Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for both HBO's The Last of Us and the original game!HBO's The Last of Us initially had an origin story for Tess that would have made one specific death later in the show much darker. Creators of The Last of Us, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, initially conceived of an origin story for Tess that would have detailed her life both before and during the Cordyceps outbreak. Mazin revealed that the origin story was written but was never shot by The Last of Us' crew.
However, one thing that was shot was a cold open the team initially intended to use as foreshadowing for Tess' origin, which was cut due to the decision not to include the story. The story involved Tess' time before the outbreak, revealing she had a husband and son who both became infected with The Last of Us' Cordyceps infection. Tess was then forced to kill them, but, after killing her husband, she couldn't bring herself to kill her son whom she locked in the basement.
Tess' Cut Origin Would've Given The Last Of Us A Sam Death Trick
This story would have provided HBO's The Last of Us with a subtle trick pertaining to the later death of the character of Sam that takes place in the game. In having Tess be unable to kill her child in the cut origin story, viewers would have been subliminally tricked into thinking The Last of Us will not feature the death of another child after the harrowing death of Sarah in The Last of Us episode 1. This would have made Sam's death all the more shocking and tragic in HBO's The Last of Us, should the show adapt this plot element as is highly expected.
Why Cutting Tess' Origin Was The Right Move For The Last Of Us Show
Despite the origin story providing this trick for Sam's death, alongside making Tess' Last of Us death more tragic, it was the right move for Mazin and Druckmann to vote against filming the origin story. Firstly, both The Last of Us episodes 1 and 2 are almost perfect as they are, both in pacing and story content. It is difficult to think of a place to slot this origin for Tess that would have fit the episodes without tarnishing their perfect pacing.
Also, The Last of Us' core characters are Joel and Ellie, whose journey and relationship together are benefited greatly from Sarah's tragic death. If The Last of Us had included another tragic parent-child backstory, Joel and Sarah's could have lost its importance. In cutting Tess' origin, The Last of Us episodes 1 and 2 keep the focus on Joel's devastating past to further benefit his and Ellie's story going forward. Furthermore, Tess is a fantastic character in her own right with the post-outbreak elements of Tess' story making her one of The Last of Us' best characters without the need for a backstory.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.