WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!
In The Last of Us episode 1, the first major death from the original game is shown. This death is much sadder than the one in the game. Many people were curious about how well HBO’s The Last of Us would stick to the book it was based on.
The First Episode of The Last of Us should put to rest any fears that the show will drastically change the game. Even though there are some small changes and a lot of new characters and places in The Last of Us episode 1, this shows how closely the original story is being followed.
This is clear during the whole first sequence, which ends with the same sad death as in the original game. The first half of The Last of Us episode 1 takes place in Texas in 2003. Joel (Pedro Pascal), his brother Tommy (Diego Luna), and Joel’s daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) watch as the Cordyceps brain infection spreads through the eyes of Joel, Tommy, and Sarah.
At the end of this sequence, a major character dies for the first time in both the show and the game, and it’s a very sad scene.
What Caused Sarah’s Death? (& How It Compares To The Game)
At the end of the 2003 scene in The Last of Us Episode 1, just like in the game, Sarah dies in a sad way. After following Sarah’s day in September 2003, which seems to be a normal month, Sarah goes to sleep at home. When Sarah wakes up to the sound of explosions outside, she goes looking for Joel, who has gone missing for some reason.
While the audience finds out that Joel is paying Tommy’s bail to get him out of jail, Sarah is left in the dark and looks for her dad. In one of The Last of Us’s most important scenes, she is eventually found by Joel, who saves her from being attacked by her neighbor in a violent, inhuman state.
Joel, Sarah, and Tommy then try to leave Austin, but they run into a lot of people who have been infected by the Cordyceps brain infection. After getting separated from Tommy, Joel and Sarah are saved from the infected by a single soldier holding a gun to their heads.
The soldier shoots at Joel, who is trying to protect Sarah, after getting orders from his radio. After Tommy shows up and shoots the soldier, Joel realizes that Sarah was shot in the stomach, and she dies in his arms. This scene is almost the same as the one in the game. The only difference is the plane that crashes during the first outbreak.
Sarah’s Death Hits Harder in The Last Of Us Show!
Sarah’s death is a lot more tragic in HBO’s The Last of Us because her story has been told in more detail. In the game, the story starts when Sarah wakes up and sees Joel coming home from work. He puts her to bed, and then she hears explosions in the distance.
The First Episode of The Last of Us changes this a little so that the audience can see Sarah’s whole day. Sarah is even more likable than she was in the first game because she eats breakfast with Joel and Tommy, goes to school, and fixes Joel’s watch as a birthday present. She also gets close to her elderly neighbors.
This, along with Pedro Pascal’s heartbreaking performance as Joel and Nico Parker’s heartbreaking performance as Sarah, makes Sarah’s death in the show even worse. Even though the characters’ reactions in The Last of Us game scene are already very sad, the live-action performances make it even worse.
The Last of Us episode 1 has the most emotional scene in the first part of the game’s story. This is because Sarah’s character is developed and the actors do a great job.
Why Did Sarah Have To Die in The Last of Us?
This is a good sign for the rest of The Last of Us since this opening scene and Sarah’s death shows that Joel will eventually become close to Ellie. The most emotional part of the first game was when Joel learned to love Ellie as his own daughter after he had been cold to her at first because he was still upset about Sarah’s death. This part of the game wouldn’t work as well if Sarah’s death wasn’t so sad, which episode 1 of The Last of Us does perfectly.
The Last of Us is already setting up Joel and Ellie’s future relationship when they meet in the first episode and Joel acts like he doesn’t care about her. This relationship will later drive Joel to make some big choices at the end of the story. Without making Sarah’s death even sadder than it already was, these choices and Joel and Ellie’s relationship would fall flat. However, The Last of Us on HBO does this to perfection.
Every Sunday, HBO Airs a New Episode of The Last of Us.
