HBO's new first-look trailer for Naughty Dog's
The Last of Us
gives a promising glimpse into the show, one that will hopefully outstrip the film version of the fantastic
Uncharted
series. Tom Holland's portrayal of Nathan Drake covered some of his backstory but missed key motivations of this layered character with a surprisingly sad personal history. Nate’s backstory includes being abandoned by his parents to losing his brother and subsequent loved ones. It’s interesting to see just how tragic of a protagonist Nate is since he generally puts on a happy-go-lucky attitude. Analyzing his sad experiences and mannerisms shows just how complex the character really is.
Among the things that the
Uncharted movie didn’t change from the games
was the fact that Nate had to spend his younger days without his brother. In the source material, Nate was forced to watch while Sam was shot before seemingly plummeting to his death.
Nate had spent his childhood watching Sam appear and disappear from his life, which meant he didn’t have much time with his brother. Moreover, the sudden nature of Sam’s loss forced Nate to push the grief aside in order to escape – he was so distraught that he decided against mentioning Sam rather than reliving the event.
Nate was a child when his mother tragically took her own life. This subsequently led to his father abandoning Nate and Sam, effectively leaving them as orphans. While Sam had some semblance of a relationship with his parents before that, Nate never got around to having one.
The only thing he had to hold on to was his mother’s love for adventure, which he adopted. What makes his situation sadder is that Nate wasn’t even able to process this situation, as he found it easier to accept that he didn’t have a parental figure rather than realize how much he needed one.
The life of treasure hunting made Nate believe he needed to keep a tough demeanor to avoid looking weak. But he was very much hurting from his separation from Elena in both
Uncharted 2
and
Uncharted 3
– Chloe even pointed this out when she saw Nate interact with Elena.
Nate always wanted Elena to stay with him but couldn’t find the words, which led to the latter believing that he didn’t care as much. Nate would try to mask his broken heart by pretending everything was fine, only letting his vulnerability show when his or Elena’s lives were on the line.
While fans are inclined to understand Sam’s motivations in
Uncharted 4
because he’s heavily featured, the truth is that siding with his brother nearly cost Nate his relationship with Elena. After all, he’d lied to his wife about where he was to go on another life-threatening expedition.
Nate only agreed because he was under the impression that Sam needed the treasure to bail himself out. Upon learning this wasn’t the case, Nate was shattered by the realization that he might lose the love of his life for a misguided quest he shouldn’t have been a part of.
Nate never felt any real sense of accomplishment after finding a new treasure because it wasn’t what he truly desired. He agreed with Sam that the itch for another adventure wasn’t due to an inherent need for the thrill, but to try and fill the emptiness that inevitably came.
His treasure hunting days were kickstarted when he indulged in them for Sam’s sake, later due to his relationship with Sully. Nate hoped the next adventure might bring him some fulfillment, but it wasn’t to be until he finally decided to retire – he had to live with that emptiness for his entire life until that point.
One of the
details shared between
Uncharted
’s games and the movie was that Nate was constantly betrayed by the people he placed his faith in. This included every person in his life, including Sully and Sam; there was always a point in the games where Nate learned he’d been used.
Sully put Nate in danger with Gabriel Roman due to his debt in the first game, while Sam did the same by pulling Nate into his feud with Rafe. Other betrayals include Chloe and Harry Flynn’s abandonment of him in the second game. All things considered, Nate had a sad situation where he just couldn’t trust anybody he met.
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Being abandoned at a young age did a number on Nate’s personality and he developed somewhat of an identity crisis he never quite managed to get over. This was evident when he revealed that his name wasn’t even Nathan Drake – it was Nathan Morgan.
Nate adopted Sir Francis Drake’s name because it made him feel included, as he related to Drake’s adventures. But there’s a definite sad element to this since it meant that Nate had to create a whole new background in order to avoid feeling isolated from a lack of identity.
While there are some
gaming clichés found in the Uncharted series
, one of the subversions was that the hero didn’t necessarily always win. Apart from the first game, Nate didn’t capture the treasure he was looking for in his adventures, making them lost causes other than the progress in his personal relationships with Elena and Sully.
Although it’s not as tragic as many other aspects of the character, Nate was still regarded as a thief despite his heroic efforts. Nobody knew that he saved the world from Lazarevic’s use of the powers of Shambhala or his prevention of the El Dorado curse from getting to the mainland. Sadly for Nate, his legacy would remain as a thief.
Nate’s cluelessness over things like personal relationships makes for some
funny memes by the Uncharted fanbase
, but there’s a sadder facet to it. His tragic childhood made Nate think that any bad thing that happened to him was the way it should be, not realizing he could have avoided it by being honest about his feelings.
He finally came around to it when he communicated this with Chloe at the end of
Uncharted 4
, which brought him the fulfillment he desired. However, he also lost years of his life feeling unsatisfied even after he’d married Chloe because he just didn’t know how to be upfront about what he wanted.
Fans are aware of the sad background of the protagonist, but what most don’t realize is that he’d kept it all to himself for decades. Nate didn’t relay his grief of losing Sam to Sully, he never told him or Elena about the trauma of losing his mother, and nobody else even asked him about it.
As it is, Nate just had to live with all his bad experiences without having a person to sympathize with him. The fact that he also saw terrifying creatures and escaped near-fatal situations pile up the scarring events he’s gone through, yet he just internalized it all due to the lack of a healthy support system.
Source:gamerant.com
Nate Had To Deal With Losing His Brother At A Young Age
Among the things that the
Uncharted movie didn’t change from the games
was the fact that Nate had to spend his younger days without his brother. In the source material, Nate was forced to watch while Sam was shot before seemingly plummeting to his death.
Nate had spent his childhood watching Sam appear and disappear from his life, which meant he didn’t have much time with his brother. Moreover, the sudden nature of Sam’s loss forced Nate to push the grief aside in order to escape – he was so distraught that he decided against mentioning Sam rather than reliving the event.
Nate Never Knew His Parents
Nate was a child when his mother tragically took her own life. This subsequently led to his father abandoning Nate and Sam, effectively leaving them as orphans. While Sam had some semblance of a relationship with his parents before that, Nate never got around to having one.
The only thing he had to hold on to was his mother’s love for adventure, which he adopted. What makes his situation sadder is that Nate wasn’t even able to process this situation, as he found it easier to accept that he didn’t have a parental figure rather than realize how much he needed one.
Nate Tried To Hide His Broken Heart
The life of treasure hunting made Nate believe he needed to keep a tough demeanor to avoid looking weak. But he was very much hurting from his separation from Elena in both
Uncharted 2
and
Uncharted 3
– Chloe even pointed this out when she saw Nate interact with Elena.
Nate always wanted Elena to stay with him but couldn’t find the words, which led to the latter believing that he didn’t care as much. Nate would try to mask his broken heart by pretending everything was fine, only letting his vulnerability show when his or Elena’s lives were on the line.
Nate Nearly Lost Elena For A Misguided Quest
While fans are inclined to understand Sam’s motivations in
Uncharted 4
because he’s heavily featured, the truth is that siding with his brother nearly cost Nate his relationship with Elena. After all, he’d lied to his wife about where he was to go on another life-threatening expedition.
Nate only agreed because he was under the impression that Sam needed the treasure to bail himself out. Upon learning this wasn’t the case, Nate was shattered by the realization that he might lose the love of his life for a misguided quest he shouldn’t have been a part of.
Nate Took Up Treasure Hunting To Fill The Feeling Of Emptiness
Nate never felt any real sense of accomplishment after finding a new treasure because it wasn’t what he truly desired. He agreed with Sam that the itch for another adventure wasn’t due to an inherent need for the thrill, but to try and fill the emptiness that inevitably came.
His treasure hunting days were kickstarted when he indulged in them for Sam’s sake, later due to his relationship with Sully. Nate hoped the next adventure might bring him some fulfillment, but it wasn’t to be until he finally decided to retire – he had to live with that emptiness for his entire life until that point.
Nate Could Never Trust Any Of The People Close To Him
One of the
details shared between
Uncharted
’s games and the movie was that Nate was constantly betrayed by the people he placed his faith in. This included every person in his life, including Sully and Sam; there was always a point in the games where Nate learned he’d been used.
Sully put Nate in danger with Gabriel Roman due to his debt in the first game, while Sam did the same by pulling Nate into his feud with Rafe. Other betrayals include Chloe and Harry Flynn’s abandonment of him in the second game. All things considered, Nate had a sad situation where he just couldn’t trust anybody he met.
Nate Suffered From An Unaddressed Identity Crisis
Being abandoned at a young age did a number on Nate’s personality and he developed somewhat of an identity crisis he never quite managed to get over. This was evident when he revealed that his name wasn’t even Nathan Drake – it was Nathan Morgan.
Nate adopted Sir Francis Drake’s name because it made him feel included, as he related to Drake’s adventures. But there’s a definite sad element to this since it meant that Nate had to create a whole new background in order to avoid feeling isolated from a lack of identity.
Nate Was Rarely Rewarded For His Efforts
While there are some
gaming clichés found in the Uncharted series
, one of the subversions was that the hero didn’t necessarily always win. Apart from the first game, Nate didn’t capture the treasure he was looking for in his adventures, making them lost causes other than the progress in his personal relationships with Elena and Sully.
Although it’s not as tragic as many other aspects of the character, Nate was still regarded as a thief despite his heroic efforts. Nobody knew that he saved the world from Lazarevic’s use of the powers of Shambhala or his prevention of the El Dorado curse from getting to the mainland. Sadly for Nate, his legacy would remain as a thief.
Nate's Lack Of Fulfillment And Inability To Communicate
Nate’s cluelessness over things like personal relationships makes for some
funny memes by the Uncharted fanbase
, but there’s a sadder facet to it. His tragic childhood made Nate think that any bad thing that happened to him was the way it should be, not realizing he could have avoided it by being honest about his feelings.
He finally came around to it when he communicated this with Chloe at the end of
Uncharted 4
, which brought him the fulfillment he desired. However, he also lost years of his life feeling unsatisfied even after he’d married Chloe because he just didn’t know how to be upfront about what he wanted.
Nate Had To Keep His Traumatic Experiences To Himself
Fans are aware of the sad background of the protagonist, but what most don’t realize is that he’d kept it all to himself for decades. Nate didn’t relay his grief of losing Sam to Sully, he never told him or Elena about the trauma of losing his mother, and nobody else even asked him about it.
As it is, Nate just had to live with all his bad experiences without having a person to sympathize with him. The fact that he also saw terrifying creatures and escaped near-fatal situations pile up the scarring events he’s gone through, yet he just internalized it all due to the lack of a healthy support system.