HBO’s The Last Of Ustakes some time at the beginning of the first game to introduce Joel, Sarah, and Tommy and give insights into their lives before the outbreak. Tommy and Joel are shown to be very close and even work together, with Joel being the first person Tommy calls after getting arrested and needing to be bailed out of jail.
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Even after Tommy saves Joel’s life, there is the 20-year time jump, and Tommy and Joel are now separated. Joel is now a prominent smuggler in the Boston quarantine zone, with plans to get a working car to go and find his brother. In Joel’s conversation with Marlene, it’s clear that she had something to do with Tommy ending up wherever he currently is.
*** This Article Contains Spoilers For The Last Of Us ***
Early Outbreak Years
Following the initial outbreak, Tommy and Joel lived in the Boston quarantine zone. Here they are partners and become smugglers doing dangerous work to stay alive. After the death of Sarah, Joel became much colder and could, at times, be much more brutal in their jobs, to the point Tommy couldn’t bear to be a part of it. Tommy couldn’t continue the life that he and Joel were living while also hating the oppressive force of FEDRA controlling his life. Joel’s primary focus is always surviving, and he dislikes both FEDRA and the Fireflies without any desire the get involved in the ensuing war.
Leaving Boston & The Fireflies
At the peak of Joel’s brutality and FEDRA’s control, Tommy spoke to Marlene, who convinced him to join the Fireflies and fight back against FEDRA. Joel and Tommy argued over this path and parted ways on bad terms, with Tommy sneaking out of the Boston quarantine zone to fight for the Fireflies at other locations and no longer have to live under the rule of FEDRA. While things may have ended badly, Joel aims to get a truck to go and reunite with his brother after multiple years apart. It is also shown that Joel spends some nights trying to track down where his brother may have ended up, further solidifying his plans to find him one day.
It’s clear that Joel blames Marlene for “turning his brother against him,” and despite how badly things ended is working onleaving the quarantine zoneto reunite with him. It’s also shown that the brothers keep in some for of contact using the radio system that the different quarantine zones use to pass messages among residents. The extent of their communication is unknown, but this shows they don’t hate each other enough to cut off contact. In the game, after a few years in the Fireflies, Tommy eventually leaves to settle down in a peaceful community away from the warring Fireflies and FEDRA, possibly where Joel will find him later this season.
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