The Last of Us Story Recap: Everything You Need to Know Before Part II

Get ready to revisit The Last of Us: Part II, as we delve once more into Joel and Ellie’s tale. The original game painted a harrowing picture of survival in a post-apocalyptic America afflicted by a ruthless fungal outbreak. With its release date almost here, you might not have played the first installment for seven years or perhaps never played it at all.

If you’re seeking a summary of the happenings preceding the forthcoming sequel, you’ve landed on the ideal spot! In our comprehensive guide for “The Last of Us Part II“, we will walk you through a complete recap of the narrative, ensuring you are fully prepared for the upcoming installment. Please be aware that the following content may contain spoilers for the original game’s entire storyline, so if you prefer to remain unspoiled, it would be prudent to look elsewhere. With no more delay, let’s revisit Joel and Ellie’s journey thus far.

The Prologue

In the prologue of The Last of Us, we’re introduced to Joel – a man residing in Austin, Texas, where he shares a life with his daughter Sarah. One evening, Joel arrives home late, and there, waiting for him, is Sarah, eager to present her father with a birthday gift. They share laughter and camaraderie before settling down to watch television together. However, as the night wears on, Sarah dozes off.

In the morning, Sarah is awakened by a call on her phone. It’s Tommy, Joel’s sibling, who needs to speak with Joel urgently and then disconnects. As Sarah searches the house for her father, she can’t find any trace of him. Eventually, he shows up, panting heavily as if from exertion. Joel instructs Sarah to prepare to depart immediately.

The duo hops into Tommy’s vehicle, and the trio navigates through a city plagued by troubles. It later transpires that people are becoming victims of a genetically altered cordyceps fungus, which seizes control over their brains, stripping them of their humanity, and transforming them into lifeless vessels for propagation. Eventually, the fungus bursts forth from the heads and faces of the affected individuals.

While navigating the city, now a tumultuous mass of confusion, they collide with another vehicle, causing them to abandon their car and flee on foot. Tommy stays behind to fend off the infected hordes while Joel and his daughter are halted by a soldier under orders to eliminate them. They narrowly evade the gunfire, but Sarah is struck. In response, Tommy slays the soldier, protecting Joel, but it’s too late for Sarah; she breathes her last in her father’s embrace.

20 Years Later…

Later on, we leap ahead by two full decades, with Joel residing in Boston, Massachusetts, operating as a smuggler within a post-pandemic landscape. North America has become extremely perilous beyond the confines of quarantine zones and settlements, where the majority of people continue to exist. In this setting, Joel and his partner Tess embark on a quest to locate Robert, an arms dealer indebted to them for weapons. Upon encountering him, he admits that he had passed their weapons onto the Fireflies, a militia group defying authority.

Marlene, the team’s head, emerges and proposes that Joel and Tess receive twice as many weapons if they agree to a task. Upon following her, it becomes clear that she wants the duo to escort Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, to a designated spot nearby. During their journey, Joel and Tess discover that Ellie has been bitten by an infected individual, but the wound is three weeks old, which is unusually late for someone to turn into an infected person. This indicates that Ellie might be immune, making her crucial due to her potential role in finding a cure for the infection.

At their rendezvous spot, they find out that the Fireflies they were supposed to meet have been slain. Tess confesses she’s become infected, instructing Joel to escort Ellie and search for the remaining Fireflies, as she intends to delay pursuing soldiers, sacrificing herself in the process. Joel and Ellie are compelled to flee, with Tess bravely holding off approaching soldiers until her final moments.

The Journey Begins

As Joel, I hesitantly trudge onward with Ellie, our initial destination being to seek out an old pal, Bill, who supposedly owes me a favor. The plan is for this edgy survivalist to hook us up with a functioning vehicle, but let’s just say things don’t go as smoothly as planned. My headstrong companion, Ellie, has more than a few run-ins with Bill, and it becomes clear that navigating his territory isn’t going to be a walk in the park. However, we eventually manage to high-tail it out of there in an old pickup truck, leaving Bill’s turf far behind us.

For quite a while, Joel and Ellie journey westward, seeking Joel’s brother Tommy, who used to be part of the Firefly unit. Eventually, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, they encounter a gang of marauders and damage their vehicle. Desperate for an exit, they find themselves in a city heavily guarded and teeming with both patrols and infected. After being split up in a dilapidated hotel, they reconnect when Ellie rescues Joel from danger. In the meantime, Joel hands the rifle over to Ellie as he eliminates more bandits en route to the Fort Pitt Bridge.

Henry and Sam

As they exit Pittsburgh, The duo encounters two brothers named Henry and Sam, who are similarly trying to depart. Joel and Ellie connect with these brothers, and the siblings lead them to their secret hideout. In collaboration, Henry and Joel conceive a strategy to break free using a security checkpoint at night. Prior to this, the team navigates towards an old radio station. However, they’re found out, causing the groups to split as they flee. Ellie and Joel plunge into the river and eventually reach a beach, where Henry and Sam re-encounter them again.

Eventually, the group arrives at the radio tower, providing them with a much-needed respite. As Joel regales the others with tales from before the pandemic, Ellie looks after Sam who is assessing their resources. After discussing their concerns with him, Ellie bids goodnight. It becomes apparent that Sam has suffered an infected bite, but hasn’t disclosed this to anyone yet.

At dawn, Ellie visits Sam, who’s undergone a transformation during the night. Agitated Sam, now infected, assaults Ellie. Before Joel could grab his weapon, Henry takes action and fires at Sam. Ridden with sorrow and self-blame, Henry subsequently ends his own life.

Fall

After some time has elapsed, Joel and Ellie find themselves in Jackson County, Wyoming, not far from Tommy’s settlement in Jackson city. Their destination is an old hydroelectric plant they must navigate through. Upon reaching the entrance, they discover it’s not deserted; instead, Tommy and his group are trying to restart the plant for power generation. Joel pulls Tommy aside and requests that he safeguard Ellie because she’ll be safer and he knows where the Fireflies are located. After invaders attack the plant, Tommy consents to look after Ellie. Unfortunately, Ellie slips away after eavesdropping on the conversation.

Following their reunion, Joel and Ellie have a disagreement over her joining up with Tommy. However, this discussion is interrupted as more outlaws appear. During their return horse ride, Joel resolves to escort Ellie to the Fireflies personally. Tommy informs them that the Fireflies are situated at the University of Eastern Colorado’s science lab. The duo then sets off on one of Tommy’s horses.

Joel and Ellie locate the college and wander around the grounds until they stumble upon the science facility. To their surprise, it appears that the Fireflies have vacated the premises, and there’s no trace of them left behind. Joel discovers a voice recorder containing the last messages of a fallen Firefly, who reveals that the group has returned to St. Mary’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Regrettably, their presence is detected before they can depart, forcing Joel and Ellie into a desperate struggle to flee the college.

In the heat of a fight, Joel accidentally tumbles over a balcony and impales himself on a nearby metal rod. Quick-thinking Ellie shields Joel and helps him to his feet, narrowly avoiding danger. As they flee, Joel succumbs to his injuries and collapses in pain while they continue their journey.

Winter

Once more, we leap ahead in time. Now, Ellie is attending to an injured Joel. In a wintry forest, she’s foraging with a bow and arrows. After bagging a rabbit, Ellie spots a deer and follows its trail. The deer dashes towards a settlement as it goes, but Ellie arrives just in time to find she’s not the only one there. David shows up with his companion, James, who also want the deer for their group. However, Ellie refuses to give it up. In response, David proposes a trade, and Ellie requests medicine. While James goes back to fetch some, Ellie and David seek shelter from the cold within a cabin. Suddenly, a horde of infected appears, compelling them to collaborate to stay alive.

Following their encounter with the infected individuals, David informs Ellie that a band of his men were slaughtered by “an unstable man accompanied by a young girl.” Displaying hostility, David allows Ellie to depart with the medicine as agreed. She swiftly escapes on her horse.

In a simpler phrasing: Ellie returns to Joel and hands him some antibiotics. Later, Ellie listens in on some guys nearby who are pursuing her. To mislead them, she rides away but gets caught and the horse dies. Struggling to get back to Joel, she ends up getting captured by a man named David.

In the morning, I find myself trapped in a cell, witnessing gruesome acts against humans. A man named David approaches with some deer meat for Ellie, swearing it’s all he’s had to eat lately. He drops a shocking confession about his cannibalistic ways, but offers help if I can win over his people. In a moment of anger and desperation, I snap one of his fingers. David responds with a chilling threat, warning me that my life could be forfeit if I continue down this path.

In the meantime, Joel stirs awake, finding Ellie is absent. Despite his injury, he rises and embarks on a search for her. Encountering David’s men during his quest, he apprehends two of them and questions them about Ellie. Under duress, they disclose her whereabouts. Before long, Joel learns this information and ends the lives of both men.

In another phrasing: Ellie gets pinned onto a table and restrained. She reveals to David that she’s contaminated, showing him her infected arm. While the men are preoccupied, Ellie manages to slip away, attempting to return to Joel. As Joel draws nearer, Ellie and David engage in a deadly chase within a blazing restaurant. However, Ellie seizes David’s machete and mercilessly ends his life. Eventually, Joel catches up with her, and they resume their journey towards the Fireflies.

Spring

Joel and Ellie make their way towards the hospital where the Fireflies are situated, which is Salt Lake City’s destination. Along the journey, they pass by an abandoned zoo, where they come across a group of giraffes calmly moving about. Joel proposes to Ellie that they might not need to follow the Fireflies’ plan; instead, they could settle down with Tommy at his camp. However, Ellie responds, emphasizing that all their experiences up until now can’t have been for no reason at all.

As they make their way to the hospital amidst semi-flooded debris, Ellie and the other person stumble into rushing water. In a near-drowning incident, it’s Ellie who almost succumbs. Struggling to resuscitate her, Joel finds himself attacked by Fireflies who then knock him unconscious.

In a hospital setting, Joel finds himself awakening to the presence of Marlene. She comforts Joel, reassuring him that Ellie is safe and being prepped for an operation. Marlene reveals that in order to research a possible cure for the infection, they must extract it from Ellie’s brain, which will unfortunately result in her death. Frustrated, Joel insists on seeing Ellie, but Marlene denies his request and orders her guards to escort him away instead.

As Joel exits the hospital, he manages to subdue the Firefly guard and discovers that Ellie is located on a higher floor. Navigating through restricted and closely monitored sections of the hospital, Joel ascends to reach the top level where Ellie waits.

After locating the surgery room, Joel makes his way in, only to discover Ellie lifeless on the table. A doctor menaces Joel, but Joel retaliates with gunfire. The other medical staff freeze in fear, leaving Joel to lift Ellie up. Rushing through the hospital, Joel reaches the elevator and rides down to the parking lot. There, Marlene confronts Joel, pleading for him to rethink his choices, but Joel ends her life to deter Fireflies from chasing them. He then leaves in a vehicle.

As Joel navigates their way back to Tommy’s community, Ellie stirs awake and queries about recent events. Joel explains that the Fireflies discovered numerous individuals immune to the infection, yet were unable to formulate a remedy. Disheartened, they have ceased their efforts.

As they neared Tommy’s camp, Ellie halted Joel and demanded that he verify the truth of his words regarding the Fireflies. Joel affirmed this, to which Ellie responded, “Understood.

Left Behind

In this self-contained tale, you’ll discover how Ellie ended up getting bitten just prior to the key events in the primary game. To gain a comprehensive understanding, let’s delve into the narrative that follows.

Following an injury that leaves Joel in a critical state just before the onset of winter, Ellie ventures into a mall seeking essentials like sutures and bandages. As she navigates through various stores, eliminating infected, she stumbles upon a military helicopter. Inside this aircraft, she locates a fully-stocked first aid kit, but must battle her way back to Joel as marauders start scouring the area.

The narrative occasionally flashes back to moments prior to Joel and Ellie’s adventure. In these flashbacks, we find Ellie resting in her quarantine zone home. Her friend Riley, attempting to make up for their past, startles Ellie awake. Initially believing Riley was deceased, Ellie learns she has been recruited by the Fireflies. To rectify their previous parting, Riley escorts Ellie out of the quarantine zone, leading them towards an abandoned shopping mall to explore together.

As I stroll through the shopping center, I flip the trip switch, illuminating the place again. My buddy and I chat and giggle, enjoying our adventure through the brightly-lit mall. We act out silly scenarios like smashing imaginary bricks on parked cars, fiddling with a supposedly busted arcade game, and engaging in a water gun battle. Riley shares that she’s joining a Firefly squad in another part of the land, and asks for my advice. I tell her to follow her path.

In a store, Riley connects Ellie’s portable music player to the sound system, and they start dancing together. However, Ellie reconsiders and requests that Riley stays put. In response, Riley removes her Firefly dog tag and Ellie gives her a kiss. But their peaceful departure is interrupted as infected beings are drawn to the music, causing them to flee.

In an effort to flee, both Ellie and Riley get bitten. Realizing their time is running out, they choose to sit down and discuss their options. Instead of taking their own lives, they opt to endure the infection and “lose our minds together”. Unbeknownst to them, Ellie is resistant to the infection.

Wrapping up, that was a summary of the entire story of The Last of Us. As we move forward into Part II, set to release on June 19th, it will be exciting to explore how things have progressed since the end of the first game. Are you prepared to delve back into the world of The Last of Us 2? Share your thoughts about the story in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out our comprehensive guide on The Last of Us 2 for more insights into Naughty Dog’s latest creation.

2025-04-02 11:39