The second half of The Last of Us formally introduces us to Ellie, Marlene, and the escape from Boston behind the Wall! The Last of Us begun with Dr. Neuman on a talk show mentioning the danger of a global infection by Cordyceps fungi in 1968. In 2003, at Austin, Texas, Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) lives with his daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker). He works with his brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna). Sarah is at the house of her neighbor, Mrs. Adler , when the grandmother is Infected by the Cordyceps and Sarah is saved by her father. They try to escape, but a soldier fires on them. Joel is wounded and Sarah dies. This shifts to Boston, 2023 after the Infection. Joel is now checking on Tommy, but there is no radio contact. He wants a battery for a truck to drive to Wyoming. Joel makes a deal with a soldier for information on a battery.
Tess (Anna Torv) is taken into FEDRA custody after Robert has taken the battery. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is a prisoner of the Firefly group opposing FEDRA. Part II, at his apartment, Joel hears Tommy’s voice as he drifts into sleep. He is still asleep when Tess climbs into bed with him. Joel waks up in the morning while Tess has made coffeee and bring two cups to the table. He is startled by her bruises which she explains was from teenagers, Joel notices there are new ones, Tess says she was in FEDRA prison. She tells Joel her attackers were from Robert who sold their truck battery. Tess tries to calm him down, he’s too frustrated wanting to reach Tommy. Softly, she says Robert is going into hiding so they have to find him, the battery and the truck, and go find Tommy. Joel starts taking a gun from the floorboard hiding place.
The Fireflies stand at attention with the entrance of Marlene played by Merle Dandridge. She is reprising her role from the video game and also appears in the Station 19 firefighter show. Marlene enters a room with three Fireflies, she is questioned by Kim (Natasha Mumba) about the group’s actions and the mysterious girl kept under guard. Mumba played Danielle in The Handmaid's Tale. Marlene talks in private with Kim, she says that they are not winning against FEDRA, and wants the Fireflies to attack them all over the QZ (Quarantine Zone). Then, they can gather together and leave with the girl. Marlene shows Kim the radio message and Kim doesn’t believe it. Joel watches as Tess makes a deal with a contact. She tells Joel about Robert’s location, the plan is to go underground to make a surprise attack on him. Ellie, still, is pulling at her chains. Marlene slides over a backpack that has Ellie’s switch blade.
She tells Ellie that she saved her life by holding off her people from shooting Ellie. Marlente unlocks Ellie’s chains and reveals that she sent her to military school to be safe. She tells Ellie protect a secret that may endanger her life. Tess and Joel reach a building, Haymarket Access 838, and they enter the abandoned subway tunnel with flashlights. She enters a building, using her flashlight, Tess startingly comes across a corpse splattered on a wall with fungi, a grisly scene like the woman in Aliens (1986). Tess continues on and finds a door blocked, Joel smells gunpowder, and blood leaks out under the door! She pushes through and finds the unusable truck battery and bodies. Joel hears some grunting, gun drawn, he sees two figures in the hallway. Ellie leaps at him, but Joel knocks her into a wall. He is recognized by Marlene who has her gun out along with Kim.
Joel has his boot on Ellie’s switchblade. Ellie notices that Marlene is shot in the side. Ellie tries to reach for her knife, Joel turns his gun on her, and Marlene firmly tells him to turn his gun on her. Tess sees tha the Firefly leader there and guns are drawn. A tense situation. Marlene says that they intended to take Ellie out of the QZ, but leaves it to Joel. Kim wants to take Ellie, but Marlene angrily says her ear was blown off. The Firefly leader says a Firefly team waits for Ellie at the State House, but she lost her team and truck. Marlene offers a truck, guns, and supplies if they take Ellie. Joel kicks away the switchblade and tries to talk to Tess. Marlene reminds them that she’s bleeding. Tess wants the deal made before they turn over Ellie and Marlene makes the deal. Ellie gets her backpack, picks up her knife, and they leave. It is raining as the trio walk the streets.
Ellie is locked into the apartment as Tess and Joel go over their plan. She sees a Billboard Number 1 Hits book and a note inside reading “B/F 60 - Nothing In, 70 - New, 80 - X”. Joel enters and Ellie asks him about the code. He just rests on the couch. At night, she wakes him up asking questions about going across the Wall. Ellie tells him the radio played “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, some Wham there, Joel worries and she realizes that the code means “80s means trouble.” Ellie is a “Clever girl.” Likeable right there. Tess enters after finding a way past the Wall. Soldiers patrol the streets as a mandatory curfew message is repeated on the P.A. Joel pushes aside a manhole cover. Ellie is stunned to be out from the Wall. Tess tells Ellie to follow her closely. They take cover from a passing truck, then it begins to rain, a soldier is relieving himself on a wall and then turns to see them!
He draws his M-16 and realizes that it is Joel, the lightning reveals Joel and his soldier contact seen at North Square. The soldier wants them on their knees and Tess says that they will split the ration cards with him. He has the trio with hands on their heads as he scans them. Before he scans Ellie, she stabs him with the switchblade! The soldier says, “Move” again and again which forces Joel to think of what happened with his daughter, Sarah. He leaps at the soldier and repeatedly punches him in the face. Ellie watches him in fascination! Joel pauses, tired, with his bloody fist. Tess is shocked that she has scanned Ellie and it turned red! Ellie shows her the bite mark on her arm which she pleads is three weeks old, past the time to turn Infected. FEDRA is on the way. Joel is staring at his bloody fist and then picks up the M-16 to run into the Biological Contamination Area! At Joel’s apartment, the radio turns on to play Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again”, lightning reveals the building collapsed on another. The final part of The Last of Us pilot brings a great set up for the series, touches on the horror of the Infected, and the roles of Joel and Ellie!
Five Fungi out of Five!
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