways and more emotionally stunted, Tommy decides to convince a PTSD-suffering Ellie into going and killing Abby, which again she doesn't. Tommy's story arc is one of seeking redemption and trying to fix things, but he doesn't always manage to do so, as one would expect. What makes Tommy a compelling character is that he never loses his humanity while the world around him does, and that's part of what makes The Last of Us a storytelling masterpiece.
The Last of Us Part 2 is available on PlayStation 4.