Jesse

Jesse is a supporting character in The Last of Us Part II and a playable character in the No Return mode.Dornbush, Jonathon (December 5, 2023). "The Last of Us Part II Remastered: Exploring the Roguelike Survival Mode, No Return". Naughty Dog. Retrieved December 6, 2023. He was Ellie's friend and a leader of the patrol groups in the community of Jackson."Jackson" Jesse is one of the characters who join Ellie on her quest for revenge."Seattle Day 2"
== Biography ==
=== Background and early life ===
At some point prior to 2034, Jesse moved to the Jackson settlement under the leadership of Maria Miller. He also began dating Dina, another survivor living in the community. Their relationship was described as "on-and-off" by Ellie.
=== 2034 - 2038 ===
After Ellie and Joel Miller found safe haven within Jackson, Jesse became friends with Ellie. His relationship with Dina continued in an on-and-off fashion for years. The two eventually agreed to break up permanently, but remained friends.
In 2034, Jesse joined Jackson's border patrol, helping to keep the settlement safe from roaming infected. He patrolled regularly with several people, between 2034 and 2037, notably Eugene Linden, Mike, Dina and William. However, he patrolled with Astrid the most during this time span. He killed numerous runners and clickers while on patrol and even rescued other survivors from infected attacks. He also occasionally went as a trio with Eugene and Dina, even though going in pairs was the regular protocol.
By 2038, Jesse's experience as a patrolmen meant he became one of the group's leaders, assigning patrol routes and briefing the patrolmen before they left for their routes. This also meant he was one of the few people Maria was willing to let patrol alone, permitting him to relieve Joel and Tommy from patrol duties even though he did not have a partner.
=== Events of The Last of Us Part II ===
==== Patrolling in Jackson ====
On the night of the community's winter dance, Jesse watched his now ex-girlfriend Dina dancing with another man. He approached Ellie at the bar, telling her how her "old man" had spoken with him earlier that day, strongly reminding him where (and where not) to send his patrols. Jesse remarked on the fact that Joel seemed to grow more involved whenever Ellie was scheduled to patrol with them. Ellie dismissed him, soon being pulled to the dance floor by Dina, leaving Jesse to watch the pair dance."The Farm"
The next morning, Jesse went to pick Ellie up for her patrol, since she had overslept. When she answered her door, he commented on how he'd heard that she'd had an interesting time the previous night. Ellie mistook this for him referring to her kiss with Dina, but this came as new information to him, as he was actually referring to her argument with Seth. He then joked with Ellie about her making advances on Dina, so soon after she and Jesse had broken up. After Ellie had gotten dressed and joined him outside, he warned her that she was the talk of the town from the previous night's incident. As they were moving through town, Jesse recounted the events of the night before as he'd heard them, trying to understand why Ellie was upset about how Joel had defended her against Seth. Ellie, however, was more concerned about whether or not Jesse was fine with Ellie and Dina's kiss, to which Jesse explained that his relationship with Dina was over. Jesse and Ellie then arrived at the tavern where Maria was waiting for Ellie. 
After Ellie handled things with Seth, she gave the two sandwiches to Jesse that Seth had given her, which Jesse quickly accepted. As Jesse, Maria, and Ellie exited the tavern, Maria told him to trade off positions with Joel and Tommy at the northwest lookout, since there had been many infected sightings in that area recently. Jesse said he had planned to check out the creek trails, and would need someone to cover that location in his place. He suggested to Maria that Ellie should take the creek trails with Dina, instead, as she was familiar with the area. The group found Dina playing with some children, so Jesse jokingly told Ellie to bring her "girlfriend" to the stables. 
Once Ellie and Dina finally arrived at the community's main gate, Jesse handed both women rifles for their trip. He ordered the gate to be opened, and gave all the scouts a speech about their usual protocol: run their routes, mark their logbooks, clear out infected, and if things got too out of hand, to leave their area immediately. Everyone then exited through the gate and went on their way.
Later that day, Jesse arrived at Joel and Tommy's post. When the brothers failed to arrive, Jesse went off to search for them. Along the way he found a library with lights on and stopped to check it, hoping it was them. Little did he know, however, that the library had an underground basement previously used by Eugene Linden as a grow-house for his secret stash of marijuana. Entering the basement, he found Dina and Ellie lying together on a bed, in their underwear. Amidst this awkward situation, he turned around to let them dress, and also scolded them for getting distracted on their patrol. Dina became upset with him for being upset with them, but their mood changed immediately when Jesse informed them that Joel and Tommy were missing. Ellie asked how much ground Jesse had covered on his patrol, to which he said not much. Ellie suggested everyone ride out alone on different paths to cover more ground. While Jesse felt it was dangerous to do so, he agreed for the sake of Joel and Tommy's safety. The group split up and set off, with Jesse riding west, Dina south, and Ellie going east. 
At some point Jesse regrouped with Dina, and the two continued searching until they reached the Baldwin mansion, where they found Ellie and Tommy unconscious, and Joel beaten to death.
==== Time in Seattle ====
In light of Tommy, Ellie, and Dina having left for Seattle to find Joel's killers, Jesse snuck out of Jackson to help his friends avenge Joel. He left the day after Ellie and Dina (two days after Tommy), but was delayed by a snowstorm in Oregon, forcing him to do eighteen-hour stretches for two weeks in order to catch up. He arrived in Seattle roughly a day after Ellie and Dina, only to be attacked by Washington Liberation Front (WLF) soldiers in the Hillcrest neighborhood. In retaliation, Jesse blew up one of their trucks and fled.
During the struggle he was injured, leaving him with a slight limp. Ellie arrived, assuming the commotion Jesse had caused in the area was Tommy's work. Jesse asked about Dina's whereabouts, to which Ellie explained that she was safe, just sick. Ellie noticed Jesse's limp, but he insisted he was fine and revealed he had come from Jackson alone. Still aware of the danger they were in, they decided to steal a truck and escape the area. As Jesse tried to start the vehicle, however, a WLF soldier snuck up on them, reached through the driver's window, and began to choke Jesse with a crowbar. Ellie reacted immediately, killing the soldier and saving her friend. She then shot the pursuing car's driver, resulting in both trucks crashing. Infected suddenly swarmed the street, one runner lunging into Ellie's window, which Jesse hacked with his machete. In an attempt to escape the chaos, Jesse drove through the nearby woods, and eventually drove the truck into a lake. The pair exited the truck as it sank to the bottom and, free from the WLF and the infected, left the neighborhood.
Ellie led Jesse back to the Pinnacle Theater, where Dina let the two in. Dina was relieved to see Jesse, hugging him. She noticed he was hurt, but he brushed it off, saying he just needed sleep. Jesse explained that he had had to sneak out of Jackson to get to Seattle, and that his friends' problems were his problems. He asked about Dina's sickness, which she said was just a "stomach thing". Dina helped him sit down so she could aid him with his leg wound, and asked when he had left home. He explained that he left a day after she and Ellie did, so he had trekked for eighteen hours a day to catch up with them. Ellie walked away, leaving the pair alone.
As Jesse slept, Ellie set out again, this time hoping to track down Nora Harris at the Lakehill Seattle Hospital. She returned later that night, greeted by a concerned Dina and Jesse. Seeing her covered in blood, Jesse asked if the blood was her own, to which Ellie remained silent. Ellie explained that Abby was at a nearby aquarium. Dina then helped Ellie away to clean up and get some rest, while Jesse held onto the map of Seattle.
While Ellie rested and attempted to recover, Jesse spent the night looking after Dina, whose illness had worsened to the point where she could barely keep down water. His conversation with Ellie the following morning confirmed his suspicions: Dina was pregnant with his child. He convinced Ellie to leave Seattle once they found Tommy. The pair left the theater to search for him, but when they received information about his likely location, Ellie argued against it, saying he could "take care of himself" and that they should continue pursuing Abby. Jesse, knowing Tommy was in danger, left Ellie to her vengeance and headed for the marina on his own. There he met up with Tommy, and the pair found Ellie in the aquarium shortly after she had killed Owen and the pregnant Mel. Though she was in shock, they were able to get through to her and convince her to leave with them.
That night, Tommy and Jesse planned their route back to Jackson. While Tommy went to fetch a gold necklace he had found and planned to give to Maria, Jesse asked Ellie how she was doing. Ellie reluctantly thanked him for coming back for her at the aquarium, and Jesse again reminded her that his friends' problems were his problems. Before they could talk further, they heard Tommy cry out from the lobby. As the pair raced into the room, Abby shot Jesse right through the face, killing him instantly."Seattle Day 3"
==== Legacy ====
Dina gave birth to Jesse's son JJ sometime after returning from Seattle. While Ellie joined Dina in raising JJ, Jesse's parents remained involved in their grandson's life, as well, and blamed neither Ellie or Dina for Jesse's death. Dina frequently shared stories about Jesse to JJ, ensuring that JJ would know about his father.
When Ellie left to pursue Abby once again roughly a year later, Dina begged her to stay, saying she did not want her to die like Jesse.
== Skills and abilities ==
Jesse was a skilled combatant, serving as one of Jackson's most capable patrolmen over the years. He killed numerous infected while on patrol and eventually rose to become one of the patrolmen's leaders by 2038. In combat, he favored fighting with a shotgun, pistol and using an ax to fight foes, human and infected alike.
His skill was demonstrated in how he managed to infiltrate Seattle alone through the Hillcrest suburb. However, his stealth wasn't as competent, with the WLF patrol in the area able to find and attack him, leading to him injuring his leg. Despite this, he was still able to destroy one of their trucks and, with Ellie's help, steal another truck to escape the suburb with.
Despite his skills, he wasn't the quickest on the draw with his gun, with Abby able to outdraw him and shoot him dead before he had a chance to fire during their encounter in the Pinnacle theater.
== Quotes ==
:Jesse: "You all know the drill. Run your routes. Mark your log books. Clear any infected you see. You run into anything you can't handle, you come back. Be smart about it."
:Ellie: "What the hell are you doing here?"
:Jesse: "Think I'd let you do this on your own?"
:Jesse: [To Ellie] "I really hope you make it."
:Ellie: "Thanks for coming back for me."
:Jesse: "My friends' problems are my problems."
:Ellie: "You're such a sap."
:Jesse: "All right. How about, my friends can't get out of their own damn way?"
== Gallery ==
=== Models ===
Jesse patrol model.png|Jesse's Jackson model.
Jesse patrol close up.png|Closeup of Jackson model.
Jesse Seattle Profile.png|Jesse's Seattle model.
=== Official stills ===
Jesse.jpg|Jesse in the E3 trailer.
The-last-of-us-ii-screenshot-02-en-us-25mar20.jpg|Jesse and Ellie talking.
== References ==
es:Jesse
fr:Jesse
it:Jesse
pl:Jesse
pt-br:Jesse
ru:Джесси
Category:The Last of Us Part II characters
Category:The Last of Us Part II playable characters
Category:Members of the Jackson patrolmen
Category:Deceased characters