The Last of Us: Episode 4 Reveals the Story of Tommy
The TV series The Last of Us aired from January 2023 on HBO Max TV has reached its fourth episode. Based on the Naughty Dog video game of the same name for PlayStation, the TV series The Last of Us is offering video game fans some novelties through its transposition on the small screen. The producers Neil Druckmann, also the creator of the video game, together with Craig Mazin have decided to explore the themes and background of The Last of Us video game in the TV series. Among these novelties, there is also the story of Tommy, Joel’s younger brother. In fact, in the fourth episode of the TV series The Last of Us, the scene where Joel tells Ellie the story of his brother in the video game is not present. Consequently, it is possible that in the course of the TV series The Last of Us there are other changes regarding the character of Tommy.
The Last of Us: Tommy’s First Appearance
In the first episode of the TV series The Last of Us, among the various characters, we also meet Joel’s younger brother Tommy. After having breakfast with Sarah, Joel’s daughter, the two men get ready to go to work. Towards evening Tommy phones Joel as he has been arrested for a fight in a bar and asks his brother to pay him bail. Meanwhile, the epidemic breaks out in the city and when Joel and Tommy return home, they try to run away with Sarah.
The situation quickly becomes dramatic and in general panic, Sarah is killed by a soldier. From that moment there is a time jump of twenty years where the epidemic has continued as no cures have ever been found. Tommy, unlike Joel, is not shown again throughout the story. From Joel’s interactions with other characters, it is hinted that Tommy has joined the Lights. That is the resistance of the people who want to fight the soldiers of FEDRA currently in command. Tommy, however, hasn’t heard from Joel for three weeks, who decides to go looking for him.
Tommy’s Journey
Not much is revealed in the first three episodes of The Last of Us about what Tommy did before or during the outbreak, nor after the twenty-year time jump. Joel only learns that his brother is in the state of Wyoming, near a radio tower located in the city of Cody. In the fourth episode of The Last of Us, as Joel and Ellie make their way to Cody, the girl is curious to know more about Tommy. Joel explains to Ellie that after high school, Tommy decides to join the military because he wants to serve his country. But after experiencing the war Tommy realizes that she is much tougher than she thinks. Tommy later gets to work with Joel as a carpenter, although he still occasionally has a nutshell.
When the epidemic begins, Tommy convinces Joel to travel with people to Boston. In this city, the two men meet Tess, who makes them join her group where the two brothers become smugglers. Tommy later gets to know Marlene who is part of the Lights and joins their mission. Even then Tommy believes he can turn things around a bit like he did when he decided to join the military. Joel, however, tells Ellie that Tommy ended up leaving the Lights as well. So Joel as usual, as an older brother, has to go get Tommy to help him.
What Happened to Tommy?
In the information present in the first four episodes of The Last of Us, it is revealed that Tommy after a certain period spent in Boston with Joel joins the Lights. It is not clear when it happens, but at some point, Tommy leaves the Lights. His latest location places him near a radio tower located in the city of Cody, Wyoming. But the man hasn’t heard from Joel for several weeks, unlike what he did before.
Tommy’s fate is currently unknown, as is his whereabouts. Because some time has passed since Joel left and Tommy may not have stayed in Cody in the meantime. We also need to understand why Tommy cut off communications with Joel. That is, if the man is in danger or if he has had to change the area and the place where he is it is not possible to send any type of signal.
Will We See Tommy Again in the TV Series The Last of Us?
From Joel’s speeches, it is clear that Tommy is a fickle person. A good and even naive boy who gets caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment. But once the flash in the pan is over, he abandons what he was fighting for. Consequently, it is possible that Tommy met other people and joined a new mission, as he has always done before in other contexts.
Tommy is probably still alive because despite everything he has shown that he knows how to get away with it. But most importantly, he is a key role despite the fact that the character of Tommy is not physically present in the series at the moment. Because his disappearance served as the basis for the story of Joel and Ellie. In fact, it is only when Joel decides to go look for Tommy that by pure chance he runs into Ellie and their paths end up joining. While waiting to see Tommy again in the TV series, in the meantime we can enjoy his interpreter Gabriel Luna singing the soundtrack of the third episode of The Last of Us.
