The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 3 featured one of the most heart-touching sequences in the series. The last episode, as you might remember, featured Joel meeting his dark fate at the hands of Abby. Ellie saw all of it happening and couldn’t do anything to save Joel. In the latest episode, Tommy is seen heartbroken while sitting beside Joel’s lifeless body. Tommy has no other choice but to bid farewell to his elder brother, and while doing so, the man mentions a name that has most fans tear up.
Spoilers Warning: This post contains spoilers about Tommy’s character in The Last of Us Part 2 video game and season 2 of the TV show, so proceed with caution.
Tommy Mentions Sarah While Saying Goodbye to Joel
At the beginning of TLOU Season 2 Episode 3, we see Tommy tearing up while sitting beside Joel’s lifeless body. The scene isn’t conversation-heavy; instead, the scene lets the silence speak for itself. Tommy has already lost so many people after being attacked by the infected, and on top of that, he lost his brother as well. He is clearly furious about what happened, but his emotions don’t show anger, only heartbreak.
At the same moment, we see Joel’s broken watch, yes, the same watch that Sarah gifted to his father on his birthday. The watch broke when Joel was trying to save his daughter during the first day of the outbreak. It was Joel’s last memory of Sarah, so he never gave up on that watch and wore it every day.
Tommy, deep inside his heart, knew that Joel did everything for Ellie to make up for what happened with Sarah. Joel couldn’t save Sarah from being taken from this world, and he just couldn’t let the same thing happen to Ellie. And in the end, that same act to save Ellie led to Joel’s painful death.
Tommy knew that Joel had moved on to the afterlife, if there’s any, of course. So, he can finally meet Sarah after surviving in the world of the living for so long. Not only did he save Ellie, but now, he will get to meet his blood daughter. Tommy knew that Sarah would bring peace to Joel in death, and that is why the only words that Tommy utters from his mouth are “Give my love to Sarah.”
“Give my love to Sarah” – Tommy
Joel’s death is already painful for the entire fandom, but Tommy mentioning Sarah’s name makes it even more heartbreaking. Even after her death, Sarah remained a driving force for Joel, and it was Joel’s love for his daughter that compelled him to save Ellie.
So, it was the perfect thing to say to Joel after his death. Honestly, it’s surprising that The Last of Us video game never showed Tommy bidding goodbye to his brother. It was certainly excellent writing from the TV show writers, and was impactful for the viewers.
Who Was Sarah In The Last of Us?
Played by Nico Parker, Sarah was the 14-year-old daughter of Joel. The father-daughter duo lived peacefully in Austin, Texas, before the civilization fell prey to the Cordyceps fungus outbreak. The opening minutes of the video game and the TV series shed light on the close bond the little girl shared with her single father.
Joel was a hard-working father who worked late nights, but Sarah never complained about it. That showcased that the girl was mature even for her age. In a sense, Joel was a perfect and loving father, whereas Sarah was a lovely daughter who was the driving force for Joel.
During the initial stage of the infection, Sarah was alone at home when the infected went berserk on the streets. Fortunately, Joel arrived right on time to save his daughter while she was being attacked by their neighbor, who had just turned. At the same time, Tommy also arrived, and both took Sarah and tried to flee from the city’s crowded area.
While Joel was able to save Sarah from being bitten, he was unable to save his daughter from a scared soldier. This soldier asked the duo if they had been bitten. At the time, Sarah was bleeding from a leg injury. Joel pleaded to the soldier to save them and confirmed his daughter was injured from the fall and not from the bite.
However, the soldier didn’t believe Joel and opened fire, and while the shots didn’t connect to Joel, Sarah got shot. Tommy arrived at this moment and shot the soldier from behind, but it was too late for Sarah. She succumbed to her injuries and died in Joel’s hands.
Joel lost his daughter because of the outbreak, and no father can move on from this. Regardless, Joel continued to live in this wretched world, and it was not until he met Ellie that he found another purpose to truly live and not just survive. Joel started considering Ellie his daughter, and while he couldn’t save Sarah, the man did everything in his power to save Ellie.
