The Last of Us: Who is Kathleen? The Truth of The Mysterious Character?

The Last of Us Episode 4 just premiered on HBO Max, which introduced a new character that will be of great importance in the series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Kathleen, played by Two and a Half Men and Yellowjackets actress Melanie Lynskey, made her screen debut on Sunday. As the series is based on a video game of the same name, it’s easy for fans to anticipate what may happen with the mysterious woman. Shortly after the controversial third episode, the fourth chapter of The Last of Us has already arrived on HBO Max.

With new surprises in its story, the series advances Joel and Ellie’s adventures and introduces new characters. first, derived from the games of the same name, the series will take place 20 years after the near extinction of humans. Thus, with the grandiose mission of saving Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and taking her to an area outside the quarantine carried out by agents, Joel (Pedro Pascal) will live a great adventure alongside the girl. In addition, the two will need to stick together to overcome all the obstacles that will arise. On the other hand, as new episodes arrive, the story also progresses. The appearance of new characters, therefore, becomes common, as well as their mention. Thus, the fourth episode introduced the mysterious character of Melanie Lynskey, the leader of the Kathleen Hunters. Below, learn a little more about the character. 

Who is Kathleen in The Last of Us?

When Joel and Ellie arrive in Kansas, Missouri, their tour is interrupted by a band of hunters. When they arrive at the medical laboratory, where it is believed that they are looking for a cure for the terrible disease that affects humans, the duo eliminates one of the soldiers to reach their goal. This is when the audience meets the leader of the rebel group, Kathleen, who is searching for a man named Henry. She questions a former Phaedra doctor about his whereabouts before killing him and when she sees the bodies of the dead soldiers killed by Joel, she thinks it was Henry’s doing, ordering his soldiers to find their allies. Lynskey’s character is one of the first original characters to be introduced into fiction and not based on those in the video game.

Does Kathleen Appear in The Game?

No. Melanie Lynskey’s character was created for the series, as explained by Craig Mazin during his time on the series panel at CCXP22, in São Paulo. Mazin, in addition, reinforces the idea that Kathleen is not evil and that she will demonstrate this during the chapters. On the other hand, Joel and Ellie do come across Hunters in Pittsburgh QZ, which became Kansas City in the series, but we never see the leader of the group. The series, however, continues to bring its creative freedom to fill in gaps for a television plot.

In conversation with ScreenRant, the creator of the video game Neil Druckmann pointed out that the character was an idea of ​​the showrunner of the series, Craig Mazin, where Kathleen, was the leader of those who in the game of these guys were the hunters, but in the series “take on a slightly different role”.

“Because I love the idea that there are not only good guys and bad guys. Everyone is trying to survive; everyone is trying to live life to the fullest. But often, the goals compete, and that’s where they happen. interesting things,” he said. Mazin also added that the HBO series “didn’t have to fill a need that the game had, which was to send you NPCs… We didn’t want to desensitize people to violence“. He then added: “So…it was important for us to ask the question: ‘Well, why are they, enemies? What do they want?’ They are not just evil people. From his point of view, this all makes sense and is justifiable, and that was an interesting thing to explore“.