The following contains major story spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2.
Of all The Last of Us Part 2’s supporting cast of characters, there’s a lot to love in both Ellie and Abby’s corners. Owen is a fairly divisive and complicated character, for example, while Dina is easy to admire due to her unwavering loyalty. Tommy’s arc is quite saddening to see as he burrows into his grief without players getting to see if he himself reaches a semblance of closure like Ellie does, and all of Abby’s closest Washington Liberation Front friends—Owen, Manny, Mel, Jordan, and Leah—are killed, leaving her with an unprecedented and stalwart companion in Lev. Of course, NPC interactions and character writing are two of Naughty Dog’s greatest specialties.
A Last of Us Part 3’s chances seem to dim with every new Neil Druckmann statement, but the director is commendable in arguing for The Last of Us’ sanctity and prioritizing quality over quantity, as is proven with a seven-year-long wait for The Last of Us Part 2. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to learn more about what the people of Jackson had endured or experienced in the time since Ellie and Dina left, or perhaps in the time since Ellie and Dina left for good to live at a remote farmhouse with their baby, JJ. Their life as a family has Jesse’s memory lingering pleasantly, and a world where Jesse never died in The Last of Us Part 2 might have looked quite different than the one where he did.
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Jesse is a Fixture of Jackson in The Last of Us Part 2
Serving as the first new side character players meet in the present day, The Last of Us Part 2’s Jesse is quickly depicted as caring, humorous, and responsible. Jesse escorts Ellie through Jackson in what’s a nice bit of worldbuilding for the town, which was shown in Part 1 as a safe haven Joel and Ellie could turn to when their journey was finished but never actually visited.
It becomes clear that Jesse has at least a decent amount of authority in Jackson due to him doling out patrol routes and rules, and his awkward connection to Dina puts him, Dina, and Ellie into something of an impromptu and amicable love triangle, though that love is merely beginning to blossom for Dina and Ellie and has faded for Dina and Jesse.
A quick conversation while Dina and Ellie are on patrol illustrates how Dina and Jesse aren’t an item anymore, even if Jesse still seems to have some semblance of feelings toward her (with proof in his undisguised interest at the dance the night before). Jesse isn’t seen again until much later in Seattle, appearing almost out of thin air to rescue Ellie from The Last of Us Part 2’s Wolves.
Here, Jesse’s role becomes all about trying not to let Ellie fling herself recklessly at her vengeance, particularly because Dina is pregnant and ill. Jesse and Ellie clash on this, eventually resulting in them separating when Jesse goes to find Tommy and Ellie goes to find Abby, foreshadowing how Ellie won’t be able to stomach the lack of closure.
Indeed, Jesse is a rock who ideally would have anchored Ellie and been able to talk her out of her grief-stricken vendetta. He nearly does, too, with Ellie supposedly content to leave for Jackson once she, Jesse, Tommy, and Dina are all together, even if that meant Abby got to live.
But, if Tommy hadn’t killed Manny and Ellie hadn’t killed Owen and Mel at the aquarium, Abby wouldn’t have tracked them back to the theater and shot Jesse dead as he came rushing through the auditorium doors. Jesse’s death is breathlessly swift and brutal, yet his character’s arc was fully complete, and Abby, as is the cyclical nature of violence in The Last of Us Part 2, was owed a head for all the people she lost in the last couple of days.
Jesse isn’t the only casualty caught in revenge’s collateral damage, nor is he the only soon-to-be father who is slain. That said, Jesse was as close to a pillar of integrity and goodness in The Last of Us as anyone, and a world without him is a room whose light has dimmed significantly.
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Jesse Serves His Role as a Dutiful Companion to Its Bitter End in The Last of Us Part 2
Perhaps the biggest change in a hypothetical world where Jesse lived is that, in order to be near Jesse, Dina and Ellie might not have moved away to a farmhouse, which is what Jesse would deserve as JJ’s father. Jesse’s death conveniently took him out of the equation, allowing Dina and Ellie to take over as JJ’s sole parents.
A world where Jesse never died in The Last of Us Part 2 might have looked quite different than the one where he did.
It’s immediately implied that Dina and Ellie would raise JJ together in a possible Last of Us Part 3 with Jesse more or less out of the picture anyhow, but him being JJ’s father would surely have hurled him back into that picture in some capacity if he had been alive to see him. It’s highly likely that Jesse would have wanted to support his child and play an appropriately large role in his life, though Ellie would have presumably still played the same parental role that she does at the farmhouse.
Furthermore, Ellie might’ve had less of a reason to be ashamed or guilty for abandoning Dina and JJ to revisit her pursuit of revenge and closure in The Last of Us Part 2 if she knew they had Jesse as a backbone to rely on. Either way, Dina, Ellie, and Jesse all co-parenting would’ve probably been an agreeable situation for everyone involved as long as Jesse could ensure that everybody was safe.
The Last of Us Part 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 93 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- June 19, 2020
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Engine
- Proprietary
- Franchise
- The Last of Us
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 24 Hours
