Welcome to the apocalypse as the infected takes over the world and 20 years after, the humans are still trying to fight back and thrive but with a glimmer of hope, will Joel and Tess successfully bring Ellie to the facility in The Last of Us Episode 2? Find out everything you need to know here!
Warning! This portion may contain spoilers for The Last of Us. Read at your own risk!
What Happened Before The Last of Us Episode 2?
The Last of Us Episode 1, When You're Lost in the Darkness, has a perfectly fitting title as it previews the start of the outbreak and even its backstory, a clear showing of the past and the present to, hopefully, get a brighter future ahead but the times are trying, as always.
It starts with a television interview of a possible global pandemic dating back in 1968 in a show where the host (Josh Brener) interviews two epidemiologists, and Dr. Newman (John Hannah) surprises everyone as he reveals that it is actually possible to have a threat that will take control of the world.
Dr. Newman explained that while fungi seems harmless enough, too much of it could literally break the whole world as everyone knows it, he even discussed in-depth how it would turn out where the fungi seeks control and keeps its host alive. True enough, the subject of the interview gets real decades later.
Jumping into 2003, Sarah Miller wakes up and prepares breakfast because it is her father's birthday and Joel's brother, Tommy, wakes up in time for the pancakes that Sarah made and before she goes out of the house, she gets her father's watch and some cash.
Sarah goes to school then to the city to get her father's watch repaired. However, the repair shop immediately closed and the wife of the repair man seems to be in a hurry, telling Sarah to go home and lock her doors. Police cars and firetrucks are all over the city, too.
Sarah goes to her neighbor's house where the dog, Mercy, greets her happily, and when it's time to go home, Sarah watches the news with the fiasco that has been going on all over the city. Upon Joel's arrival, Sarah gives him her gift and they watch a movie.
While Sarah is asleep, Tommy calls Joel asking to bail him out as he is in prison so Joel tucks Sarah in and fetches Tommy. In the wee hours of the night, Sarah wakes up to an empty house as military troops scour the place with jets. She sees Mercy asking for help.
She tells the dog to go home and the dog is scared for her life. Sarah sees her neighbors being devoured by an infected and just in time, Joel and Tommy arrives to save her. Unfortunately, they didn't bring Mercy.
They look for a way out of the city and it is already in shambles with everyone in panic, trying to stay safe, and when a plane crashes from the sky, so did their truck. This injures Sarah so Joel had to carry her and when they thought help is on the way, it's the exact opposite of it.
The officer they see by the river fired some shots and as Joel is about to be killed, Tommy gets to the soldier first. However, they are not so fortunate because the first round of shots grazed Joel, and there, lying on the ground, is Sarah, who has been hit on the abdomen and begging for her life, dying in the hands of her father.
20 years later, the scene cuts to a child walking alone as he goes to a quarantine zone and the child is tested whether he is infected. Unfortunately, he is, and later on, it is shown that the quarantine zone immediately kills anyone infected and burned afterwards.
The people in the quarantine zones are working the hardest of all jobs and they get cards, seemingly the new currency. It shows Joel witnessing an execution of violators of the laws inside the quarantine zone and he proceeds to an alley where he meets with a soldier.
Joel trades off with the soldier with some smuggled goods and asks about the truck he seems to be buying. The soldier warns him to stay indoors because the next nights are quite tedious and the soldier says it is easy to make a mistake in the dark.
Meanwhile, everyone sees Ellie tied up in a room and she seems to undergo some tests through counting and saying her name. Then, there's Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies in Boston. Marlene reveals to Kim that Ellie should be taken into another facility because it has been three weeks since she got infected.
Tess is being held up as she purchased a truck battery from someone who sold it to someone else while Joel goes to the radio station to look for Tommy who has been missing for three weeks. Joel heads home and plans to look for Tommy who went to Wyoming.
Tess gets home and brings Joel the bad news and they planned to strike out on Robert, the one they purchased the battery from. When they get to the place, they see a person dead and infected. Upon reaching the place where the battery is, it is a slaughterhouse.
There, they see Ellie, then Marlene sets up a trade with Joel and Tess. Being known smugglers, Marlene reveals to Joel and Tess that they need the truck battery for a bigger purpose and she opens a deal with them to smuggle Ellie out of the quarantine zone and bring her to the facility in exchange for everything Joel and Tess would want.
Joel and Tess agrees and they take Ellie who now knows that she is infected but not turned. At Joel's home, Ellie looks through his stuff and sees some codes from the radio stations where they play songs from different years for hidden messages. The 80s mean trouble and one song played.
Joel, Tess, and Ellie prepares to leave and on their way, they encounter the same soldier that Joel traded with. Enraged, Joel kills the soldier and Tess discovers that Ellie is infected. Ellie tries to explain that she hasn't turned yet and they head out into the unknown. Meanwhile, Joel's radio plays "Never Let Me Down Again," a song from the 80s.
READ MORE: New The Last of Us Teaser Previews Terrifying Hospital Scene
The Last of Us Episode 2 Spoilers, Theories, and Leaks
First up, why does Sarah have to die as early as the first half of The Last of Us Episode 1? Similar to the game, Sarah's death is a crucial point in knowing Joel. See, Joel will do everything he can for his family. The way he looks for Tommy is already telling but his own daughter? That's his kryptonite.
Sarah cements a place in Joel's perspective, the light in his darkness, and her death casts Joel the darkest shadow he ever experienced in his whole life. Cut to 20 years later, he still holds on to the watch that Sarah gave him, showing how much Joel holds on to his past going to the future.
Then, there's Tommy. Tommy joined the Fireflies and he has been missing for three weeks. In the preview, it is seen that Tommy is alive, even interacting with Joel so that means the brothers will meet at some point in time in the series, he's safe.
Ellie, the spunky little Ellie. She's seen to have a scratch that just healed and that is the very reason why Marlene would go all out just to protect her but given Marlene's circumstances, Ellie's safety is better off with the best pair of smugglers that Marlene knows -- Joel and Tess.
The songs in The Last of Us also plays a pivotal role. See, it is the way of people to communicate and as Ellie says "Code broken," it only means that not everyone knows all about the songs played on the radio. "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" is surely from the 80s, it might be Tommy's SOS to Joel.
Never Let Me Down Again is another song and it shows so much relevance to what is happening. If that is the very song that Tommy sent to Joel, it only means that at some point, Joel has let Tommy down but it has quite a relevance to Joel, too.
See, Joel is still fighting with the guilt of losing Sarah and with Ellie in his care, it could possibly be a coincidence that Joel would have to step up so he wouldn't let anyone down, even if it means saving Ellie with everything in his power. That settles the relationship between Joel and Ellie coming into Episode 2.
Where to Watch The Last of Us Episode 2?
The Last of Us is exclusively releasing on HBO and HBO Max where one can get a roster of the shows of the streaming platform for a plan starting at $9.99 per month to $15.99 per month following the price hike and depending on the inclusions of the plan whether it has advertisements or not.
When is the Release Date and Time of The Last of Us Episode 2?
The Last of Us Episode 2 is slated for release on HBO and HBO Max on January 22, 2023 at 9 PM EST/ 6 PM PT. Subtitles will also be available with the episode release.
The Last of Us Episode 2 is expected to have 55 minutes run-time with a deeper story as Joel, Ellie, and Tess make their way across the barren wasteland of US set 20 years after the onset of the outbreak.
The Last of Us Episode 2 Countdown
The Last of Us Episode 2 Countdown
Find out more about The Last of Us Episode 2 here on EpicStream!
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