The Last of Us will be a series that emotionally destroys us (in the best way), and we know this from how the game uses its story to make you quickly fall in love with characters before having them meet their demise. We know that the series will be different from the game, but I do think that certain beats may be similar.
Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us game
… Which is why I don’t have the highest of hopes for Sarah Miller. In the beginning of the game, when the Clickers begin to take over, Joel and Sarah Miller run from their home with Joel’s brother Tommy. In the midst of their escape, they find some people and think they can help them, but it ultimately results in Sarah’s death (this is years prior to the major arc of the gameplay). Sarah’s death leads Joel to his new life and helps inform his relationship with Ellie, and I don’t really foresee that changing, which is why all the promo pictures of Sarah really hurt.
The series is coming to us in January 2023, and the more they show of Nico Parker as Sarah Miller, the more I just feel my heart breaking into a million pieces. So today, when the official HBO series account shared an image of Parker with her hand in a sprinkler under the caption “Another day in Austin, TX,” I just felt like I wanted to curl up into a ball and sob.
If you want to know how everyone is coping with Sarah’s inevitable fate, all the replies to this tweet are from people who are already upset and emotional—and we haven’t even met Parker’s take on Sarah yet. It’s going to be hard to watch.
The opening of this show is going to hurt
One of the biggest draws to the game is just how cinematic and heart-wrenching that prologue is. It’s like watching a movie; it’s so beautifully explored that it really does leave you sitting in silence once you’ve completed it. Imagining that in a television format is overwhelming.
I wish there was a way that Sarah didn’t have to die because I don’t really want to see Nico Parker die. And I don’t want to see Joel miserable as a result of his daughter’s death. I’d love it if he had to take Ellie to the fireflies while Sarah is alive and well somewhere, but I just don’t see how that would function in the story. Sarah sort of has to die and if they find a way around it? Great! I’d love more of Nico Parker in the show.
But right now, I just don’t know how that would work. Knowing Sarah’s fate from the game just makes all these promotional pictures of Parker as Sarah hurt that much more. I just want Joel and Sarah Miller to be happy, but I know I’m just going to be crying instead.
(featured image: HBO)
