5 The Last of Us video game characters we’d bring back from the dead (and 3 we wouldn’t)

4. Would bring back: Jesse

Let’s switch gears for a moment and talk about The Last of Us Part ll. To say it is a controversial game would be an understatement. It was loved by critics, disliked by some fans, and it had a story that was hard to swallow (regardless of whether you liked it or not). The game’s main theme was about revenge and how it can push people to do horrible things. With a premise like that, it isn’t without surprise many beloved characters died as a consequence of personal vendettas. Unfortunately, Jesse was one of those who paid the ultimate price for somebody else’s actions.

Jesse was a member of Jackson’s safe haven along with Ellie and Joel. He acted as one of the many patrollers who looked out for the safety of the community by taking down infected, and he was pretty good at it. In fact, he was one of the few allowed to patrol on his own without the help of a partner (if that doesn’t scream badass, I don’t know what it does). And while he had lots of experience in killing anything that threatened his friends in Jackson, he was also one of the few characters in The Last of Us world that genuinely seemed like a good person.

While Jesse didn’t have a deep backstory, anyone who played the game could quickly realize he was an amazing friend to Ellie and Dina, even though they were dating and Dina was his ex-girlfriend. He left his home, a completely secure place, to help them on a dangerous mission in Seattle. And when he found out he was going to be a father, he didn’t lose his cool at all. Even if it is easy for characters to lose any sense of morality in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems Jesse was one of the few exceptions to that rule. However, characters like him never get to live long enough.

Jesse was a link in a long chain of needless deaths. Abby killed him to avenge her friends, who were killed by Ellie as an act of revenge as well. And while his death was necessary to reinforce the game’s narrative, we can’t help but feel he could’ve made for a fan-favorite character if given the proper time and development. At the very least it would’ve been nice for him to get to know his son and raise him to be as good a man as he was. With that in mind, we’d bring him back to life without a second thought if given the opportunity.