The functions of the game The Last of Us mean that we get to meet characters along Joel’s journey that are cool and fun, but we don’t know much about them outside of their connection to Joel Miller. One of those characters is Tess. His partner in crime and the woman at his side in the apocalypse, Tess is a character who makes Joel see reason and helps set him on his journey with Ellie.
She is one of the more fascinating characters in the game. And so, as we gear up for the release of The Last of Us TV series on HBO, the question is: How is Anna Torv going to do as Tess? For the most part, Torv has never let me down. Her work is consistently good ,and while I wish she were starring in another season of Mindhunter, I like her casting as Tess.
The character is one who literally lifts Joel Miller up in the game. Yes, I said literally. The two are trying to figure out how to get out of their base in Boston when they are tasked with getting Ellie to the Fireflies. As they’re trying to get out of a mess with clickers—the game’s zombified horrors—Tess gets bitten, and she uses it to show Joel the truth about Ellie’s own bite.
Tess is clearly infected, and it is growing in a way that Ellie’s bite isn’t (hers is healed), so Tess pleads with Joel to take Ellie to the Fireflies because she could be the world’s only hope for immunity against the infection. But what does all this mean for Tess in the show?
What to expect from Tess in HBO’s The Last of Us series
Personally, I love the idea of the show letting us live with these characters longer. In the game, we get time with Tess only briefly as she is just there to help guide Joel into what he’s supposed to do. Not that it makes her any less of a character, but her function is served early on, and we don’t get much else from her.
I hope that the show explores a bit more about her because what we do see in the game is so fascinating, and it is characters like Tess that make The Last of Us such a cool world to explore.
(featured image: Netflix/Naughty Dog)
