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The world of “The Last of Us” is a deadly place, with danger (both zombie and human) lurking around every corner. Here’s a list of the major/important deaths in the HBO series, updated after each episode airs. Obviously, major spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution!
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Sarah (Nico Parker)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 1
How does Sarah die in “The Last of Us”?
Sarah survives being attacked by Nana and flees Austin by car with her father Joel and uncle Tommy. She is injured when the car crashes and Joel is forced to carry her on foot. They are confronted by a soldier, who is ordered to shoot them. Sarah is shot in the abdomen and dies in her father’s arms.
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Nana (Wendy Gorling)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 1
How does Nana die in “The Last of Us”?
Nana is the mother of Joel and Sarah’s neighbors, the Adlers. She is bound to her wheelchair and unresponsive. She becomes infected by the fungal spores and kills her family. When Sarah checks in on her neighbors, she discovers Nana feeding upon them. Nana leaps up and attacks Sarah, who runs outside. Joel pulls up and kills Nana by striking her in the head with a wrench. She is the first infected Joel encounters.
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The Boy (Logan Pierce)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 1
How does The Boy die in “The Last of Us”?
This unnamed character stumbles into the Boston quarantine zone. Alone and malnourished, he’s bound and questioned by FEDRA soldiers, who promise him food and shelter. They run a test on him which turns red, indicating he’s infected. He dies off-screen, and a woman and Joel are responsible for dumping his body into a pyre. The woman says she can’t bring herself to toss the child into the fire, so Joel does it for her. The Boy plays a minor role, but he establishes that FEDRA has the means to detect infection. (Viewers later see that Ellie also scans red.)
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Robert (Brendan Fletcher)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 1
How does Robert die in “The Last of Us”?
Robert is a smuggler who resides in the Boston quarantine zone in 2023. He promises Tess and Joel a car battery but double-crosses them. It’s revealed he also sold the battery to Marlene. He dies in a gunfight with Marlene and the Fireflies after they realize the battery is dead. Robert is important because he links Joel with Marlene, and by extension, Ellie.
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Lee (Max Montesi)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 1
How does Lee die in “The Last of Us”?
Lee is a FEDRA soldier whom Joel pays off with rations and drugs to help him and Tess escape Boston. After their plan to leave by car fails, they flee on foot with Ellie. The trio runs into Lee outside the city walls, who points his gun at them. Triggered by the memories of losing Sarah, Joel rushes Lee and beats him to death.
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Tess (Anna Torv)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 2
How does Tess die in “The Last of Us”?
Tess escapes the Boston quarantine zone with Joel and Ellie. The group is attacked by two Infected in a museum and separated. After they regroup, Tess reveals she has been bitten. As more Infected converge on their location, Tess sacrifices herself by dropping her lighter into a pool of gasoline, incinerating the Infected and buying Joel and Ellie time to escape.
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Frank (Murray Bartlett)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 3
How does Frank die in “The Last of Us”?
Frank develops a terminal disease unrelated to the outbreak. Wheelchair-bound with his strength waning, he asks Bill to crush up all his medications in his glass of wine, allowing Frank to die in his sleep/in Bill’s arms.
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Bill (Nick Offerman)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 3
How does Bill die in “The Last of Us”?
Realizing life is not worth living without Frank, Bill also takes a fatal overdose of pills so that they can die together.
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Perry (Jeffrey Pierce)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 5
How does Perry die in “The Last of Us”?
Perry is Kathleen’s right-hand man. He follows her to the outskirts of Kansas City after Henry and Sam are cornered. During the mission, a giant sinkhole opens up and infected come pouring out, including a bloater — a heavily armored, super strong infected. Perry tells Kathleen to run before the bloater literally rips him apart.
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Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 5
How does Kathleen die in “The Last of Us”?
Kathleen corners Henry, Sam and Ellie on the outskirts of Kansas City. Just as she is about to shoot Henry, a clicker leaps on her and pummels her to death.
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Sam (Keivonn Woodard)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 5
How does Sam die in “The Last of Us”?
Sam, Henry, Ellie and Josh manage to escape both the resistance and the infected horde. Later that night, Sam reveals to Ellie that he was bitten on his leg. Ellie cuts her hand and rubs her blood on the wound, assuring Sam that he will be healed. In the morning, Ellie approaches Sam but discovers he turned in the middle of the night. Sam attacks Ellie, and Henry is forced to shoot his brother in the head.
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Henry (Lamar Johnson)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 5
How does Henry die in “The Last of Us”?
Henry, unaware that Sam was bitten, wakes up to the sound of his brother attacking Ellie. Joel tries to intervene, but Henry shoots Sam in the head to save Ellie. A despondent Henry, realizing what he’s done, then turns the gun on himself and commits suicide.
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Riley (Storm Reid)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 7
How does Riley die in “The Last of Us”?
After taking her best friend Ellie on a tour of an abandoned mall, the girls are attacked. Both are bitten. While Riley’s death is not seen on screen, it’s presumed she is killed when the infection takes hold.
In Episode 8, Ellie tells Joel she killed Riley when she turned.
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James (Troy Baker)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 8
How does James die in “The Last of Us”?
James and David corner Ellie after she tries to escape the cannibal cult. They throw her onto a butcher block, but Ellie stops them by telling them she’s infected. Able to momentarily distract them, Ellie grabs a cleaver and strikes James in the neck, killing him.
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David (Scott Shepherd)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 8
How does David die in “The Last of Us”?
David and James corner Ellie after she tries to escape the cannibal cult. She grabs a cleaver and kills James before fleeing. David chases after her, and she throws a burning log at him, setting the walls aflame. David eventually finds Ellie but she is able to fend him off right. Ellie grabs a knife and savagely slashes her assaulter to death.
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Anna (Ashley Johnson)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 9 (flashback)
How does Anna die in “The Last of Us”?
Anna finds shelter in an abandoned house while being pursued by an Infected. She fends off the Infected just before giving birth to girl. Anna discovers she is bitten and hastily severs the umbilical cord. Marlene rescues her, and Anna lies, saying she cut the cord before she was bitten. Anna names the girl Ellie, places her in Marlene’s care, and tells Marlene to shoot her before she turns and attacks her own child.
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Marlene (Merle Dandridge)
Dies: Season 1, Episode 9
How does Marlene die in “The Last of Us”?
Marlene tasked Joel with escorting Ellie out west, with their final destination being a hospital in Salt Lake City.
They reconnect at the hospital, where Marlene reveals they will need to conduct brain surgery on Ellie to remove and replicate the cordyceps in hopes of finding a cure. Joel won’t let them operate on Ellie, so he stages a rescue, shooting many Fireflies and eventually their leader, Marlene, before fleeing. At the end of the episode, he lies to Ellie about what happened during the rescue.
