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The Last of Us Tess Actor Breaks Silence on Controversial “Kiss of Death” Scene


WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for The Last of Us Episode 2. Read at your own risk!

Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin made a conscious decision to tweak a few things in The Last of Us live adaptation, and one of them includes how Tess dies in the series. Anna Torv, who plays Tess in the series, breaks silence amid the controversy of the “kiss of death” with a Clicker.

Now, not many viewers and video game fans were fond of the death scene, since in the video game, we did not get a cutscene of how Tess dies, exactly, apart from the gunshot Joel and Ellie heard upon leaving the abandoned building. However, Druckmann and Mazin changed it up in the series by showing how Tess passes, and it is through the “kiss” of a Clicker.

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In an interview with TVLine, The Last of Us Tess actor opens up on how her character was feeling upon closing in on her own death, especially since they had alerted the horde of Clickers into their location. Check out Torv’s full quote below:

“I think at that particular moment, she’s just been bit, and so she does have more hope,” Torv said, “So she’s just been bit. It’s been there for a bit. She can feel it. She knows it is coming. It’s starting to infect her, and she’s starting to go, “This girl is real…””

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Last of Us Showrunners Explain THAT Clicker Kiss

Torv continued on to say, “So I think, in that moment, not only is there irritability and like a little bit of anger coming out, I think she really is like, "This is what it can be, my life can be worth it." Or, "This can be the thing, can’t we just, for once… Like we’ve done it for 20 years, going f*ck the world and all the rest of it. Can we just, for once, go, maybe, maybe, maybe."


Amid the controversy on the Clickers’ execution of “infecting” Tess, some fans theorized that Tess felt disappointed that Joel didn’t even think of "kissing" her as a goodbye. Though understandably, it was because she had already been bitten before they left her. What do you think of THAT Clicker kiss, though?

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The Last of Us Episodes 1 and 2 are now available to stream on HBO Max. Meanwhile, you can expect The Last of Us Episode 3 this Sunday, January 29th.

ALSO READ: Naughty Dog Reveals Awesome Uncharted 4 Easter Egg in The Last of Us Episode 2

For more articles like this, take a look at our The Last of Us, HBO, and Geek Culture pages.