Characters / The Last of Us

---

This is the character sheet for Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II. Per the wiki's spoiler policies all trope names will be visible and there will be plenty of unmarked spoilers. Read at your own risk.

For the HBO series versions of these characters, click here.

• Joel
• Ellie
• The Fireflies
• Jackson, Wyoming
• The Washington Liberation Front (W.L.F.)

Miller Family

Joel

See The Last of Us: Joel for Joel's character page.

Tommy and Maria

See The Last of Us - Jackson for Tommy and Maria's respective tropes.

Sarah

Sarah Miller

Voiced By: Hana Hayes (English)^note Other Languages: Ayumi Fujimura (Japanese), Natalia Rominati (Latin American Spanish), Cristina Yuste (European Spanish), Polina Chekan (Russian), Weronika Łukaszewska (Polish)

Played By: Nico Parker (TV series)

I sell hardcore drugs.

Year of birth: 2001

Year of death: 2013

Joel's daughter. She died on the night of the outbreak.

---

• Affectionate Nickname: Joel called her "baby girl". Once he calls Ellie this after she broke down after murdering David in self-defense, it showcases he nows sees Ellie as his surrogate daughter.
• Boyish Short Hair: She's tomboyish, and has her hair cut short slightly under her nape.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Her death in Joel's arms breaks him.
• Daddy's Girl: Was very close to her father Joel. Her death shattered him, and it took 20 years before he moved on from it.
• Deadpan Snarker: Her answer to how she got Joel a birthday present: "Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs."
• Death by Origin Story: Dies after getting shot by a soldier ordered to take out any stragglers.
• Death of a Child: The story begins with her death at the beginning of a Zombie Apocalypse, showcasing the mood of the game and how not even children are safe from the new reality of the world.
• Decoy Protagonist: Players who didn't pay attention to trailers could be fooled into thinking she's a big part of the game, considering you start out playing as her. Then she's killed after twenty minutes in.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: She dies in Joel's arms near the end of the prologue after getting shot.
• Dies Wide Open: Dies with open eyes.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: You can clearly see a spatter of blood when the soldier shoots at her and Joel. Not a minute later, it's revealed that she's been shot and dies. It's even more blatantly clear in the remake, where blood stains the screen, and clearly is coming from her.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's got blonde hair, and is a sweet as a 12 year old can be.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: She was a sweet, innocent 12 year old little girl with blue eyes.
• Ink-Suit Actor: She bears a resemblance with her actress Hana Hayes.
• Foregone Conclusion: To anyone who paid attention to the game's previews. She's not Ellie, whom Joel travels with for most of the game, so something terrible was bound to happen to her.
• Kill the Cutie: She dies once the soldier who was about to rescue her is ordered to kill everyone in the city to prevent an outbreak.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: Sarah clearly didn't inherit her looks from her dad. She also notes on Joel's birthday card that she and Joel have differing opinions on her taste in music and movies.
• Little Miss Snarker: She had a sarcastic streak, as seen when she answers she got the money from Joel's watch by selling hardcore drugs.
• Missing Mom: Her mother isn't around by the time of the game. The most that Joel says about her is that they weren't married for long.
• Morality Chain: Everything went downhill in Joel's life after her death the day of his birthday. He went from a kind loving man to a sour, bitter and violent individual, who still hasn't gotten over her death 20 years later.
• Nice Girl: In her limited screentime, she shows how sweetly close she is to her father and uncle, as well as her empathy for other people; she is horrified when Joel shoots their neighbor Mr. Cooper (to be fair, the latter was infected, but she didn't quite understand that yet), and after he makes Tommy ignore some people begging for help at the side of the road, she sadly says that they should've stopped to help them.
• Passionate Sports Girl: On the picture Tommy got from their old home, she's shown winning a soccer competition.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Sarah's death was the catalyst for Joel becoming the man we know today and ultimately one of the major factors of Joel meeting Ellie and the former regaining his humanity back.
• Sacrificial Lamb: She dies at the end of the prologue and serves as a Freudian Excuse for Joel's sour and bitter attitude.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Though she doesn't have an impact on the story proper, her death in the prologue essentially changes everything about Joel.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She's got short hair and she snarks about drugs, yet she owns plush toys, loves pink and is a fan of a Twilight franchise spoof.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Too good for a post-apocalyptic Earth.
• Tragic Keepsake: Joel still has the watch twenty years later.

Boston Quarantine Zone

Tess

Theresa "Tess" Servopoulos

"Lady? You must be thinking of someone else."

Voiced By: Annie Wersching (English)^note Other Languages: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Jimena Vallejos (Latin American Spanish), Conchi López (European Spanish), Natalia Gracheva (Russian), Karolina Kalina (Polish)

Played By: Anna Torv (TV series)

Year of birth: 1982

Year of death: 2033

"Guess what, we're shitty people, Joel. It's been that way for a long time."

Joel's "partner" in crime while he's in Boston. It's implied that they were an item some time before.

---

• Action Girl: Her combat skills rival Joel's. When he asks her if two men who ambushed her are still alive, her reply is a snickered, "Now that's funny."
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Not that Tess was ever truly terrible (despite her claims to the contrary), but her portrayal by Anna Torv in the television series is a bit less of a hardened cynic like Joel. While she's still a stone cold badass, she comes off as a bit warmer than her prickly video game counterpart.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: She gets bit while the trio are fighting their way through an old museum, but decides to pull a Heroic Sacrifice before turning completely.
• Big Sister Instinct: She bonds with Ellie a lot faster and easier than Joel did.
• Decoy Protagonist: She’s initially played up to be the games Deuteragonist before Ellie is introduced… and after that she’s played up to be the games Tritagonist until her death.
• Does Not Like Spam: One inventory note between her and Bill has her write to herself that, no matter how much she starves, she would NEVER eat sardines.
• Dying as Yourself: After she reveals that she's been bitten, she refuses to let the infection take hold and sacrifices herself to buy Joel and Ellie time to escape the military.
  "I will not turn into one of those things!"
• Dying Moment of Awesome: She holds off the military while bitten to buy time for Joel and Ellie to escape. Though she dies, she manages to kill two and gave her companions enough time to escape.
• Foreshadowing: In the museum level, after fighting off the runners, you can hear Tess say off-screen "oh shit!" at something. Not long after this, she's revealed to be infected with a bite wound on her neck.
• Gorgeous Greek: She's of Greek descent as evidenced by her surname and she looks pretty good for someone living in a post-apocalyptic world.
• Guest-Star Party Member: The first of many (in the present day narrative) that joins the journey with Joel and Ellie, but doesn't stay with them for the duration.
• Heel Realization: She had hers a long time ago and was somewhat resigned to it, if the following line is anything to go by:
  "We're shitty people, Joel. It's been that way for a long time."
• Heroic Sacrifice: She pulls one so that Joel and Ellie can escape the capital building before the military gets them while bitten from the neck. She manages to take out two soldiers before going down.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's much like Joel in this regard. She suffers absolutely zero bullshit and is as ruthless as one would expect a survivor of the collapse of humanity to be, but she does treat Ellie much better than Joel (initially) does, and finding out about the latter's immunity to the bite gives her such hope for the future that she ultimately sacrifices herself for it once she knows that she's doomed.
• Last Stand: She spends her last moments holding off the military so Joel and Ellie can escape.
• Like an Old Married Couple: Her constant verbal sparring with Joel in the first two chapters. Word of God even states she's the one person Joel trusts in the world. And of course, things take a tragic turn soon after.
• Messy Hair: Her hair is really unkempt as the result of constantly being on the run and it is kept tucked into a messy bun.
• Older Than They Look: According to her I.D. in the PS5 Part I remake she was born on February 26, 1982, making her 51 years old, yet in the original PS3 version as well as the PS4 remaster, she looks to be in her 30s at the oldest. Even though she looks noticeably older in the PS5 remake, she still looks at least a decade younger than her actual age.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: According to her I.D. in the Part I remake, her first name is "Theresa".
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The player might catch the hint of something being wrong after the run through the museum when Tess suddenly acts even more brash and aggressive than before. It's left up to speculation whether it's just due to stress (and the impending death sentence) or it's the Cordyceps slowly growing strong...
• Retirony: A temporary and mixed form of this. Eventually after saying to Joel that she's considering taking Joel's past offer to lay low and relax after their usual scavenging routine, she is bitten by an Infected.
• Sacrificial Lion: She's tough as nails, gets fleshed out as Joel's partner who's fully able to keep up with him, and is made to look like someone who's going to survive the journey right alongside Joel and Ellie. Then she gets bitten a few hours into the plot and chooses to go out fighting for the sake of Joel and Ellie's survival.
• Unkempt Beauty: For having lived in a post-apocalyptic world for so long, she's pretty damn good-looking. In the remake, she looks more her age and like she's been through hard times.
• Wham Line: "I'm not... I'm not going anywhere. This is my last stop."
• You Shall Not Pass!: After she reveals that she's been bitten, she sends Joel and Ellie away so she can buy them time to escape the military and take out as many as she can before she's gunned down.
• Zombie Infectee: Noticeably after getting through the museum, she seems a bit more solemn and apprehensive until they reach the meeting spot with the Fireflies where she is forced to reveal that she'd been infected an hour ago.

Robert

Robert

I sold them!

Voiced By: Robin Atkin Downes (English)^note Other Languages: Masaki Aizawa (Japanese), Carlos Celestre (Latin American Spanish), David Hernán (European Spanish), Alexander Hoshabaev (Russian), Waldemar Baliński (Polish)

Played By: Brendan Fletcher

Joel and Tess's former supplier. Due to his many debts, he screws them over on a deal and tries to have them killed.

---

• 0% Approval Rating: His hired muscle can be heard grumbling about him from time to time. One rants about him in a note disparaging his Bad Boss tendencies, his terrible reputation, and his ponytail.
• Boom, Headshot!: Tess blows his brains out after he makes a last desperate gambit to stay alive.
• Cowardly Boss: He sends his men after Joel and Tess. After they corner him, all he can do is a pathetic attempt at running away.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: While he is personally executed by Joel and Tess in the game he dies offscreen in the television series as the result of a shootout between his men and the Fireflies.
• Non-Standard Game Over: When Joel and Tess are chasing Robert, if you take too long chasing him down, Robert will get away, the game will end prematurely and the screen cuts to black.
  Robert got away
• Small Role, Big Impact: His selling of a gun shipment to Marlene behind Joel and Tess's backs kickstarts the whole plot.
• Starter Villain: He is the first villain boss in the story that Joel and Tess face off against. They have to chase him down first.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • Robert gets into debt with such frequency that he tries to have Tess and Joel killed, and when he's cornered, tries to save his life by asking them to help him retrieve the guns he sold himself; his stupidity ends up being terminal.
  • His TV counterpart tries to pawn off a non-functioning car battery to the Fireflies and gets killed in an offscreen shootout.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: He is killed off midway through the Quarantine chapter, and even earlier in the TV series.

The Cannibals

In General

A settlement of survivors who have resorted to cannibalism in order to survive.

---

• 0% Approval Rating: Averted with the first group you encounter, who don't question their boss. Played straight with another group, who verbally express doubts about David's orders. Especially James, who overrides him by ordering Ellie's immediate death instead of bringing her alive. They are in a blizzard and risking hypothermia for one extremely dangerous girl. You might even say that they're doing Ellie a favor, considering David apparently likes to keep 'pets'.
• Cannibal Clan: They're survivors who've resorted to killing and eating strangers to survive in the post-apocalypse.
• Cannibal Larder: Joel has the "pleasure" of going through one of their freezers and getting a good look at the butchered bodies hanging on meathooks.
• Chekhov's Gunman: The seemingly random bandits stalking you at the campus during Autumn are actually Cannibals led by David in the Winter section.
• The Heavy: During the Fall and Winter portions of the game. Most of the problems Joel and Ellie have to survive and endure were caused by the Cannibals attacking them at the campus and leads to a final battle with David.
• I'm a Humanitarian: The entire settlement has resorted to this to deal with the scarcity of food.
• Moral Myopia: They all want revenge on Joel and Ellie for killing their friends at the university. These same friends who attacked Joel and Ellie first with the intention of adding them to their larder.
• No Party Like a Donner Party: With food scarce following the outbreak of Infected, they've turned to killing and eating strangers for meat.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: By the Winter chapter, just the mention of "tourists" and the sight of Joel is enough to send some Hunters running scared.
• Would Hurt a Child: They have no problem attacking Ellie, especially if she's armed. When you play as Ellie you get to see all the horrifying death scenes she's subjected to if they kill her. They apparently have no qualms about eating a 15-year-old girl either, given David and James trying to chop her up for food.

David

David

"Everything happens for a reason."

Voiced By: Nolan North (English)^note Other Languages: Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese), Pedro Ruiz (Latin American Spanish), Fernando de Luis (European Spanish), Sergey Chudakov (Russian), Dariusz Toczek (Polish)

Played by: Scott Shepard (TV series)

"You know I love how you think that you're better than this. Better than us. But you're not."

Leader of a pack of scavengers in Colorado, with whom Ellie briefly teams up. He turns out to be a cannibal, and the people Joel and Ellie fought in the university were members of his group.

---

• 0% Approval Rating: Most of his men agree that making them chase after a single, dangerous, and infected girl in a blizzard is crazy. Even before Ellie tricked them into thinking she was infected, they disobey David's order to take her in alive and try to kill her as revenge for the deaths of their friends at Joel's hands, and during the blizzard you can overhear them talking about putting David's status as leader up to a vote once they catch Ellie.
• Ambiguously Christian:
  • While he and Ellie are fleeing from infected, he can be heard telling her to watch her language, and after shooting infected he'll sometimes say "Lord, forgive them." He also states to be under the belief that "everything happens for a reason".
  • He admits during his fight with Ellie that she momentarily "shook his faith", and the developer's commentary describes him as someone who believes he's been chosen by a higher power. A banner hung in the steakhouse reads "When we are in need, he shall provide!".
• Arc Villain: He is the leader of the Cannibals whom you fight during Autumn and Winter, and you fight David himself in the climax of the Winter chapter.
• Arch-Enemy: To Ellie. He betrayed her trust, kidnapped her, tried to kill and rape her, and most likely traumatized her for life.
• Attempted Rape: Tries it on Ellie. He gets a fatal case of machete in the face for his troubles. Even earlier than that, it's made clear he's initially interested in Ellie for physically intimate reasons, which is the first time his Affably Evil façade cracks before a full out Villainous Breakdown.
• Ax-Crazy: The result of his Villainous Breakdown. He completely ignores his own safety in favor of finding Ellie.
• Bait the Dog: Even after being revealed to be the leader of the group that attacked Ellie and Joel at the campus, David still acts friendly, doesn't hold Ellie responsible for Joel's actions, and even lets her go with the antibiotics she needed. Then it turns out it was a ploy so his men could follow her and kill Joel, his group aren't just murderous bandits but cannibals, and David himself only wanted to spare Ellie initially because he's an ephebophile and implied serial predator.
• Beard of Evil: Has a pretty thick beard that accentuates his thin face.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Starts off polite and well-mannered, and as an ally... until he reveals that he's the leader of the Cannibals Joel and Ellie fought in the University.
• Climax Boss: His fight with Ellie completes the arc, the season, and the scenario.
• Dirty Old Man: He's a middle-aged rugged man with no qualms about killing people, committing cannibalism or being predatory towards post-pubescent girls like Ellie.
• Enemy Mine: Played with. He and Ellie team up to defend a buck that Ellie killed, while maintaining an uneasy alliance due to Ellie not knowing if he is on her side or not - but David knows she is responsible for the deaths of several of his men.
• Ephebophile: He's heavily implied to be this, just short of being outright stated. He's the only one of the group that wants to keep Ellie alive, and his behavior toward her certainly calls to mind grooming techniques. One of his men even calls Ellie "David's newest pet", implying he's a serial predator.
• Evil Counterpart: He's very similar to Joel, in that he invokes "I Did What I Had to Do" as justification for certain questionable actions, and seems a possible candidate for "surrogate father" with Joel missing (at first, anyway), though he and Joel differ in significant ways. Joel tries to be as detached from others as possible, whereas David took it upon him to lead a community; Joel believes that his survival is in part due to luck, whereas David explicitly states that he does not believe in luck; and the reasons they concern themselves with Ellie are pretty much completely opposite. Also, when Joel first meets Ellie, he's cold and indifferent towards her, while David is polite and friendly. Joel however is a back-and-forth Jerk with a Heart of Gold while David is a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
• Failed a Spot Check: Once he has finally subdued Ellie and is about to rape/kill her, he's so crazed that he doesn't notice Ellie reaching for his lost machete. It's the last mistake David ever makes.
• Family-Values Villain: Has shades of this, such as when he scolds Ellie for not being upfront and honest about her name and background with him after having just admitted to being a cannibal.
• A Father to His Men: Subverted. David brings up more than once the death of his fellow Cannibals to prove Ellie has no moral high ground over him, implying he cares for underlings. However, in his boss battle he actually thanks Ellie for killing so many of his men, reasoning that it made his group "stronger" by having "less mouths to feed".
• Faux Affably Evil: David is soft-spoken and polite, even while admitting to being a cannibal.
• Fingore: Gets his finger broken by Ellie after creepily putting the moves on her.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Briefly helps you to battle some Infected while you're playing as Ellie.
• Hate Sink: For the first game. The Infected are tragic by nature while factions like the Hunters in Pittsburgh are brutal but too impersonal to hate. With the only other prominent antagonist, Marlene, being a sympathetic Well-Intentioned Extremist, David is the only major villain for the player to focus their hatred on, being a cannibalistic ephebophile who tries to rape and murder Ellie.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Had it not been for his machete, Ellie most likely wouldn't have been able to defend herself from him.
• I Did What I Had to Do: The reasoning he gives Ellie for his cannibal lifestyle is that his group was desperate for food and had to resort to human meat.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Towards the end of his and Ellie's cat-and-mouse chase where he's left with the upper hand, he starts taunting her and hints that he plans to rape her before killing her.
• I Want Them Alive!: He orders his mooks to capture Ellie alive, but James overrides this order, leading David to catch her himself.
• If I Can't Have You…: To a degree with Ellie. When his attempts to make her join his group fail (and after she breaks his finger), he decides to kill her.
• I'm a Humanitarian: David is a cannibal, leading an entire group of like-minded human-eating psychopaths.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: After Ellie stabs him the first time in his boss fight, he starts shooting at Ellie at point-blank range and misses.
• It's All About Me: Despite claiming he wants to help Ellie and that his crimes are necessary for the survival of his community, David only cares about himself and his own sick desires. Not only does he endanger the lives of his men by ordering them to capture Ellie alive despite knowing how dangerous she is, he even ends up thanking her for killing so many of them and making the rest of his group stronger. It's also revealed the only reason he tried to "protect" Ellie in the first place is because he's physically attracted to her.
• Karmic Death: He tells Ellie that he's going to chop her up into tiny pieces. His fate had this threat turned around on his face.
• Kick the Dog: In the final boss fight, he faux-apologizes to Ellie about his men killing her horse, Callus, and then promptly "reassures" her that they will make good use of his remains for food. And of course, there's the fact that he literally kicks her several times while she is on the ground.
• Lean and Mean: David is noticeably thinner both around the body and the face in comparison to other characters like Joel or even his underling, James.
• No Party Like a Donner Party: It's implied that his community turned to cannibalism mostly out of sheer hunger. David, who had no intention of letting his people starve, merely did whatever it took to keep them fed.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Invokes it when he puts Ellie in jail before she calls him an animal. David says they both kill to survive; he simply gets more use out of what he kills.
• Pick on Someone Your Own Size: Eventually subverted, since there does turn out to be a good reason, albeit an unseemly one, for the teenage Ellie becoming his nemesis.
• Rasputinian Death: To a degree. During Ellie's Boss Fight with him, he suffers several lethal stabs from her that should at least have slowed him down or rendered him unable to move, yet he's still able to get up, kick her twice and attempt to rape her before she finally finishes him by surprise cutting him and then rage chopping at his head.
• The Sociopath: A disgusting ephebophile who leads a cult of cannibals. While he does display superficial charm and slightly above-average intelligence, neither of these hinder the fact that he's nothing but a cold, sadistic, and downright despicable excuse of a human being.
• Turns Red: He grows increasingly more dangerous in each of his Boss Battle's three stages. At first he loudly taunts Ellie and walks upright, making him easy to track, and he only uses his hilariously inaccurate gun if he spots Ellie. In the second stage he shuts his gob and whips out his machete, giving him a One-Hit Kill melee attack but still being easy to keep track of. The third and final stage sees him entering sneak mode so that Ellie can only hear him when he moves, and spotting him visually is difficult due to the arena being crammed with high cover, plus his clothes allow him to blend with his background rather easily. He also turns literally redder in each stage due to heavy bleeding as Ellie deals him more and more stab wounds.
• The Unfettered: He all but describes himself as such when he discusses why he and his community have turned to cannibalism.
  David: We have to take care of our own. By any means necessary.
• Villainous Breakdown: Gets more and more unhinged the longer Ellie interacts with him. By the end, he's become a bestial lunatic.
• Villainous Crush: The reason why he wants Ellie alive is because he likes her. By the time his interests in her are clear, she’s found out he is running a cannibal camp.
• We Can Rule Together: He makes a point of capturing Ellie alive, and repeatedly offers to protect her and talk to the rest of his group into letting her join them. Ellie realizes his intentions towards her are predatory and breaks his finger in response.
• We Have Reserves: At first David seems to subscribe to the standard Moral Myopia of the series, being mad at Ellie and Joel over the deaths of his men when David's group attacked them first. However, David goes on to knowingly endanger his men, first by ordering them to risk their lives to capture Ellie alive rather than kill her despite knowing how dangerous she is, then by sending them to hunt her in a blizzard when she's loose in their town due to his actions. In his final fight with Ellie, David reveals the former concern he voiced for his men was just self-righteous bluster, and he actually thanks her for killing so many of them as it'll make the rest of his group "stronger."
• Wham Line: After Ellie and David exterminate the Infected who were swarming their cabin, she starts trusting him and agrees to share her deer with him. However, when the two gather by the campfire, he reveals that he is the leader of the bandits who were hunting her down in the previous chapter.
  David: A few weeks back, I sent a group of men out to a nearby town to look for food. Only a few came back. They said that the others had been slaughtered by a crazy man. And get this, he's a crazy man traveling with a little girl.

James

James

Voiced By: Reuben Langdon (English)^note Other Languages: Juan Navarro Torelló (European Spanish), Alexander Kovrizhnykh (Russian)

Played By: Troy Baker (TV series)

David's right-hand-man and a fellow member of the cannibal faction. Though loyal enough, he's increasingly dissatisfied with David's attitude, and overrides his leadership several times.

---

• The Butcher: He is shown chopping up human parts into food for his and David's cannibal clan. He also wields a machete and threatens to chop Ellie up.
• The Dragon: He's David's right-hand man among the cannibals, though he's willing to override his orders.
• Dragon with an Agenda: It's suggested that he's not satisfied with David's leadership, and both undermines and overrides his boss's orders on several occasions. That said, David doesn't think badly of James, referring to him as a "good kid" who's just doing his job.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Not that David is inept, but James is ruthless and efficient, a skilled butcher, and takes no chances. Of course, as irony would have it, he dies because he freaks out and loses his cool.
• Icy Blue Eyes: He has blue eyes and is a deplorable asshole.
• I'm a Humanitarian: He's a cannibal like the rest of his group.
• Jerkass: Unlike David, who's a monster that hides his nature under a facade of affability, James doesn't even bother pretending he's anything but an asshole.
• Properly Paranoid: James advocated simply killing Ellie, considering her too dangerous to recruit, but David, for his own unsavory reasons, overrules him. If David had listened to James, he would have avoided both of their deaths, as well as those of a number of their people.
• Revenge: He wanted to kill Joel and Ellie for what they had done to members of his faction at the university.
• Satellite Character: He's pretty much a Mook with a name and unique character model, and his characterization such as it is revolves around David and their group.
• Villainous Breakdown: He loses his cool when he and David see Ellie’s bite mark, which gives her the opening to shank him to death and flee.
• Would Hurt a Child: Was happy to execute Ellie on sight, and overrides David's attempts to take her in alive by ordering their men to kill her.

Henry & Sam

Henry

Henry

"I gotta protect my brother."

Voiced By: Brandon Scott (English)^note Other Languages: Koichi Sakaguchi (Japanese), Juan Balvín (Latin American Spanish), David Robles (European Spanish), Oleg Novikov (Russian), Otar Saralidze (Polish)

Played by: Lamar Johnson (TV series)

Year of birth: 2008

Year of death: 2033

A survivor from Hartford, Connecticut encountered in Pittsburgh who travels with his little brother Sam in search of a Firefly outpost.

---

• Big Brother Instinct: Protecting Sam is Henry's top priority.
  • In the Pittsburgh chapter, Henry is so desperate to get his brother to safety that he begrudgingly abandons Joel as the Hunters close in on them.
  • When the heroes venture through the sewers, a trap separates Henry and Ellie from Joel and Sam. His last words before fleeing from the approaching Clickers is to urge Joel to take care of his brother.
• Boom, Headshot!: Henry shoots himself in the head after being forced to execute his own brother.
• Character Development: Henry goes from strictly survival-oriented, to the point he won't let his brother bring along a toy to talking with Joel about motorcycles and letting his brother sleep in.
• Driven to Suicide: Henry is forced to kill Sam after the latter turns into a Runner and attacks Ellie. Broken by the ordeal and blaming himself for being unable to protect his brother, Henry decides to end his own life.
• Fatal Flaw: His over-protectiveness ultimately proves to be his and his brother's undoing, since Sam never learned to defend himself.
• Foil: His treating Sam like a helpless child mirrors Joel's similar treatment of Ellie at the start of the game. However, while Joel gets over this relatively quickly and starts letting Ellie help in combat, Henry never does and it ends up costing both his and his brother's lives. A good example of the difference between how they treat their child companions is that Joel routinely takes comic books for Ellie to read later on (that is, if the player finds them and is willing to do so), while Henry wouldn't allow Sam to take a robot toy he wanted.
• Guest-Star Party Member: He and Sam join Joel and Ellie for a big chunk of the Pittsburgh section of the game.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: He is extremely strict towards Sam, forbidding him from playing, taking toys and being very overprotective of him. He also neglects to prepare him properly for combat and handling the Infected, which indirectly contributes to his infection and subsequent death.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Mouths this trope nearly word for word after he is forced to kill Sam.
• Nice Guy: Although he has a moment of major moral weakness (which is explained after he rescues Joel and Ellie from drowning), and he's pretty strict to Sam, once Joel and Ellie get to know him, he's actually a pretty pleasant fellow. But, of course, Good Is Not Soft.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: A non-villainous example. He shoots at Joel as he goes for a gun to kill Sam, who has turned into a Runner, then shoots Sam himself. It's ambiguous if he wanted to kill Sam as penance for failing to protect him, or wanted to protect his brother, before realizing he was too far from saving.
• Parental Substitute: Due to all the ordeals they had to face in the post-pandemic world, Henry's relationship with his 13-year-old brother Sam is comparable to that of a strict father and a very young kid. They rarely display fraternal affection towards each other, with the former caring less about bonding and more about getting his brother out of harm's way; and the latter expressing that he never feels he can please his older brother.
• Practically Different Generations: Henry is twenty-five and Sam is twelve.
• Promotion to Parent: To Sam. Henry was young at the start of the infection and it’s implied that his and Sam’s parents died after Sam was born. As a result, Henry acts like a strict, yet protective father to Sam.
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Forced to kill his Infected brother to protect Ellie. Consequently is Driven to Suicide promptly after.

Sam

Sam

"What if the people are still inside?"

Voiced By: Nadji Jeter (English)^note Other Languages: Kōki Uchiyama (Japanese), Patricio Lago (Latin American Spanish), Rodri Martín (European Spanish), Alexander Gorchilin (Russian), Jakub Mróz (Polish)

Played by: Keivonn Woodard (TV series)

Year of birth: 2021

Year of death: 2033

Henry's younger brother, about Ellie's age. A very inhibited and passive kid.

---

• And I Must Scream: Discussed between him and Ellie at the end of the Summer chapter. Sam speculates that the Infected are prisoners of their own body, aware that they are killing other people, but unable to control themselves. She dismisses his theory and states that the Infected's former selves are gone.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: As a result of his inability to defend himself, he gets infected.
• Break the Cutie: Sam is one of the most innocent members of the cast, as he is a 13-year-old boy who never learned to defend himself and still clings to toys. At the end of the Summer chapter, he is infected by a Runner and spends his last night alone with his sorrow.
• Death of a Child: He's twelve years old and is put down by his own brother after turning into a Runner.
• Despair Event Horizon: Hits one after getting bitten - it's subdued, but he becomes very depressed and bitter.
• Foil: To Ellie. He's timid and very passive, in contrast to the active and audacious Ellie. The game highlights that by pairing him with Joel for a short while - it comes shortly after a longer chapter of Ellie learning how to help you and fend off enemies by herself.
• Guest-Star Party Member: He and Henry join Joel and Ellie for a big chunk of the Pittsburgh section of the game.
• Kill the Cutie: The poor guy gets infected, and the truth hurts him so much that he doesn't tell anyone to kill him while he's still "alive". In the following morning, the fungus transforms Sam into a Runner, forcing his beloved brother to end his life.
• The Load:
  • While his brother loves him very much, he considers him this at best. When Ellie visits Sam at the end of the Summer chapter, he immediately accuses her of being sent by Henry to check if he wasn't messing anything up.
  • Although Sam offers some minor assistance to the heroes while they are travelling through the sewers, such as informing Joel that there are Stalkers nearby and unlocking a door so the team can escape, he is by far the most useless NPC in the game, since his lack of combat experience means Joel will have no help while facing the enemies they come across.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After Ellie gives him a robot toy he wanted earlier, instead of being happy about it, he throws it to the ground in anger after she leaves and checks on his leg bite.
• Practically Different Generations: Henry is twenty-five and Sam is twelve.
• Super Drowning Skills: He can't swim, much like Ellie.
• Tragic Monster: He is bitten by an infected and is scared and confused about how to handle it. He doesn't tell the others and ends up being killed by Henry once he turns.
• Undead Child: He gets bitten by infected and turns into a runner who has to be put down by Henry.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Henry focuses on admonishing him and telling him what to do. This is noticeable in his reactions when he's teamed up with Joel, who actually takes his time to commend and reassure him.
• Wham Shot: After Ellie leaves, he pulls up his pant leg to check on his bite, revealing he is Infected.
• When He Smiles: Based off Henry’s conversation with Joel, Sam hasn’t smiled in a long time. When he and Ellie are eating blueberries, Sam is laughing and smiling with her.
• Zombie Infectee: He gets bitten in the leg, which he fails to mention.

The Seraphites

In General

A religious cult practicing Human Sacrifice in Part II, founded by a woman known as the Prophet and currently led by the Elders. They’re in a long running war with the WLF and live on an island known as Haven which is the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle that’s been flooded out in the ensuing years.

---

• Ambiguous Situation: Yara and Lev claim that the group wasn’t so dogmatic and violent when the prophet was alive. If they’re to be believed, it’s the Elders who’ve warped her beliefs. However, it’s not actually clear what happened to her since both the Seraphites and WLF claim the other broke the truce first. There’s also reason to believe that Yara and Lev could be unreliable sources of some sort since the Seraphites treated them so badly in particular. They’re also both kids who may not understand the full context of what happened because if you ask Lev, he doesn’t deny that the prophet blew up a truck and killed a group of soldiers.
• Asshole Victim: Most of them come across as incredibly brutal and nasty pieces of work, especially after Abby's story details their persecution of Yara and Lev. However, they're also presented as tragic figures, clinging to their religion to cope with the brutal reality of the world, and Lev states that they were a far more benevolent community when the actual founder was still alive.
• Bald of Evil: All the male Seraphites shave their heads, and they're antagonistic to Ellie, Abby, and their allies.
• Badass Army: Despite their forced lack of using modern technology (mostly), they are a legitimate threat to the more well-armed WLF, and the Wolves' invasion of their home is the last mistake they ever make.
• Badass Creed: "Only when weak may I carry my true strength."
• Biblical Motifs: Seraphs (further described below) are angels with six wings so they can always watch God first found in the book of Isaiah. They’re also found in Revelations where John describes them as:
  Revelations 4:8:"Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
• Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Seraphite Brutes are large, hulking men and women who wield sledgehammers and fire axes.
• Common Tongue: Have their own lingo:
  • They refer to the Infected as "demons".
  • People who have left the group like Yara and Lev are "apostates".
  • Enemies are "wolves", and fittingly enough, the WLF, the faction they keep going up against, uses a wolf logo.
  • The initial outbreak and the subsequent societal collapse is known as "the Cataclysm".
• Coordinated Clothes: Men and women both wear dark pants, dark boots, and dark trenchcoats with hoods.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The manner in which they kill people, stringing them up before hanging and disemboweling them, is not pretty.
• Dead Guy on Display: Their outposts are surrounded by the disemboweled, strung-up corpses of their many victims.
• Evil Luddite: Seraphites shun the use of technology and actively avoid touching anything "Old-world", meaning anything from before the outbreak. That said, they don't hesitate to use guns and elevators for military purposes.
• Fun with Subtitles: When using subtitles during the Ellie part of the game, their whistles are subtitled as "Whistling", while in the Abby part their Whistles are being described as Abby has learnt them. The most reoccurring is "The Call Whistle" and "The Answer Whistle", the former one is the one Yara threw against Lev in the Aquarium.
• Glasgow Grin: Many but not all of the members of the group have scars that go from the outside of the mouth to their cheeks. Their direct nemesis in the Seattle area, the WLF, have taken to nicknaming the Seraphites as "Scars".
• Human Sacrifice: They hang their sacrifices and then disembowel them, believing that they are "nested with sin".
• Hypocrite: Their anti-technology dogma goes right out the window the moment it would put them at a disadvantage, which is why most of their fighters wield firearms. They even went to the trouble of getting a large construction site elevator working again to gain an edge over the WLF.
• Important Haircut: All the men are bald and all the women wear their hair in the same crown braid◊. Lev shaving his head was an act of coming out as transgender.
• Meaningful Name: In the Abrahamic religions, seraphim are a high ranking order of angels (ranking varies between the three) and have six wings. They're a religious cult that wants to "clip people’s wings". In the Book of Isaiah, the seraphs help him see the error of his ways and free himself of sin, much like the cult believes they're washing their victim's sins away. The word also comes from the Hebrew word "saraph" which means "to burn", as in burn with passion for God which they seem to have in common.
  Isaiah 6.2-6.4:Seraph angels stood around him. Each angel had six wings. They used two wings to cover their faces, two wings to cover their bodies, and two wings to fly. The angels were calling to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord All-Powerful. His Glory fills the whole earth.” The sound was so loud that it caused the frame around the door to shake, and the Temple was filled with smoke.
• Old Man Marrying a Child: According to Yara, it is tradition for 14 years old girls to have their paths chosen for them. One of those paths is to be married off to one of the elders.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Zigzagged; while the Seraphites have no problem employing women as soldiers or letting them occupy positions of authority (which makes sense, as their Prophet was a woman), they're far less accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals. After Lev comes out as transgender, his own mother is willing to kill him, and various Seraphites freely use his deadname, refusing to acknowledge his gender, in addition to trying to kill him.
• Religion of Evil: By the time the protagonists encounter them, the Seraphites are a murderous cult of Knight Templars that maim, torture, and kill anyone not of their number without hesitation or remorse. Young girls being forcibly married to the cult's elders is common, trying to escape the cult automatically marks you for death, and not conforming with their dogma to the letter is tantamount to suicide, all in the name of their medieval beliefs. The sad thing is that according to Yara, they used to be a peaceful sect of recluses until their self-proclaimed prophet was killed and the new leaders twisted her teachings until little of the original intentions remained.
• Sinister Scythe: Seraphites commonly use one-handed sickles as melee weapons and are part of a violent cult.
• Sinister Whistling: When hunting humans, they communicate with very unsettling whistles, varying in pitch and duration as to not tip their victim off by giving away their group movement and coordination, making them extremely dangerous and unpredictable.
• Straight Edge Evil: According to one conversation you can overhear, Seraphites avoid drugs as it goes against the teachings of the Prophet, and they're an antagonistic faction.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Despite their general disdain for the Old World and the WLF, in one conversation between Seraphites regarding drugs one expresses the belief that it's not the former's fault that they didn't have the teachings of the Prophets, and that it's still possible for the latter are not "beyond saving", and it's still possible for them to change their ways before being destroyed.
• Villain of Another Story: For Ellie's route. They may be psychotic cultists, but Ellie has no direct business with them and they only serve as a hinderance in her goal of revenge.

The Prophet

The Prophet

Voiced By: N/A

"May she guide me through the storm. May she keep me calm."

The founder of the Seraphite cult and the creator of their religion. Her followers worship her as a god after her death and seek to carry on her fanatical ideas.

---

• Ambiguously Evil: While her followers engage in barbaric and monstrous deeds like human sacrifice in her name, it's unclear how the Prophet herself would feel about these actions. Lev claims that there's nothing in the Prophet's sacred texts that promotes violence and insists that the Elders corrupted her ideals after her death to justify their crimes. However, he doesn't refute Abby's claim that the Prophet did blow up a truck and kill a bunch of soldiers, calling into question how "good" she was.
• Dissonant Serenity: A note from a WLF soldier mentions how the Prophet kept an unnerving smile on her face even as they smacked her around.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Her real name is never revealed. She's only ever referred to as "the Prophet."
• Inspirational Martyr: The exact circumstances of her death are unknown, but it's implied Isaac had something to do with it judging by Abby's claim, after she reads a note about the Prophet, that "[Isaac] created a martyr." The initial war between the Seraphites and the WLF only started after her death, and her people continue to worship her as a god with them erecting shrines, painting murals, and writing and reciting prayers to her.
• Posthumous Character: She's dead before the events of Part II take place, but her presence is heavily felt through the actions of her followers.
• Red Herring: Given how often her presence is felt either through the battles against her followers or the monuments of her Ellie runs into, it's easy to assume the Prophet will be a major character in the story. Then halfway through the game the we switch to Abby's perspective and we learn that the Prophet died long before the events of Part II and had no part in sparking the war with the WLF.

Emily

Emily

Voiced By: Emily Swallow (English)^note Other Languages: Ekaterina Semyonova (Russian)

A high-ranking Seraphite.

---

• Cold Ham: Emily doesn't raise her voice, but she's still an intense and commanding presence.
• Didn't See That Coming: Lev's attack really takes her and her henchmen by surprise, leading swiftly to her death.
• Dies Wide Open: Her eyes remain open and roll slightly backward after she's killed.
• The Dreaded: She's spoken of with some reverence by overheard Seraphites.
• Idiot Ball: While distracted with trying to shoot Yara, she inadvertently gets too close to Abby, who has been strung up to be hanged... but isn't dead. Emily gets grabbed in a leg-lock, allowing Yara to finish her off.
• Ink-Suit Actor: She looks exactly like her actress, Emily Swallow.
• Would Hurt a Child: Emily is actively hunting two children with the express purpose of murdering them, and shatters Yara's arm so badly the arm needs to be amputated.

Yara & Lev's Mother

Yara & Lev's Mother

Voiced By: N/A

A dedicated Seraphite and mother of Yara and Lev.

---

• Abusive Parents: Yara, who views her mother in a less charitable light than Lev, is absolutely certain that her mother is an enemy. When Lev returned to her, she tried to murder him.
• Action Mom: Implied. Considering that both of her children are warriors themselves.
• Asshole Victim: It's kind of hard to feel sorry for the fact that she gets killed by Lev in self-defense for trying to kill him. The sad irony of this was that the cult was meant to foster peace among their community, but she instead buys into the rhetoric of their current leaders and acted rashly over a trivial matter.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: Despite her still being loyal to the cult that wants him dead, Lev still feels obligated towards his mother. Yara, by contrast, knows their mother better and doesn't think she's worth the trouble. Yara is proven right when Lev goes back to her one last time; Lev's mother tries to murder him, and he's forced to kill her in self-defense. Despite her cruelty, he's clearly broken up about it.
• Killed Offscreen: By the time Abby and Yara catch up to Lev, he's already had to kill his mother in self-defense.
• No Name Given: She's only known as the mother of Yara and Lev.
• Offing the Offspring: She tries to murder Lev when finding out that he's a trans man, family relations be damned. She ends up getting killed by him in self-defense.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Considering the Seraphite cult's medieval views, it's a no brainer when she rejects Lev completely for being transgender, to the point willing to kill him.
• Would Hurt a Child: Lev is only 13, but that doesn't matter to her.

Yara and Lev

Yara

Yara

Voiced By: Victoria Grace (English)^note Other Languages: Reika Uyama (Japanese), Vasilisa Eldarova (Russian)

A young former Seraphite on the run with her brother.

---

• Action Girl: Despite her introduction of being immediately incapacitated, Yara is a very capable survivor. She manages to kill one of Emily and one of her goons, even when injured. Even when her arm is amputated, she's an able ally for Abby when they go to rescue Lev.
• An Arm and a Leg: Her left arm is broken and then has to be amputated.
• Anger Born of Worry: When Lev shaved his head and came out, she yelled at him and hit him, terrified that the cult would kill him. She regretted it almost immediately afterward, and makes a point not to do the same when he heads back to the island against her wishes.
• Big Sister Instinct: Played with. When Lev first started telling her of his gender dysphoria, she yelled at him to keep it to himself since it wouldn't be good if the cult found out. When he ends up coming out, she flees from the Seraphites with him like any other protective big sister would.
• Bludgeoned to Death:
  • Emily's goons use a claw hammer to break Yara's left arm. A downplayed example as she survives but eventually loses the arm.
  • Later played straight when she uses it soon after to kill one of the goons and even Emily herself.
• Brother–Sister Team: She and Lev are traveling together fighting both the Seraphites and clickers.
• Bury Your Disabled: Not a full day after Yara's arm has been amputated to save her life, she is shot dead by WLF soldiers, but not without killing Isaac first.
• Determinator: Not even a broken arm will slow her down to protect her younger brother. Not even being fatally wounded to near death stops her.
• Establishing Character Moment: Yara, a Seraphite, is introduced being brought to Emily, a high-ranking one. She's defiant and even spits on her face when she demands where Lev is. This shows Yara is highly protective of her family, her well-being be damned. This makes her eventual fate all the more tragic.
• Guest-Star Party Member: While Lev is the Deuteragonist for Abby's section of the game, Yara also joins her for a while; first when fleeing from the Seraphites after killing Emily and her men, and later when going to Seraphite Island after Lev.
• God Before Dogma: She defected from the cult itself, but she still believes in the Seraphite teachings, saying that the Elders corrupted the Prophet's message for their own ends.
• Handicapped Badass: Yara doesn't slow down to help, even after her shattered arm is amputated. Even with one arm, she's a good shot!
• Heroic Sacrifice: Even after being mortally wounded, she shoots Isaac to death just before he could kill Abby and Lev. This leads to her being brutally killed by Isaac's crew, but gives Abby and Lev enough time to escape.
• Last Breath Bullet: Right after she's shot by a WLF soldier, Yara collapses and seemingly dies. Less than a minute later, when Isaac is about to murder her brother, Lev, and their friend, Abby, Yara proves to have just enough life left in her to fatally shoot Isaac. Immediately afterwards Isaac's followers pepper her with bullets to ensure she's dead.
• Made of Iron: She kills Emily and one of her henchmen despite being in massive pain from her broken arm.
• Multiple Gunshot Death: She is mortally wounded by Isaac, until she shoots him dead before he gets to shoot Abby and Lev, causing his crew to riddle her with bullets, allowing Abby and Lev to escape.
• Spiteful Spit: She does this to Emily, resulting in Emily giving the order to break her arms.
• Undying Loyalty: While she initially tried telling him to hide his gender dysphoria for his own safety, when push comes to shove, Yara chooses her brother over their mother and the Seraphites, forsaking the cult alongside Lev to keep him safe.

Lev

Lev

Voiced By: Ian Alexander (English)^note Other Languages: Misuzu Togashi (Japanese)

A young former Seraphite on the run with his sister.

---

• Abusive Parents: He considers returning to the Seraphites' island to see his mother, despite Yara's warnings that she wouldn't accept his coming out as transgender. And indeed, later the mother attempts to kill him, leading Lev to kill her in self-defense.
• Aloof Archer: Slender, stealthy, calm, and a good shot.
• Arranged Marriage: He was going to be married off as a wife to one of the cult elders. That plus Lev secretly being a trans man led to him coming out and fleeing from the cult.
• Big Damn Heroes: He helps save Yara and Abby from being killed by the Seraphites.
• Brother–Sister Team: He and Yara team up to kill the Seraphites. He shoots one in the head with an arrow which gives her an opening to kill the other guy with a hammer.
• The Comically Serious: Lev's serious disposition and his lack of knowledge for "the old world" either leaves him to innocent confusion or keeping a straight face against the more relaxed Abby.
• The Cynic: Lev turns into this after his hellish experience on the Seraphite's island. It's noticeable when he and a hopeful Abby travel to Santa Barbara and has justifiable doubts over finding the remaining Fireflies. That is until they've made contact with them.
• Deuteragonist: He's the secondary focus of Abby's story mirroring Joel and Ellie.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": One of the ways the Seraphites emotionally attack him him is the real-life transphobic bullying tactic of deadnaming, referring to him as "Lily" (his name when he was assigned female at birth) on purpose. He's always a bit hurt when it happens, and even Abby thinks it's a bit low.
• Doomed Hometown: By the time he and Abby escape the Seraphite Island, Haven and other Seraphite villages were burning to the ground due to the WLF invasion.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: His hair grows out a bit during his and Abby's trek through California at the final moments of the game. Coupled with his more casual clothes, it symbolizes him being finally free of the Seraphites' grasp.
• Foil: As the child companion that helps the Protagonist Player Character slowly regain their humanity after a life full of toxicity and crime, Lev is a foil to Part I Ellie in quite a few ways:
  • Ellie is a big fan of pun humor, but Lev has not even heard of puns.
  • Ellie curses almost all the time, yet Lev hasn't even said "fuck" until he starts bonding with Abby.
  • Lev's way of life is to avoid Old World technology, but Ellie is utterly fascinated and uses them in any opportunity.
  • Ellie starts as a open book who slowly tries to close off her emotions while she pursues vengeance. Lev, in comparison, shows distrust towards anyone not being a Seraphite, but gradually starts to bond with former WLF member Abby and enacts compassion.
  • Ellie is headstrong, rash and can get easily riled up. Lev is calm, composed, and only loses his temper if it's very personal. He slowly becomes more passionate while bonding with Abby.
  • Ellie is a gay cis woman while Lev is a trans man with an unrevealed sexuality.
  • Ellie loves dogs, while Lev is wary of them (he manages to overcome it with Abby's and Alice's help though).
• God Before Dogma: Although he slowly drops his affiliation with The Seraphites, he stays resolute in his faith to The Prophet, pointing out that all the death-cult stuff was added by The Elders after her death.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Lev at first says he doesn't like dogs, due to them being known to hunt for his formerly fellow Seraphites. However, he quickly warms up to Alice after a bit of gentle coaxing from Abby.
• Honor Before Reason: Lev's concern for his mother severely outweighed his common sense; unwilling to leave Seattle while she's still with the Seraphites, Lev returns to his mother to try and talk her into joining them. Unfortunately, his mother remains a fanatic and tries to kill Lev for being an apostate and a trans man, forcing him to kill her in self-defense.
• Important Haircut: Assigned female at birth, he shaved his head when coming out as a man.
• Insistent Terminology: He's not a fan of Seraphites being called "Scars", correcting Abby every time.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Lev is the one who convinces Abby to spare Ellie and Dina. Months later after they're captured, tortured and left for dead by the Rattlers Ellie is the one who frees them. She had anything but good intentions initially but she relents and lets them go.
• Literal-Minded: Lev is unaware of pop culture, sarcasm, and idioms and whenever any of them come up in the conversation, he expresses naive confusion.
  Lev: [after Abby collects a coin] What's that?
  Abby: A quarter.
  Lev: A quarter of what?
  Abby: [snorts]
  Lev: What???
• Meaningful Name: Lev means "heart" in Hebrew; appropriate for a boy who shows compassion to his loved ones and represents Abby finding purpose in her life.
  • "Lev" can also be short for "level-headed" in his case.
  • "Lev" is also a Russian name that literally means "lion". Lions are associated with bravery, and it certainly took a lot of it to reject his cult's teachings and be himself. Can also be considered a Pun, since lions are known for their majestic manes, while shaving his head was the direct cause that made Lev and Yara branded as apostates.
• Morality Pet: Abby forms a bond with him similar to the one Joel and Ellie shared. It's through this bond that Abby comes to realize that her quest for revenge is ultimately meaningless, and this convinces her to let go of her hate.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Any real life archer can attest to how much draw weight a bow with enough power to kill has. For perspective, decorative bows (which can't kill animals in hunt) can have around thirty pounds of pressure on the draw string. Much higher pressures are needed for that. As seen in Lev's Santa Barbara outfit, his arms are not toned.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Lev grew up in a medieval religious cult and thus has only the barest idea of the outside world. When Abby calls something he did "cool", he doesn't understand the term. She patiently explains him to similar idioms while they travel together.
• Queer Establishing Moment: Lev is revealed to be transgender when the Seraphites hunting him stumble upon him and yells out his deadname. Earlier he mentions to Abby that part of the reason why he and his sister left the Seraphites is that he "shaved [his] head". Only male Seraphites have clean-shaven heads.
• Sarcastic Confession: When Abby asks what the siblings did to piss off the Seraphites, Lev replies "I shaved my head." Played with, as Abby assumed the sarcasm while Lev is Sarcasm-Blind.
• Self-Made Orphan: Kills his mother in self-defense late into Abby's half of the story. The event leaves him shaken, severely.
• Twofer Token Minority: Lev is a trans boy of Asian descent.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: And how. After he argues to Yara about leaving their fanatical mother behind, Lev rushes back alone to look for her at the Seraphites' island. Not only does this end with Lev killing her in self-defense by accident, but it causes a hell lot of consequences: because Abby and Yara end up going after him, Abby is unable to stay behind with Mel, Owen, and their dog Alice to protect them from Ellie killing them all; Isaac and his crew arrive at the island and find out in full about Abby's desertion in the worst way possible (seeing her protecting Seraphites), ending with Yara getting killed by Isaac (though she kills him with her dying breath); rushing to the island in the first place prevented Abby's group from escaping earlier while the WLF was busy with the Seraphites, possibly avoiding Ellie's wrath altogether for good.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Lev is a 13 year old archer who can keep a very level-head and even gives Abby advice when her fear of heights get the better of her. Appropriate for someone who lives in a rigid, medieval society.

Other Humans

Bill

Bill

"It's the normal people that scare me."

Voiced By: W. Earl Brown (English)^note Other Languages: Paul Borne (French), Atsuki Tani (Japanese), Lucas Medina (Latin American Spanish), Luis Bajo (European Spanish), Alexander Novikov (Russian), Jacek Jarzyna (Polish)

Played By: Nick Offerman (TV series)

"Once upon a time, I had somebody that I cared about... It was a partner. Somebody I had to look after. And in this world, that sort of shit's good for one thing: Gettin' you killed. So you know what I did? I wizened the fuck up, and realized it's got to be just me."

Joel and Tess's frequent supplier and asocial survivalist, located in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

---

• Action Survivor: Of the survivalist type. However, his attitude ended up alienating his partner Frank.
• Big Damn Heroes: Makes his entrance by saving Joel from an Infected.
• Crazy-Prepared: He has a ton of supplies, he traps the city so heavily that it's even explicitly said that it's his and he manages to manipulate the infected horde through those traps to act as a sort of defense.
• Crazy Survivalist: The crazy part is downplayed, as he is very asocial and eccentric, but seems otherwise fairly grounded. As someone who voluntarily lives alone in an area rife with Infected, being a serious survivalist is the sane option.
• Get Out!: After surviving the whole ordeal to get a working battery for a car. This is the last thing he says to Joel and Ellie when they part ways.
• Guest-Star Party Member: He joins Joel and Ellie while they're looking for a car battery.
• Heartbroken Badass: Tries to hide his despair at seeing Frank's body and reading his note.
• Humans Are Bastards: As stated in his image quote, Bill makes the point that despite how terrifying the Infected are, they're at least predictable. Whereas with other people, you never know if they are your ally or are willing to backstab you at the drop of the hat. Considering the people Joel and Ellie later encounter, it makes sense why Bill firmly believes this.
• I Work Alone: Unless forced to interact with others, Bill has completely cut himself off from the rest of the world, seeing other people as a liability.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Earl and Bill are the spitting images of each other, especially on the PS5 version.
• Innocently Insensitive: Bill lets out a few references to and insulting remarks about Tess, much to Joel's anger. Joel, due to his still-fresh grief and preference to avoid talking about his losses, never tells Bill that Tess is dead, so Bill has no idea why his words would upset him.
• Jerkass: Has no patience for anyone whatsoever, especially for Ellie whom he consistently treats like crap throughout the time they journey towards the school for supplies. Likewise, his former partner Frank, couldn't stand him and tried to escape the town with Bill's last remaining car battery.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Due to the massive amount of Infected showing up during their mission to raid the school, Bill points out that Ellie's right when she claims that she should be armed with a gun as well to help cover for both Joel and Bill. His point is proven when Joel is almost killed in the Pittsburgh Hotel by a hunter, and had only survived because Ellie intervened by putting a bullet to the hunter's head.
  • He also makes a point of being detached from other people in general, so much so that he outwardly brushes off the death of his partner Frank. But given what both Joel and Marlene are willing to do out of concern for others, and what happens when Joel and Ellie bond with Henry and Sam, it's not hard to understand why he feels that way. Plus, he's also right about fearing other surviving humans more than Infected since the latter group is predictable.
  • Tragically, Bill's beliefs ends up retroactively bearing fruit for the entire plot in Part II. Joel gets brutally beaten to death at the hands of Abby, who wanted revenge on the former for killing her father while trying to save Ellie at the end of Part 1. This, in turn, leads Ellie into going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Abby, creating a vicious Cycle of Revenge between them. And given how Darker and Edgier the second game is with the Seraphites and WLF fighting over control of Seattle along with the Rattler's use of slavery, the Infected by that point are considered the least threatening among the enemies encountered.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his sour attitude, he does keep his word with Joel, and gives some grudging respect towards Ellie.
• Kukris Are Kool: He uses a kukri as his melee weapon. He's quite good with it, able to behead an Infected in just a couple of strikes.
• Love Is a Weakness:
  "Once upon a time, I had somebody that I cared about. And in this world that sorta shit's good for one thing: gettin' ya killed."
• Noodle Incident: It is never revealed what exact favors that Bill owed Joel from the past.
• Pet the Dog: He gives a sincere congratulations to Ellie when she got the truck moving.
• Porn Stash: Bill keeps an assortment of gay porn magazines in his home. Ellie absconds with at least one of them to get back at Bill for his less than pleasant qualities.
• Queer Establishing Moment: Bill talks about his partner without using pronouns, and it isn't revealed until the group stumbles upon his male partner's corpse.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: He is one of the few characters who swears almost as much (and as harshly) as Ellie.
• Speak Ill of the Dead: He trashes and badmouths Tess to Joel's face on more than one occasion until Joel gets sick of it and chews him out. In his defense, however, he has no idea that Tess is dead; Joel never tells him as such. He also vocally scoffs at Frank's death and calls him a "fucking idiot" in a vain attempt to hide just how devastated he is.
• Straight Gay: Given that he doesn't exhibit any "stereotypical" traits, to the point some even would attest he qualifies as Ambiguously Gay (the only part that makes it unambiguous being Bill's gay Porn Stash), but the game really doesn't treat his sexuality as a big deal or anything to make a fuss about or draw attention to, no different than any of the other characters.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Everyone has a breaking point, zombie apocalypse or not. Bill's abrasive personality drove Frank to leave, to the point that he was willing to die rather than be with him a second longer.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Has this relationship with Ellie, given that they start out fighting and openly insulting each other but do manage to work together to find the car parts and by the end, have developed a level of respect for one another.
• Thinking Out Loud: Sometimes he goes on tangents like muttering to himself about re-checking barricades. Given how long he's likely lived by himself, this is likely a habit he picked up as a result of his solitude.
• Tsundere: Hugely so towards his ex-partner Frank. He has nothing but contempt for him even while he's struggling to hold back tears at the sight of his body. If Frank's vitriolic suicide note (that he still signed with a sincere-sounding "good luck") is any indication, he was the exact same way.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: He's the only character in the first game whose fate isn't accounted for. Joel and Ellie just leave him to defending his town and part on somber terms. He does get a mention by Ellie in the Part II when she tells Dina of her experience with him but that's pretty much it.

Ish

Ish

Voiced By: N/A

"I've seen that we're still capable of good. We can make it."

A mysterious survivor, who is never actually met face to face. Avoided the infection by staying on his boat, but eventually ran aground and decided to hack it as a survivor.

---

• Apocalyptic Log: These are the only way to know he even exists.
• Character Development: A considerable amount considering that he's The Ghost. He starts off sounding a bit batty, but near his final notes he seems more down to Earth and responsible.
• The Ghost: The only reason you even know he exists is because of the notes he leaves.
• Hero of Another Story: One of many survivors from the outbreak, and one of few who prioritised things other than personal safety over anything else.
• Implied Love Interest: If the notes are anything to go by he has a thing for Susan.
• The Leader: Of the doomed Sewer City.
• Obfuscating Insanity: He's initially quirky in his notes, possibly a coping mechanism due to his isolation.
• Shout-Out: To the identically-named character from the 1949 novel Earth Abides. Given that he tried to evade the plague by going out to sea, doubles nicely as a reference to Ishmael, protagonist of Moby-Dick.
• Uncertain Doom: Since he's The Ghost, his ultimate fate is unknown. The last notes from him the player can find indicate that he survives the fall of his hideout, which means he's still in a dangerous position given that he and the surviving members of his group are without shelter in an area filled with Infected.

The Soldier

The Soldier

Voiced By:

A nameless soldier in the US military at the very start of the outbreak.

---

• Artistic License – Military: In both the game and TV series the Soldier is off by himself - in the middle of a catastrophic outbreak. Soldiers and emergency responders never operate alone in dangerous environments and are always with at least one partner at all times.
• Boom, Headshot!: Tommy takes him out with a gunshot to the head.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Is obviously distraught with the prospect of shooting a little girl.
• Gas Mask Mooks: Wears a gas mask to protect himself from the infection.
• Godzilla Threshold: The apparent motivation of the army at this point, as they had no idea how the infection was spread at this point, so they decided to kill everyone in the affected area.
• Just Following Orders: Follows his CO's orders to the letter and tries to shoot Joel and Sarah.
• No Name Given: Given his mere seconds of screen-time, it's not too surprising.
• Punch-Clock Villain: He's clearly reluctant to follow his orders to kill civilians, but he does so regardless.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Turns up for only one scene, but he manages to kill a major character and permanently change a second.
• Villainous Rescue: Guns down several infected chasing down Joel and Sarah.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies within a minute of his introduction.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Had a good few seconds in which he could have taken Joel out, although he may have simply been struggling with the morality of his actions.
• Would Hurt a Child: Kills a child, albeit with extreme reluctance.

JJ (Spoilers)

JJ

Dina and Jesse's son, to whom Dina gave birth during the Time Skip. He is raised by his mother and Ellie on a farm.

---

• Affectionate Nickname: Ellie lovingly refers to him as "Potato."
• Cheerful Child: As expected from a baby, JJ is an adorable little ball of sunshine.
• Dead Guy Junior: Word of God claims that the second J does not in fact stand for "Junior" as it usually does, ruling out the possible full names of Jesse or Joel Jr. However, it is possible that the nickname is supposed to be a combination of both names.
• Disappeared Dad: Thanks to Abby, JJ has to grow up without his father.
• Someone to Remember Him By: Jesse's legacy lives on through his son.
• Strong Family Resemblance: According to Jesse's mother, he looks exactly like his father when he was that age.

---

The Infected

In General

Humans infected with the Cordyceps brain infection, who lose their higher brain function and regress into hyper-aggressive animalistic states. Should the infected survive for years after their infection, the fungus gradually grows out of their body, turning them into increasingly monstrous forms.

---

• Artistic License – Biology: Real life Cordyceps actually kills off its hosts by destroying their muscles and subsequently their ability to move. This is because, in most cases, if the host continues to move as the fungus is growing, the fungus will die off. So realistically, chances of the Cordyceps being able to create the later stages of the Infected would be next-to-impossible.
• Body Horror: The fungus takes root in your brain and then spreads from there.
• Eyeless Face: Due to the fungus blooming from the Infected's eyes, anything past the Stalker stage lacks visible eyes. Only the Seattle-exclusive Shamblers break this pattern.
• Eye Scream: The fungus first starts manifesting outwardly by growing in and out of the victim's eyes.
• Eyes Do Not Belong There: The advanced Infected (Bloaters, Shamblers, The Rat King) have little spore pods covering their bodies which from a distance look like clusters of malformed, jaundiced eyes.
• Fate Worse than Death: The player can come across suicide notes by bodies, where the deceased states they plan to kill themselves before the infection overtakes them.
• Festering Fungus: The source of the infection.
• Kill It with Fire: All of the Infected have a considerable weakness to fire (contrasting with how they shrug off blows and gunshots), screaming and writhing when set alight. Justified, considering fungus in general is obviously very vulnerable to fire.
• Non-Malicious Monster: The Infected have no control over their actions, but there's no indication that the cordyceps itself is sentient, which turns the combination of the two into little more than predatory animals that hunt and kill for food and to defend their territory, not out of actively malicious intent.
• Not Using the "Z" Word: They're always referred to as Infected.
• Parasite Zombie: Rather than being undead, they're brain-dead humans controlled by an infectious fungus.
• Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain: Headshots are an insta-kill on Runners and Stalkers, and will do additional damage to the other varieties.
• Sense-Impaired Monster: The more advanced forms have fungal plates erupting from their skulls, growing over their eyes and rendering them totally blind. To compensate, they use a crude form of echolocation; the Clicker infected are so named for the sounds they emit to navigate and find prey. However, in practice, what they possess seems to be merely sensitive hearing, because they can't find prey if they're quiet, unlike real echolocation where the target making sound or not is irrelevant.
• Stronger Than They Look: Especially the Clickers. Even though they look like gooey, fleshy mushroom people, they can insta-kill Joel, who himself is one of the toughest survivors out there.
• Stronger with Age: The longer an Infected survives, the stronger it becomes as it progresses through the infection's stages, starting with squishy Runners and culminating in the nigh-unstoppable Bloaters. Part II introduces Shamblers and the Rat King.
• Technically-Living Zombie: Infected by a fungus, not really dead.

Runners

Infected Stage One (Runners)

Freshly turned Infected who attack with their hands. They still look - and, disturbingly, sound - the most human.

---

• And I Must Scream: Sam speculates that the Runners still retain some of their former personalities, but are unable to control their own bodies. Their mournful wails indicate that they might indeed be aware of their current state.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: Once they spot an uninfected person, the fungus triggers certain hormone releases that cause them to go mad with aggression and carelessly flail at their victims.
• Fragile Speedster: The least biologically changed, they lack fungal growths that hinder their mobility, but anything that can stop a human will also stop a Runner.
• Mooks: Runners will often accompany more dangerous Infected (like Clickers or Shamblers). This can ironically make the Runners the greater problem, as their sight allows them to spot the player more easily than their blind peers, and then force the player to fight the more powerful Infected when the Runner raises the alarm.
• Uncanny Valley: Invoked; instead of screaming with stereotypical zombie growling, the Runners scream like normal humans stuck in a mix of pain and anger, making them feel uncomfortably "normal".
• Zerg Rush: Since they have their senses intact, any one of them will cry out when spotting an uninfected person, resulting in the whole lot of them running to converge on them. A main danger from Runners is that they will overwhelm the player in sheer numbers and beat them to death.

Stalkers

Infected Stage Two (Stalkers)

Slightly aged Infected with fungi starting to grow out of their heads. Surprisingly intelligent, their fighting style is more ambush oriented.

---

• Ambushing Enemy: In Seattle the player will come across several who have fused into fungus on the walls. If the player comes too close, the Stalker will wake up, break out and attack.
• Artificial Brilliance: Infected usually just charge directly into melee, but Stalkers stand out for their much more devious hunting patterns. They make full use of the game's stealth and cover mechanics to become terrifyingly good at outmaneuvering you, and their lack of a detection indicator means they normally notice and attack you first instead of the other way around. And then Part II somehow made them even worse. That said, they're just as susceptible to the old bottle-then-Molotov trick as any other enemy. A Stalker peeking around an object can also give the player a good opportunity to line up a headshot on them.
• It Can Think: It's the only stage of infection capable of performing predatory tactics, avoiding the brutally direct attacks of Runners and Clickers. In terms of gameplay, this means that Stalkers will disengage once the player has got the upper hand and look for a place to hide, occasionally peeking around corners while trying to circle around and attack the player from behind. They're also the only enemy type capable of engaging the player without setting off the "you've been spotted" sound effect.
• Jack of All Stats: Due to a more advanced stage of infection, they can move and see like Runners, and have durability closer to Clickers. However, they lack the Runners' numbers and aggression, as well as the Clickers' strength and resistance to bullets.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Tend to hide and stay quiet when in the line of sight of other creatures, but turn and charge when they think those others are not looking.
• Stealthy Mook: Stalkers are difficult to track on Listen Mode, keep low to the ground when calmly moving, and tend to be found in dark areas. Once they are aware of the player, Stalkers will immediately run for cover, then try to quietly circle around the player.
• Unique Enemy: There were only around 10 Stalkers in the first game, apparently being something of a last-minute addition that the team struggled to find an appropriate place for. In the second game, they're much more plentiful.

Clickers

Infected Stage Three (Clickers)

Aged Infected whose infection has turned their head into layers of fungus. Their eyesight lost, they sense their surroundings through echolocation.

---

• Artistic License – Biology: The Clickers' "echolocation" is actually inaccurate. In the game, targets apparently have to be making noise for the Clickers to locate them with their signature clicks... but for creatures who use echolocation in Real Life, it doesn't matter if something is making noise or not; the whole point of the clicking is to follow the sound waves bouncing off of objects so they know where they are. In other words, the Clickers should actually be able to sense a moving, man-sized target regardless of how quiet they're being. This is an Acceptable Break From Reality, since, if it worked like actual echolocation, it'd be a lot more difficult, if not nearly impossible, to sneak upon them, and would functionally be no different than if they had eyesight. This is somewhat rectified in the second game and in the Part I remake where Clickers will periodically stop and scream, and if the player happens to be in the direction the Clicker is screaming in, they'll get spotted even if standing still or moving slowly. Also on higher difficulties, they have greater awareness, such as being able to hear you if you open your inventory/backpack nearby.
• The Berserker: They keep charging even if loaded with bullets.
• Body Horror: The fungus has bloomed from their skulls, splitting them open.
• Disability Superpower: Their advanced infection has stolen their eyesight. Unfortunately, they develop echolocation to compensate.
• Fan Disservice: Clickers are old enough that most of their clothes have rotted away, yet their bodies still look disturbingly human. This results in plenty of largely naked opponents^note and most Clickers in Part II were obviously women once upon a time that couldn't be less titillating if they tried.
• Kung Fu-Proof Mook: They cannot be damaged by unarmed strikes or Ellie's dagger. The only melee attacks effective against them are with either dedicated melee weapons or a shiv, though in Part II, Ellie's dagger also serves the same function as a shiv upon a successful stealth takedown of a clicker.
• Marionette Motion: The manner the Clickers' bodies first react to your sound and/or charge at you is quite bizarre.
• One-Hit Kill: When they get a hold of you, they go straight for the jugular. Joel and Abby can both learn a skill to deflect the grab and perform a counter-attack with a shiv; Joel requires supplements to learn the skill, while Abby gets it for free at the same time she learns how to make shivs. Ellie never gets the counter-attack skill in either the first or second game, so a Clicker getting a hold of her will result in a return to the previous checkpoint. Though as a tradeoff, Ellie's dagger is unbreakable and reusable unlike Joel and Abby's shivs for stealth attacks.
• Playing Possum: Clicker corpses lying around aren't all that uncommon. Unfortunately, one of them isn't actually dead. Fortunately, this happens near the very end of the game, keeping the paranoia to a minimum since it's also one of the last infected encounters at all.

Bloaters

Infected Stage Four (Bloaters)

The oldest of the Infected, the fungus has created something akin to armored plating covering their bodies. They can pluck spore pods from their body to throw at whoever or whatever they're fighting. These are the least common of the Infected since they take many years to develop and most infected die before reaching this stage.

---

• Artistic License – Biology: Like the Clickers, their "echolocation" isn't really echolocation — true echolocation works by creating sound waves and listening to their echoes to tell where physical objects are, and doesn't require on other beings making noise.
• Body Horror: They look more like a bipedal fungus than a human, their entire body being covered by the blooms.
• Boss Battle: The player is forced to kill a Bloater at the end of the "Bill's Town" chapter, and said encounter effectively serves as a boss battle, thanks to the monster's incredible durability and ability to kill you in one hit if you let it get too close, coupled with the lack of reliable weapons at this point in the game.
• Degraded Boss:
  • In the first game, the first Bloater will take everything you have to beat, and it is advised to run from those you do not have to confront. When Joel gets the flamethrower they become much easier. Even before that, two Molotovs will take them down fairly easily, albeit quite slowly.
  • Plays out similarly in Part II where the second Bloater goes down much faster than the first, and that's despite Ellie having a backup for the first battle.
• Elite Zombie: The Bloaters represent the final and most threatening stage of the infected. Not only are they covered in a carapace that makes them incredibly resilient, but they also gain the ability to hurl bombs of mycotoxins at their prey.
• Flunky Boss: It has another Infected fighting alongside it both times that killing one is necessary to proceed.
• The Juggernaut: They can survive even a Molotov cocktail, and their preferred attack method if they can't throw spores is to charge the player.
• Kill It with Fire: Like all Infected, flamethrowers and Molotov cocktails work great against them. Once they're burnt they can no longer produce toxic sacs for their long-range attacks, and their natural armor is removed so your lower-caliber guns will be fully effective. However, you'll have to use two Molotovs or 2-3 bursts from the flame thrower to put one down for good.
• Made of Iron: Bloaters can soak up a lot of damage. If you Molotov one and then unload a full shotgun clip into it, you will still need to retreat to reload - the Bloater will survive this onslaught, and will resume attacking you once it stops thrashing.
• One-Hit Kill: Unlike other types of infected, it's impossible to escape a Bloater's grasp if it catches you, since it triggers a cutscene in which the player is ripped to shreds.
• Recurring Boss: There are two instances each in both games where you absolutely have to kill one of these in order to proceed.
• Tear Off Your Face: The ultimate fate if you're caught by one. Part II gives them an expanded selection of finishing moves on top of that.

Shamblers

Mutated Infected Stage Four (Shamblers)

Found in the flooded and humid environment of Seattle, these aged infected are covered in pustules rather than fungus plates, and can release clouds of acid from pustules on their body, either voluntarily or in their death throes.

---

• Action Bomb: And one of the rare examples that can attack more than once, to boot. Shamblers have very powerful melee attacks, but their most distinctive attack consists of triggering explosions of acidic spores from their bodies that deal damage over time to anything in their vicinity. Keep your distance at all costs.
• Dual Boss: They're dangerous and resilient enough to count as minibosses (it takes two Hunting Pistol headshots to take down one Shambler), and they almost always appear in pairs. Fortunately, being as blind as anything from Clickers upwards, you can usually sneak past them without much ado. Ellie can actually get through her part of the game without ever fighting a single Shambler.
• Elite Zombie: Being a sidegrade of the Bloater, they're only marginally less dangerous while being much more numerous.
• Hollywood Acid: Its main power; with its jaws permanently forced open by fungal growth, it instead attacks primarily by spewing acid from the pustules all over its body. If it grapples you, it'll simply hold you in place and melt you on the spot.
• Poisonous Person: Officially it's acidic spores, but in gameplay terms they're poison zombies.
• Taking You with Me: They set off one last acid blast when brought to zero health, so make sure to quickly take a few steps back if the killing blow was dealt in melee.

Rat King (Spoilers)

Rat King

Lakehill Seattle Hospital was Ground Zero for the outbreak in Seattle, and the lowest levels of the hospital were piled with infected patients and their bodies. As a result of years left alone together with the Cordyceps growing between them, several Infected have fused together into this monstrosity.

---

• Advancing Boss of Doom: The Rat King is slow but relentless in its pursuit. Coupling this with its "Instant Death" Radius turns the environment into your primary enemy during the battle because, if you get cornered, you're boned.
• All There in the Manual: The creature's name is never mentioned in-game, only in supplemental material. In fact, the beast itself is never talked about at all after Abby fights it because she thinks no-one would believe her, anyway.
• All Your Powers Combined: Justified, as the Rat King is just different Infected fused together. Its main body can release gas like a Shambler, and has exaggerated versions of a Bloater's strength and durability. The Stalker that breaks away from it has a Bloater's durability and can similarly throw spore pods, but otherwise acts like a normal Stalker.
• And I Must Scream: The thing has been wedged into a sealed space so tight that its constituent bodies had no choice but to grow into each other, and it was forced to endure this hell, alone in the dark, for the past 25 years, ever since the original outbreak. No wonder it's a mite cranky when finally released from its prison.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • The battle against it takes so long and can end so abruptly that it has multiple checkpoints at specific percentages of the Rat King's health, so if something goes wrong, you usually don't have to start the entire encounter from scratch. Higher difficulties avert this as part of their generally reduced number of checkpoints, though.
  • Uniquely, certain ammo and crafting resources pickups in the dungeon seem to respawn periodically to prevent the battle from becoming Unwinnable. It's still recommended to be as fully stocked as humanly possible before going in, mostly because it can be difficult to find what you need in the dimly lit area, and because it's dangerous to stop moving even for a second to craft something, especially once the Stalker sub-boss is also hunting you.
• Barrier-Busting Blow: Large and strong enough to bust through solid concrete walls.
• Body Horror: Although this is true for all infected, this abomination deserves special mention for being gut-churningly disgusting to behold.
• Body of Bodies: Being made of numerous Infected melded together, it has this sort of aesthetic, looking a bit like the Pseudogiant from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. crossed with a Bloater/Shambler.
• Boss Battle: The closest thing to a true "boss" among the Infected, it looks more like a creature from Resident Evil than any other Infected in the series.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Although the game offers plenty of gruesome death scenes for the Player Characters, the King has most of the worst ones in its arsenal, including but not limited to tearing Abby limb from limb if it catches her.
• Damage-Sponge Boss: Holy hell, can this thing take a lot of punishment. Bringing it down will take most of your ammo and crafting supplies, and if you weren't fully stocked going in, you'll probably not be coming out again. The Stalker sub-boss is also much more durable than its lesser kin, capable of tanking multiple point-blank shotgun blasts without slowing down.
• Dual Boss: Dealing enough damage to the King makes one of its constituent creatures split off from the main body. This special infected then behaves like a massively beefed-up Stalker, forcing you to fight two very dangerous boss-level enemies simultaneously.
• Implacable Man: This thing relentlessly follows you through the corridor maze it's fought in no matter what you throw at it. The only way to stop it is to kill it.
• "Instant Death" Radius: There's no dodging this thing - if it gets within arm's reach of Abby, she's dead.
• King Mook: Aside from its unique appearance and that nasty split-into-two trick, the Rat King is functionally just a much more durable Bloater, with all that implies.
• Marathon Boss: Nothing else in the franchise is more resilient than this freak, so naturally it takes quite a while to whittle it down with hit-and-run attacks while trying to stay out of its "Instant Death" Radius.
• Meaningful Name: A Rat King is a rare phenomena where rats, who swarm, accidentally get their tails tangled up. In myth they are considered a bad omen, usually an indicator of plague.
• Mighty Glacier: Although it's the most powerful Infected yet seen, the Rat King is also the slowest.
• Multi-Stage Battle: After you take down the Rat King's main body, the Stalker will escape into the neighboring morgue for a second Boss Battle.
• Neck Snap: Its primary kill animation is possibly the most gruesome and realistic snap in the entire series; the thing is so inhumanly strong that if it catches Abby, it breaks her spine at a 90° angle with enough force to almost tear her head off.
• Patient Zero: Being the most evolved infected creature encountered so far, and at literally Ground Zero of the Seattle outbreak to boot, it's not unreasonable to assume that the regional Patient Zero is part of this lumbering behemoth.
• Stealthy Colossus: The Rat King manages to sneak from its nest into the car park surprisingly quietly once Abby turns on the power. In the dark of the hospital it is also quite easy to lose track of it without Listen Mode.
• Two Beings, One Body: Several individuals fused into one giant mass, with one in particular able to peel off from the rest and operate independently.
• The Worm That Walks: Though it appears as a single being, it's actually an amalgam of several other Infected making up a new creature.

Others

Animals/Other

Callus

A horse initially owned by Tommy in Jackson, Wyoming and given to Joel and Ellie to help them travel to the Fireflies. He is later shot and killed by David's men at the Lakeside Resort.

---

• Cool Horse: He is helpful as the best of them.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He dies helping Ellie.
• Loyal Animal Companion: A horse loyal until the very end.
• Meaningful Name: Callus, or in most cases callous, can mean hardened, indifferent, or unsympathetic, traits just about everyone in the game has on a surface level.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Joel and Ellie didn't get the name of the horse before they left with him so Ellie named him Callus.
• Undying Loyalty: Literally; he dies because of it.
• Unfortunate Name: Joel thinks so, at least.
  "What kind of name is Callus, anyways?"

The Giraffes

• Dissonant Serenity: In a Crapsack World where humanity is ravaged by the Cordyceps infection and endless fighting, the giraffes in Salt Lake City provide a calm and almost haunting sudden change of tone.
• Rule of Symbolism: Giraffes are actually a recurring theme in the game, seemingly representing hope or innocence (for instance, Sarah has a toy giraffe in her room during the prologue).
  • The toy giraffes keep popping up throughout the game. If you keep your eyes peeled and explore enough you'll find one in every chapter.

Dogs

A new enemy type introduced in Part II, they accompany the WLF and the Rattlers in their patrols.

---

• Angry Guard Dog: Goes without saying, though they're only appear angry from Ellie's perspective, at least.
• Patrolling Mook: They have the ability to track Ellie's scent and movement, which can help the other mooks track her down. Throwing a bottle or brick will throw them from the scent.
• Unique Enemy: In a sense, they only appear in Ellie's gameplay sequences in Part II, as her section of the game deals more with stealth and exploration.

Savage Starlight

Dr. Daniela Star

The protagonist of Ellie's favorite comic book series Savage Starlight. Her discovery of Faster-Than-Light Travel escalates into her having to fight an Alien Invasion of beings called The Travelers.

---

• Ambiguously Brown: It's not clear what ethnicity she is supposed to be.
• An Arm and a Leg: On the cover of the final comic she has a robotic arm.
• Epunymous Title: Of the Savage Starlight comic books that Ellie collects.
• Gladiator Games: Forced into an arena with Captain Ryan.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted. She attempts to do this with Capt. James Ryan (who may or may not have been willing), flying their ship the Von Neumann carrying an anticarbon bomb into a neutron star to destroy The Traveler fleet, their homeworld, and countless other worlds and star systems under their control. Somehow, she survives.
• Made a Slave: Enslaved by the The Travelers Alien Invasion along with the rest of humanity.
• Science Hero: She discovers a method of traveling faster than light.
• Secret-Keeper: So secret we don't know what it is, but it involves Captain Ryan's role in saving humanity and the reality of his Heroic Sacrifice.
• Taking You with Me: Pulls this on the entire Traveler race.
• You Are in Command Now: In the final issue, she becomes the galvanizing figurehead of Last Watch.

Capt. James Ryan

The Captain of the Kobyashi, and later leader of Last Watch. He becomes Dr. Daniela Star's closest ally in fighting back the Alien Invasion of The Travelers.

---

• The Captain: It's in his name.
• Deuteragonist: Of Savage Starlight.
• Gladiator Games: Forced to fight Daniela in an arena.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: In-universe, at the end of the comic, as a supposed martyr with a dark secret hidden from the Last Watch.
• Love Interest: To Dr. Daniela Star.
• Made a Slave: Enslaved by The Travelers Alien Invasion along with the rest of humanity.
• Mr. Fanservice: Appears shirtless on several of the covers.
• Supporting Leader: Whilst Daniela is still the protagonist, the blurb of Negentropy implies that he became the leader of Last Watch's resistance against The Travelers.

Groups Of People

FEDRA / The Military

FEDRA / The U.S. Military

The Federal Disaster Response Agency was responsible for establishing official Quarantine Zones in major cities across the United States to protect civilians from the worsening Cordyceps outbreak. By the present day, they've essentially merged with what's left of the U.S. Military as the last remnants of the federal government, operating as a military dictatorship in all but name.

---

• A Lighter Shade of Black: Oppressive as they are, the military's main objective 20 years after the outbreak remains to secure and maintain the quarantine zones and protect those inside from infected, and they aren't shown to actively attack or prey on other groups of survivors. This alone puts them above nearly every other faction in the setting apart from Jackson and (possibly) the Fireflies, and even the latter regularly kill and endanger innocents by setting off bombs and starting firefights in densely-populated areas.
• Government Agency of Fiction: FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency) serves as a clear stand-in for FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).
• Make Sure He's Dead: The military will not allow anyone infected inside their quarantine zones alive. They have a scanner to make absolutely sure, and if that goes off, so will the unlucky person's head. They do a lethal injection which seems to work instantaneously, so at least they're humane about it. It may also be an example of Pragmatic Punch-Clock Villainy, since a lethal injection does not open a vector for more spores to be dispersed like a headshot would.
• Oppressive States of America: At some point after the outbreak the military seized control of what was left of the government — forcibly, if the announcement heard in the first game's opening credits is any indication — and the United States now operates as a military dictatorship.
  General: [static] ...with the bureaucrats out of power, we can finally take the necessary steps to... [static]
• Punch-Clock Villain: It's not that all the soldiers enjoy what they're doing. Some are helpful, some are jerks, just like anybody else. Unless they find out you're Infected.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The military seizing control during the crisis clearly did not help with the resolution of the outbreak scenario, which is only to be expected: A sudden change in leadership in the middle of a major crisis will lead to confusion and misunderstanding as the news spreads, as well as divisions of loyalties would result in those loyal to the new regime and the old fighting one another, a pattern that has repeated itself throughout history. Military coups almost never have a smooth transition of power, and there will often be conflict between those seizing control and those who remain loyal to the previous regime. There's also the fact that some individuals, both inside the military and out, would see this chaotic time as their own opportunity to grab power for themselves, as well as civilian groups that would see this sudden seizure of power by the military as an illegal act and would actively resist any attempt by FEDRA to try to render aid in their area. All of this would mean that at a time when humanity's best hope for containing the outbreak was a united front against it, everyone would be divided and fighting each other instead of the infection. It's no wonder that the USA is in the state it is, given all of the above.
  • Further, since the General in the news announcement at the opening of the first game indicates they were "removing the bureaucrats out of power", that would largely mean that a large amount of the logistical supply chain would be severed or in need of severe restructuring since the bureaucracy is what keeps the supply chain moving outside of the military. Trying to oust civil leadership and replace it with a military one that needs to learn how those supply chains function would be a difficult undertaking during a peaceful time with no other concerns, but trying to do so in the middle of a major catastrophe would be all but impossible. With no civil bureaucratic support to keep supply lines intact and industry centers functional, it's no wonder that, twenty years later, nearly everything has fallen apart for them.
  • There's also the simple fact that while the president is the commander in chief of the military with very broad powers and authority in a situation like the one seen in the initial infection, the new leadership would not have those powers predefined, and unless everything had been planned well in advance before the outbreak began, there would be transitional difficulties while everyone adapted to this new chain of command. Confusion over who has the power and authority to order who to do what would likely delay any actions ordered, and reduce the effectiveness of the army, even without any of the above issues causing problems.
  • And the final nail in the coffin: Even if none of the above problems occurred, changing the leadership from the POTUS to a military government would not have a real positive change to the fight against the infection while the infection is already underway. The president no longer being in charge would not magically make the army or navy fight more effectively or receive better orders, as it would be the same army, same commanders, and same generals, just without a single unifying commander-in-chief at the very top. If the army was already losing the fight against the infected, removing the civilian government would not do anything to positively impact anything, even if none of the above negative impacts were to occur. A sudden military dictatorship taking over a country is not a magic wand that will make the army fight ten times better. Further, a government bureaucracy would do far more to help in a situation like the one the USA finds itself in than a military takeover, since said bureaucracy has protocols and procedures to follow in case of emergencies and disasters (up to and including the real life protocols in place to deal with a zombie apocalypse scenario,) and the military's own rulebook for this kind of situation would have been written with the assumption that the military and bureaucracy would be working hand-in-hand, not fighting each other over who has control.
• Vestigial Empire: Twenty years after the outbreak, they control the Boston QZ and have patrols in the rest of the city... and that might be it. Every other QZ encountered in the series is either abandoned or overrun, be it due to civil uprisings or infected overwhelming their defenses. The TV series at least indicates they still have some production capability, with a factory in Atlanta producing painkillers and ammunition, and them getting fuel for their helicopters from somewhere, so they're evidently not quite so badly off.

Pittsburgh Hunters

Pittsburgh Hunters

While "hunters" is a general term used throughout the post-apocalyptic U.S. to refer to the killers and thieves inhabiting ruined cities, this particular group consists of surviving members of the local Fireflies cell, who led an uprising against FEDRA in the Pittsburgh QZ over withheld rations. Disillusioned with the cause, they broke ties with the wider resistance after winning their freedom, and eventually turned to banditry.

---

• Arc Villain: They're the main threat Joel and Ellie have to deal with in Pittsburgh.
• Face–Heel Turn: They started out as members of the Fireflies, who (while brutal in their methods) are dedicated to restoring democracy in what's left of the United States. By the time Joel and Ellie encounter them, they're just another gang of killers.
• Full-Circle Revolution: They revolted against FEDRA out of a desire to protect and feed the people of the city and to end the military's violent oppression. Their ideals lasted about as long as their rations, and the moment some of their members protested the new policy of killing outsiders for their supplies, they were shot dead for insubordination.
• He Who Fights Monsters: In the beginning, they are survivors of the Pittsburg QZ overthrowing whom they thought to be corrupted. After the military left, they then turned on their Firefly allies as they do not want any other groups but themselves to control of their city. Eventually, the new government becomes even worse than their oppressors, becoming hunters who kill any "tourists" that wander into their city for their supplies and any insubordination from their own would not be tolerated.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: As big of a threat as the Infected pose for the protagonists, these surviving humans prove to be much worse through repeated encounters.
  Bill: You know, as bad as [the Infected] are, at least they're predictable. It's the normal people that scare me.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Their revolt against FEDRA was grueling and brutal, escalating to the point of publicly lynching captured soldiers and sending fresh recruits on suicide missions against the entrenched military.
• Would Hurt a Child: As Henry pointed out, there are no children living among the hunters as they live on a "survival of the fittest" rule. They are not above killing any children for their supplies judging by the number of small bags and clothing found in their "storage" as well as them actively trying to kill Ellie and Sam.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: One way the Hunters draw in victims is by having one stagger out, pretending to be hurt and calling for help. Joel saw through them pretty quickly. Because he's "been on both sides."
  Joel: He's not even hurt. (drives at the Hunter)
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: During their days fighting FEDRA, they regarded themselves as heroes fighting to feed the QZ's starving inhabitants. The remaining military documents and decaying corpses of lynched soldiers suggest that they were utterly ruthless in pursuit of this — and worst of all, the military might not have been lying about the ration shortage at all.

Rattlers

Rattlers

Voiced By: Travis Willingham (English), Logic (English),

A pack of para-military hunters based out in Santa Barbara, California. Found in Part II.

---

• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The large Rattler attempts to negotiate with Ellie when she has the upper hand.
• Animal Motif: Their group's name is derived from the rattlesnake in their emblem.
• Asshole Victim: They are a group of slavers who abducts people and use them in their territories for manual labor. For this reason, you shouldn't feel bad about having to kill them.
• Benevolent Boss: Downplayed, but the large Rattler (who seems to have the most authority) is a decent boss, making sure to look after his subordinates.
• Butt-Monkey: The Asian Rattler spends all of his screentime getting hurt by other characters and suffers a Cruel and Unusual Death.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Anyone who earns their ire gets strung up on the Pillars, which is basically a slightly less torturous version of crucifixion. Emphasis on slightly.
• Fat Bastard: The more talkative one who punches Lev is one of the heavier characters in the game.
• Faux Affably Evil: The heavyset man avoids senseless violence and is friendly to his men, but he’s still a ruthless and merciless kidnapper and shows ZERO hesitation punching Lev.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: You can find a note that mentions them shortly before they make an appearance, but its meaning doesn't become clear until a bit later due to their group's name being unknown at this point. It's easy to assume that "Rattlers" is just the local name for Clickers before the game clears it up.
• Flat Character: Their limited screentime means there's little opportunity to develop their character aside from being ruthless slavers and general assholes.
• Generic Doomsday Villain: Get little in the way of characterization and zero named characters and mostly just exist to be gunned down en masse.
• Heavily Armored Mook: They're the only human enemies in the game that wear body armor including helmets, making them difficult to One-Hit Kill stealthily without melee takedowns.
• Hoist by Their Own Petard:
  • They have a room full of prisoners who're right next to an armory of guns. Once Ellie stuns the guard during a fight by poking in her eye and kicking her against the cage (who is then killed by having her throat crushed by a few of them with her own bat), they quickly free themselves, grab the guns and start a full on fire fight with their captors.
  • They keep a couple of chained-up infected in their base for entertainment, including a pair of Clickers. Human NPCs are generally terrible at fighting off infected, so if you manage to free them without them turning on you, the Rattlers' unwilling pets will wreak some nice havoc on their captors.
• Large and in Charge: The Rattler who has the most dialogue and seems to have the most authority is also the heaviest one.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Almost immediately after they apprehend Ellie, severely wounding her worse than what they had done to Abby thanks to their maiming snare trap, their attempts to feed her to a Clicker out of spite horribly backfires on the two Rattlers, followed by her causing a prisoner breakout and wiping out the whole group over the rest of the evening. No one can say they didn't have it coming.
• Last Episode, New Character: With barely any foreshadowing prior, they suddenly ambush Abby and Lev to capture them, and then they also try to do the same to Ellie in the last couple hours of the game to fill the role of an enemy faction to fight through and show Ellie's obsessed enough to do so despite all the odds against her.
• No Name Given: None of their members have been given an official name.
• Oh, Crap!: They instantly start panicking when they realize their prisoners are armed and on the loose.
• Pragmatic Villainy: The Large Rattler with shades and a gray ponytail tries to discourage the more violent members of the group because they need living slaves. He stops one Rattler from beating Abby too badly and tells another to knock it off when he tries to feed Ellie to a Clicker.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: They do this to any "strays" they find, they lock up and use for torture and tending to their fields. Heck, it's so bad, one survivor who gets cornered by them takes his own life rather than be captured again.
• Too Dumb to Live:
  • The Rattler that gets provoked by Ellie when she laughs at him for nearly getting bitten by a Clicker. He grabs Ellie and holds her arm out to it with the intention of letting it bite her, only for Ellie to push him into it and definitely get bitten and killed that time.
  • Their general HQ is filled to the brim with this. Like the aforementioned prisoners contained right next to their armory, or screwing around with Infected that are bound only by a single chain - easy enough to shoot loose with a single bullet which inevitably ends with death for the unwitting idiot next to it. Ellie may have been their undoing, but their structure and incompetence outside of combat already set up all the dominoes to fall.
• Villain of Another Story: The Rattlers have no connection to the WLF and are simply a group of slavers who abduct travellers.
• Would Hurt a Child: One of them punches Lev so hard, he’s knocked out after just one punch.

Ravens

Ravens

A New Mexican paramilitary group that revolted against FEDRA. Dina and her family had numerous encounters with them before fleeing north.

---

• The Ghost: They're only briefly mentioned in Part II, when Dina and Ellie are discussing the Fireflies and WLF.
• Patriotic Fervor: Among the few details known about them is the fact that they styled themselves as "defenders of the Constitution," apparently in opposition to FEDRA's military coup.
• Polyamory: Dina mentions it was common for their leaders to have multiple wives.

---