Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 1 and the original game.
Joel and his family are very important to The Last of Us, but what happened to Sarah's mom? Both the HBO Max show and Naughty Dog video game revolve around Joel Miller and his fatherly instincts. The story primarily revolves around him developing a paternal relationship with Ellie Williams, a young girl who in many ways helps the jaded father find himself again after losing his daughter, Sarah. The Last of Us mostly keeps the focus on Joel and Ellie's relationship as they travel across the country in hopes of using her immunity to the Cordyceps virus to create a cure for all of humanity.
Just like the game, the show adaptation of The Last of Us kicks off the story by introducing the world through Sarah's eyes. It is during this time that The Last of Us episode 1 fills in gaps about Sarah's daily life that the game was not able to explore. These scenes help establish just how close she and Joel are, as well as how close Tommy is to their family. However, one question has remained from the games, as The Last of Us show leaves what happened to Sarah's mom and why she is not part of the family a mystery.
Sarah’s Mom Left Joel When She Was A Baby
According to the video games, Sarah's mom left Joel when their daughter was a baby. Through The Last of Us episode 1, there is nothing that directly confirms the show is maintaining this piece of backstory. It is confirmed in the Last of Us video games that Joel was married to Sarah's mom for a short time after they got pregnant when they were quite young. Joel does not like to talk about what happened between him and his unnamed ex-wife. All that is known is that Sarah's mom left when she was still a baby, leaving Joel to raise their daughter as a single father without a college education.
While the show could make changes, it does follow some of the surprising tendencies of the games that have made what happened to Sarah's mother in The Last of Us such a mystery. There are no family photos of Joel, his ex-wife, and Sarah together at any spot in the house. Since The Last of Us only show's one day before Sarah died, there is not a lot of time to dedicate to her mother in the first episode. Any reveals about Sarah's mom will come later in The Last of Us.
Will Sarah’s Mom Appear In The Last of Us Show?
Sarah's mom never appears in The Last of Us games, but there is a chance that she could appear in the HBO series. For as faithful as the show is to the original game, it is also using its episodic format to fill in some gaps that were not covered originally. The Last of Us episode 1 answered multiple game mysteries, so later episodes could include more details about Sarah's mother. This could even include a flashback appearance to Joel's ex-wife giving birth to their baby and seeing the family start to grow before something goes wrong that leads to them separating.
The Last of Us show featuring Sarah's mom in any capacity would be a big change, but it could also be a worthwhile inclusion. It is unlikely this would need to be a major storyline or require Joel's ex-wife to play a significant role. However, longtime fans of the source material could appreciate the additions to Joel's backstory and any insight into his lack of romantic relationships after their separation. At the very least, The Last of Us revealing what happened to Sarah's mom would answer a longstanding mystery.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.