Image: HBO
Hey, fans of fungal zombie chaos—guess what? After a two-year wait, The Last of Us is back! Season 2 premieres this Sunday on HBO, and I’m so excited. The show, created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, is based on the popular video game. It’s all about a world ruined by a creepy cordyceps fungus that turns people into scary, mindless monsters. Season 1, with its nine episodes, followed Joel (Pedro Pascal), a tough smuggler who becomes a dad figure, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teen he’s protecting, as they travel across the country to find a cure. Ellie’s special—she’s immune to the fungus, and that might be the key to saving everyone. Here’s a quick recap of Season 1 before you jump into the new season!
How Did the World Fall Apart?
In The Last of Us, a weird cordyceps outbreak in 2003 wipes out most of humanity. People who get infected turn into zombie-like creatures that only want to spread the fungus. The longer they’re infected, the more terrifying they look. Fast forward 20 years to 2023, and society is a mess. Survivors live in military-run quarantine zones controlled by a group called FEDRA, or in areas that broke free from FEDRA’s strict rules. Some people live in independent communities, while others prefer to stay on their own.
Who Are the Main Characters?
Season 1 starts with Joel Miller, a contractor with a teenage daughter named Sarah. During the outbreak, a soldier kills Sarah while Joel tries to get them to safety, and he never gets over losing her. By 2023, Joel’s a smuggler in Boston, working with his partner Tess. He’s lost touch with his brother, Tommy. After a deal goes wrong, Joel and Tess meet Ellie, a teen being held by a rebel group called the Fireflies. The Fireflies’ leader, Marlene, asks them to sneak Ellie out of the city in exchange for supplies. Why? Because Ellie’s immune to the fungus—probably because her mom got infected right before she was born—and the Fireflies think she’s the key to a cure.
Did They Make It?
Not exactly! The plan was for the Fireflies to take Ellie west to work on a cure, but the group they were supposed to meet gets infected before they can. Tess doesn’t make it either. So Joel and Ellie decide to find the other Fireflies themselves. Their journey is rough—they face monsters and some pretty awful people—but they also find Tommy, who’s now married and living in a peaceful community in Jackson, Wyoming. Eventually, they reach Salt Lake City, where Ellie’s taken for surgery to study her immunity. But Joel finds out the surgery will kill her—they need her brain! He can’t let that happen, so he fights the Fireflies, saves Ellie, and they escape. On their way back to Jackson, Ellie asks what happened, and Joel lies, saying the Fireflies already tried making a cure with other immune people and gave up.
What’s Coming in Season 2? (No Spoilers!)
Season 2 picks up a few years after Season 1. Joel and Ellie have settled into life in Jackson, helping out in the community. We’ll meet some new faces, like Dina (Isabela Merced), Jesse (Young Mazino), and Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). I can’t wait to see what’s next for Joel and Ellie—how about you?
