Maria (Rutina Wesley) is one of the most interesting characters introduced in the latest The Last of Us installment.
After overcoming many problems and Clickers, Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) finally managed to find his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna), who was not only alive and well, but also got married since the last time the brothers saw each other. Tommy’s wife is Maria.
Who’s Portraying Maria in The Last of Us
The Last of Us Episode 6 featured the debut of Rutina Wesley as Maria Miller. Wesley had her breakout role in the hit HBO series True Blood, where she played the role of Tara Thornton, a young woman from a troubled family who becomes entangled in the supernatural world of vampires and werewolves. The show was a massive success, and Wesley’s performance earned her a loyal fan base. Wesley’s credits include other television shows such as Hannibal, Arrow, and Queen Sugar.
As often happened in the story to this point, Maria’s first encounter with Joel wasn’t necessarily pleasant. Shortly after leaving Marlon and his wife’s cabin, Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) were surrounded by several masked people on horseback, who vehemently verified Joel and Ellie weren’t infected. After a few moments of tension, Joel explained he was only looking for his brother, catching the attention of a masked woman.
That woman was Maria, who understood Joel was Tommy’s brother. The group then led Joel and Ellie to the Jackson community, where Joel could hug his brother again. Much to Joel’s surprise, Tommy told him he was married to Maria. It took a while for Joel to accept the news, confronting Tommy about why he didn’t answer his radio messages anymore. During their confrontation, Tommy also revealed he would become a father.
In the meantime, Maria and Ellie seemed to enjoy each other’s company. On different occasions, Ellie showed she was looking for a mother-life figure, and Maria gave her some clothes and a useful menstrual cup. Maria also told Ellie about what happened to Sarah, Joel’s daughter.
How the Show Changed Maria’s Background
Similar to Tess’ death, producers took a different route for the live-action adaptation of the character, opting to change her background. While Maria is just an elected council member in the show, she is the town’s leader in the game. After the Cordyceps outbreak, Maria and her father founded a settlement with access to electricity. That settlement grew and eventually became Jackson. Similar to Bill and Frank, their settlement caught the attention of bandits, who attacked Jackson on different occasions. When Maria first met Joel and Ellie in the game, she thought they were bandits.
