The Last Of Us Part 2: One Quote From Each Main Character That Perfectly Sums Up Who They Are (2025)

At this point, everyone knows what happens in the opening moments of The Last Of Us and how this affects Joel years later when he eventually meets Ellie. Similarly, in The Last Of Us 2, the events that set off the central portion of the story mirror the trauma that followed Joel through his life, though this time latching itself onto Ellie.

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But the game isn't only about these two characters; other shining standouts make the main roster. Naughty Dog did a fantastic job at making the world feel realistic. Every character has a story and some sort of drive that keeps them going, even through a literal zombie apocalypse.

Note: There Will Be Spoilers For The Last Of Us Part 2 Below

7 Ellie

"I'm just a girl. Not a threat."

Ellie is someone deeply caring to a fault that it comes at the cost of morals she had in the original game that is now pushed to the side in the second, for the act of vengeance. After losing everything, her best friend, guardians, and father figure, Ellie has very few people left who she can count on, and those she does have been taken away from her.

It's not just the anger of Abby killing Joel that drives her to spend every waking moment fighting her way to Abby, but also the fear of someone else being taken from her. Unfortunately, fear, anger, and revenge become the forefront for Ellie's character as she develops from someone who could find the good in life to someone always waiting for another move to be made.

"I'm just a girl. Not a threat." is a stepping stone to the macabre story that comes and one of the last moments we see of Ellie's innocence.

6 Abby

"You killed my friends... We let you both live... and you wasted it!"

As the second half of the deuteragonist, Abby begins chasing after the same goal Ellie does. But instead, Abby and her friends only kill the one responsible for her father's death, sparing anyone close to him. And her motive makes sense. Joel's unwillingness to let go of Ellie caused innocent people to be killed, one of which being Abby's father. If we were in the shoes of Abby's character rather than Ellie's from the very first game, we would be showing the most support to her instead.

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Abby didn't want to go on a vengeful hunt to track down everyone close to Joel, but Ellie pushed her hand by killing those close to Abby, making the situation worse than ever before. Even after almost two years, it's still tough to hear Abby say that Ellie "wasted" the chance she offered to her.

5 Joel

"Making a vaccine... would have killed you. So I stopped them."

Everyone can see Joel's heart was in the right place when he rescued Ellie at the end of The Last Of Us, even knowing it wasn't the morally right thing to do. Loss has been following Joel since the death of his daughter at the beginning of the zombie outbreak, and the thought of losing someone who reminds him so much of his daughter after initially closing himself off to Ellie is something he couldn't live with.

Everything that Joel does after this point is to protect Ellie, and even though the revelation of this act tears the two apart, he would make the same choice if given a chance at a do-over.

4 Tommy

"'I'll make her pay.' That's what you said when we got back to Jackson - What a joke."

Tommy is a stubborn man - almost as stubborn as Joel, very much taking after his brother. And with the familial connections comes the want of Tommy's revenge on the people responsible for Joel's death. Late in the game, when Dina and Ellie have seemingly escaped from the cycle of violence, Tommy manipulates Ellie into going back out there to find Abby.

The truth is Joel's death turned Tommy into a bitter man who wants nothing more than to see justice done his way, but since he can't do this and Ellie has a better chance at doing so, he spends a lot of the game inadvertently convincing Ellie to continue the search for Abby.

3 Dina

"We've got a family. She doesn't get to be more important than that."

Dina is incredibly loyal, continuing to stand by those she loves even at the worst of times, which is precisely what she does with Ellie, following and assisting her on her mission to find Abby. But in the final part of the game, Dina and Ellie find a quiet life on a farm with Dina and Jesse's baby named JJ. Dina gives up her old life to focus on her family and believes that Ellie will continue to do the same, and she does for a while.

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But when it all comes to a boiling point, Ellie leaves to find Abby, knowing it's her last chance to avenge Joel. Dina has always stood by Ellie and knows how brutal Joel's death has been on her, but this time is asking for Ellie to stay with her family, so they can finally be happy.

2 Jesse

"Think I'd let you do this on your own?"

Jesse is just a great guy who wants to help out and doesn't let anyone stop him from assisting, such as when Jesse surprises Ellie and then continues to fight alongside her for a good part of the game. Jesse, like Dina, is a loyal and skilled fighter who is trying to do everything he can to help out his friends, putting his own life on the line several times.

Even though he never finds out Dina is pregnant, and Ellie is now the current partner of Dina, that doesn't stop him from aiding, showing there's no bad blood between the three of them.

1 Lev

"Every bad feeling… Your palms sweating, your heart racing… They're all signs you're actually stronger."

The Seraphites are the creepiest addition to The Last Of Us, acting as what a religious cult may look like in The Last Of Us world. Lev, a former member of The Seraphites, is only a young child, barely a teenager, and someone who had to grow up quicker than he should've. Of course, this is the case for all children in the Infected timeline, but it is especially so for Lev as his own people began hunting him down.

Lev still manages to keep a somewhat positive outlook on life, using every skill he's learned to keep him going and make him stronger, even offering this advice to Abby to help her out in a tough situation.

NEXT: The Last Of Us: Most Intense Moments Of The Series