All the major deaths in The Last of Us, ranked by most heartbreaking

3. Sarah

Joel’s daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) leaves such a big impact in the short amount of time she’s on screen, making her death one of the most devastating. We meet her early on in the premiere, and it’s easy to root for her right away. She’s extremely caring and takes care of Joel where he lacks, like making them breakfast, fixing his watch, and celebrating his birthday.

Although Sarah’s just a teenager, she’s got her stuff together. She loves her dad deeply, and the feeling’s mutual. Her death is a catalyst for Joel’s coldhearted nature when we flash forward 20 years. He doesn’t want to get attached to people when he’s already endured so much pain.

The premiere episode shows us what happens the night of the outbreak in Joel and Sarah’s Texas hometown as they try to evacuate with Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). But sadly, they don’t make it too far before they’re confronted by a soldier. In a scuffle, Sarah ends up getting shot in the stomach and dies in Joel’s arms.

Sarah’s death is extremely tragic in the moment, but looking back after watching the whole season and knowing what we know now, it’s even more upsetting.

2 and 1. Sam and Henry

Who else could take the number one and two spots than Sam and Henry? Oh man, I get sad just thinking back to their death scene. Like many of the characters in The Last of Us, we only get to know the brothers in a limited amount of time, but the show does a great job of making the viewer fall in love with them right away.

Living in Kansas City, the two are hiding out from Kathleen when we first meet them, and it doesn’t take long for them to find Joel and Ellie, who are also in hiding. After some initial hesitation from Joel’s end, the four become a team, helping each other try and escape the town unscathed.

The foursome has quite a journey, including near-death experiences during the memorable battle in the cul-de-sac which leaves Kathleen and her crew dead. As we inch closer to the end of episode 4, things seem to be looking up for Sam, Henry, Joel, and Ellie. Until they aren’t.

Holed up in a deserted motel one night, Sam confides in Ellie and reveals he was bitten. Panicked, Ellie tries to help by cutting herself and rubbing her blood on Sam’s wound, thinking she could give him immunity, but it’s no good. The next morning, Sam turns and attacks Ellie, forcing Henry to shoot and kill him. Once Henry realizes what he did, he makes a split-second decision and turns the gun to himself, quickly pulling the trigger.

Joel and Ellie are left with the bodies of the two people they just bonded so closely with, and they’ll carry that grief forever.

The Last of Us season 1 turned out to be a tear-jerker, and we have a feeling the second season will be just as heartbreaking at times. Which death are you still trying to get over?