How the Premiere of The Last of Us Differed From the Video Game

The next door neighbors

In the game, Joel and Sarah live next door to the Coopers. Poor, unfortunate Jimmy Cooper becomes the first infected person that Joel and Sarah cross paths with, and Joel shoots him dead after breaking into their house. 

In the series, Joel and Sarah live next door to the Adlers—and boy, do we get to know them a bit more intimately. It is revealed that Sarah often goes next door to spend time with the Adlers, including adult neighbor Connie and her ailing, elderly mother. We see Sarah pay them a visit after school, which goes innocently enough, until the old woman begins to mutate behind Sarah’s back while she’s picking out a movie to bring home.

The next morning, the Adlers’ terrified dog gets Sarah’s attention by jumping up against her family room window, startling Sarah and forcing her outside. Once there, she hears a crashing noise next door and trepidatiously enters the Adler house. Once inside, she slips on some blood before finding the older woman feasting on the neck of Connie, her own daughter, with a mysterious fungus coming out of her mouth. 

They warned us about this.

The curious case of Robert

A notorious and untrustworthy arms dealer, Robert is played by Robin Atkin Downes in the game. He was supposed to sell guns to Joel and Tess—played by Annie Wersching—but it’s revealed that he unloaded them elsewhere. This, of course, doesn’t sit well with Joel and Tess—so they confront him at his old warehouse in Area 5. 

Once there, Robert tells them that he sold the guns to militia group the Fireflies. Incensed, Tess shoots him in the head and kills him.

Whereas in the series, when we first meet Tess (Torv), she’s already dealing with Robert, having been beaten up by a couple of his men. Instead of guns, however, Tess wants the truck battery that Robert sold them. Instead of telling Joel, though, Tess says she’ll remain silent about the whole thing if Robert lets her “go home and drink until my face stops hurting.”

That’s when the room they’re in blows up, allowing Tess to escape. 

Joel and Tess vow to hunt down Robert, get the battery and find their way to Joel’s brother Tommy (Luna). By the time they find Robert, however, he’s already dead after an apparent attack by a member of the infected. He’s also lying next to the battery, which no longer works.

At least Tess’ hands are clean.