Episode 2 “Infected” of HBO’s “The Last of Us” ended on a heartbreaking note. Tess, sacrificed herself to save Ellie and Joel. But this is an overt simplification of how she actually died. The character was smooched by an infected probably to speed up her infection and connect her to the hive mind.

But that kiss didn’t go over well with audiences. Many criticized the kiss and its implications. Others thought that Tess deserved better than the story she got. We think so too and as per the showrunner Craig Mazin and game creator as well as director of the episode, Neil Druckmann, there was a whole backstory planned out for Tess.

The Last Of Us Showrunner Talks About Tess’ Tragic Story

Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann spoke on The Last of Us Official HBO Max podcast about episode 2 and gave fans a lot of insights on various characters and scenes. They described Tess’ backstory and revealed that she was supposed to have a husband and a kid. Here’s what Mazin said:

“We wrote it, we never shot it… It was a little bit of a backstory for Tess, and the fact that Tess had a kid. She had a husband and she had a son, and they were infected and she had to kill them. She killed her husband, but she could not kill the son. She couldn’t do it… She locked him in the basement, where theoretically he’s still a clicker.”

That’s not all as Druckmann said that her story was originally planned to be the cold open to the episode. He said:

“We had a cold open where we just, where the camera pushed on this door and you just hear this pounding coming from this basement, and then we cut out. And then later, Tess would tell the story of how she couldn’t kill her son. It just didn’t fit. But it was fun to think about.”

Tess’ Connection To Ellie

Just like Joel is going to use Ellie to feel like a father again, Tess probably had maternal instincts towards Ellie as well. In the official podcast, Mazin and Druckmann further said that Ellie bonded with Tess first and looked up to her. And there’s ample evidence of that as well. She walks beside Tess and also talks to her the most.

Mazin said that Ellie would have wanted to go on the journey with Tess and she was imagining that happening in her head. But the reality leaves her with Joel. However, the new revealed information gives us another angle for Tess’ connection towards Ellie. Maybe she believed that Ellie really was the solution and the cure. So she might have been hoping to save her son.

But the actual episode gave no such details and it makes sense why they cut it out. Not only is Tess dead so her backstory doesn’t matter anymore, but also because anyone who has played the story knows that there’s no cure coming. So there’s no hope for her son as well. As such, perhaps what characterization we got for Tess was indeed the best.

What do you think? Let us know.