Long before HBO made the decision to adapt The Last of Us into a TV series, the series was a cherished one. However, because PlayStations are pricey, many of us are just now exploring the post-apocalyptic world. The first episode, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” does a great job of establishing the show’s tone, introducing the key characters, and examining how the world has changed following a fungus outbreak. Even still, The Last of Us’ opening episode’s exploration of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and her purported immunity to the cordyceps raises the stakes considerably. Additionally, the episode’s last sequence lays the groundwork for Joe (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s future romance. And Ellie’s arm is entirely to blame.
Where Are Joel and Tess Going in Episode 1?
ening episode does a fantastic job of establishing the rules for the post-apocalyptic universe of the series. An inventive description of cordyceps fungi and why they might be dangerous to humanity opens the episode. Then, we fast-forward to 2003 and meet Joe and his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker). Sarah’s death is made more heartbreaking since Episode 1 takes its time getting to know the characters rather than releasing the infected right away. The Last of Us also emphasises in this final segment of the episode how under intense pressure, the military can act by killing innocent people in order to stop the end of the world. One of these victims, Sarah, was shot by a soldier right in front of Joel’s eyes, leaving him permanently scarred.
The Last of Us skips to the year 2023, where what’s left of mankind is struggling to live, after making us cry our eyes out with Sarah’s passing. Walled cities were constructed in the devastated world to house the remnants of society. FEDRA, the Federal Disaster Response Administration, a military group that doesn’t even bat an eye when it comes to killing children in order to stop the fungi from spreading, rules these cities with an iron fist. Not everyone is content with FEDRA’s authoritarian regime, though, as Episode 1 introduces the Fireflies, freedom fighters striving to restore democracy somehow. Then there are those like Joel and Tess (Anna Torv), who are only concerned with surviving and are unconcerned with major political conflicts.
In “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” Joel and Tess are willing to save their brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) from an unidentified threat while they search for a car battery. Joel and Tess are revealed to be bad people. Actually, they are criminals who won’t think twice about hurting others in order to further their own ends. They are hardly heroes, but destiny has some pleasant surprises in store for them. As a result of their search for transportation, they end up at the Firefly headquarters, where Marlene (Merle Dandridge), a freedom fighter, is preparing to transport Ellie outside of the city. Marlene, who was injured in a gunfight and has no one to turn to, leaves Ellie in Joel and Tess’ care with the assurance that the couple will be provided with a vehicle and supplies after they bring the child to a Firefly outpost outside of the city. Unaware that Ellie is resistant to the cordyceps, the couple consents to the stipulations.
Why Is Ellie So Important to the Fireflies?
Joel, Tess, and Ellie encounter a FEDRA guard who tries to apprehend them as they flee the city. The guard routinely examines the detainees for early indications of infection. Ellie stabs the guard in the leg since she is aware that she will test positive. Joel intervenes to put distance between the irate soldier and the child when the guard pulls his firearm and points it at Ellie. Joel is instructed to move by the security guard, but he cannot remain motionless while a soldier executes another adolescent girl in front of him. Twenty years later, Joel is still troubled by Sarah’s passing. The smuggler jumps over the guard after experiencing an internal crisis and puts his life in danger to defend a new acquaintance. Joel strikes the soldier repeatedly until his face is reduced to a pulpy mass of blood, flesh, and broken bones.
Tess picks up the guard’s testing device from the ground and discovers Ellie is poisoned while Joel is occupied beating the life out of a soldier. The child argues her case by displaying the scars on her arm and asserting that she is not ill. No one survives more than a day after being bitten by a cordyceps carrier, yet Ellie’s scars on her arms indicate that her injuries have already recovered. Ellie is valuable since she is immune. Marlene wants the Fireflies to protect the girl and transport her to a lab so they may try to find a treatment or a vaccination.
With Ellie’s immunity, the stakes for Joel and Tess are entirely different. Although The Last of Us is masterfully written and incredibly compelling, without Ellie’s arm, the series would feel like your typical zombie outbreak scenario. The protagonists of the series fight for much more than just their lives because of the girl’s immunity. Their journey may result in humanity’s overall salvation. Joel and Tess’ reactions to the startling news aren’t covered in detail in Episode 1, but we already know where the story will go.
In 2003, Joel was a loving parent who put in excessive hours to take care of his daughter. Joel turned into a vicious man for whom the ends justifiable the means after surviving in the post-apocalypse for 20 years. Joel has a chance to sit back and consider his decisions thanks to Ellie’s arm. Additionally, it provides Joel and Tess a cause to care for Ellie rather than simply seeing her as a commodity to be exchanged for other things. In a world where good people are unable to live, Ellie’s arm serves as a symbol of hope. Additionally, Tess and Joel will be able to atone for their sins by saving Ellie. It’s an intriguing viewpoint, and we can’t wait to see what happens when Tess and Joel learn about Ellie’s arm in the episode airing the following week.
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