The story of The Last of Us game begins in 2013, where we find Joel (voiced by Troy Baker) living in a modest house in Austin, Texas. One evening, after returning from an exhausting day at work, he discovers his only daughter Sarah (voiced by Hana Hayes) sleeping peacefully on the living room couch. Though Joel gently wakes her and suggests she head to bed, Sarah insists on staying awake, not wanting to miss this special moment.
With midnight approaching, she retrieves a carefully hidden present from beneath the couch and wishes her father a happy birthday. Upon opening it, Joel finds a handsome watch, leading to playful banter between them about how she managed to afford such a gift. The tender moment concludes with Joel carrying his drowsy daughter to her room as they both drift off to sleep.
Sarah’s peaceful slumber is suddenly interrupted by a frantic phone call from her uncle Tommy (Jeffrey Pierce). Rushing downstairs to find Joel, she discovers him equally alarmed. Their moment of confusion turns to terror when their neighbor, having devolved into an aggressive, animalistic state, violently breaks into their house and charges toward them. Joel is forced to shoot the neighbor, after which he and Sarah quickly flee their home.
After reuniting with Tommy, the three attempt to escape by car. Their journey is cut short when they crash in town, forcing them to continue on foot. Joel carries Sarah in his arms as they flee, only to be stopped by an armed soldier tasked with containing the outbreak. Despite his subordinate’s protests, the soldier’s superior orders them to be treated as potential risks.
The soldier opens fire while Sarah remains in Joel’s arms, causing them to tumble down a hill. As the soldier approaches to finish Joel off, Tommy intervenes, killing him. However, this intervention comes tragically too late. While Joel sustains only minor scrapes and bruises, Sarah has been fatally wounded. In a heart-wrenching moment, Joel desperately pleads with his daughter to stay alive as she cries out in pain. Tragically, Sarah succumbs to her wounds, dying in her father’s arms.
Twenty years later, in 2033, America has been transformed by a devastating zombie-like pandemic originating from the parasitic Cordyceps fungus. This aggressive infection overtakes human bodies within days, beginning with the brain. Victims lose their humanity, reverting to primitive instincts and attempting to bite others. As the infection progresses, the infected eventually mutate into Clickers - feral, deformed, blind monsters that prove exceptionally difficult to eliminate.
In this harsh new world, 13-year-old Ellie (Ashley Johnson) has found refuge within Boston’s Quarantine Zone, living in a boarding school. Understandably cautious during a zombie outbreak, she struggles to form friendships due to trust issues. However, she eventually bonds with Riley, an adventurous older girl who introduces her to life beyond the school’s confines. Together, they frequently sneak out to explore a nearby mall and visit Winston, an older survivor who teaches Ellie horsemanship.
During their adventures, the girls encounter the Fireflies, a paramilitary organization working to restore order to the world. Their leader, Marlene (Merle Dandridge), shares a connection to Ellie’s past - she knew Ellie’s mother and provides the young girl with a cherished letter and switchblade that belonged to her mother.
Weeks after this encounter, the relationship between Ellie and Riley becomes strained. Riley vanishes without explanation, while Ellie is conscripted into military service, training to combat the Fireflies. The situation takes an unexpected turn when Riley suddenly reappears one night, revealing she has joined the Fireflies. Frustrated by Riley’s prolonged absence, Ellie demands answers, which Riley agrees to provide if they leave the boarding school together.
At their familiar haunt - the abandoned mall where Winston had recently died of an apparent heart attack - the girls enjoy what seems like old times, playing in a Halloween store and riding a carousel. However, after some arcade games, Riley delivers devastating news: she’s being reassigned to another city the next day. This revelation triggers an emotional confrontation, with Ellie expressing her hurt over Riley’s disappearance and Riley feeling unheard.
The tension dissolves during a playful water-gun fight, leading to Ellie’s apology. Though still reluctant to see Riley leave, she offers her support. In a poignant moment, Riley connects Ellie’s Walkman to the mall’s sound system, and they dance together. Overwhelmed by her feelings, Ellie pleads with Riley to stay. Riley responds by removing her dog tag, and they share a kiss, vowing to face their future together.
Their moment of connection is brutally interrupted by an attack from Runners — the first and weakest stage of infected caused by the Cordyceps brain infection, defined by their speed, clumsy attacks, and tendency to swarm their targets. Though they survive the fight, both discover they’ve been bitten. Riley presents two options: a quick end with their gun, or, as she puts it more poetically, fighting on together until they lose their minds. Ellie, unwilling to accept either fate, asks if there might be a third option.
Meanwhile, three weeks later, Joel has carved out a harsh existence as a smuggler in Boston’s Quarantine Zone. Working closely with Tess (Annie Wersching), he survives through various illicit dealings in and around the city. The pair finds themselves hunting down Robert (Robin Atkin Downes), an arms dealer who stole their weapons, only to discover he’s already sold them to the Fireflies. After Tess eliminates Robert, Marlene appears with an unexpected proposition: their weapons will be returned if they smuggle a young girl named Ellie out of the city.
Despite Joel’s reluctance to transport living cargo, particularly a defiant teenager, he agrees to the task. While Tess confirms the arrangement with Marlene, Joel escorts Ellie to a safe house. The group’s departure from Boston is quickly complicated by a military checkpoint where soldiers screen for infection. Though Joel and Tess test negative, Ellie attacks the soldiers before her results process, forcing the group to fight their way out.
In the aftermath, Tess discovers Ellie’s positive test result, but the girl reveals something extraordinary - she was bitten three weeks ago yet hasn’t turned, despite infection typically progressing within days. This apparent immunity, Marlene believes, could be crucial in developing a vaccine. Convinced by Tess, Joel agrees to continue escorting Ellie to the Capitol building. However, they arrive to find only dead Fireflies.
The situation worsens when Tess reveals she was recently bitten, her wound already more severe than Ellie’s weeks-old bite. With her time running out, Tess implores Joel to take Ellie to his brother Tommy, a former Firefly who might know how to reach the organization. As Tess stays behind to buy them time, Joel reluctantly accepts this responsibility, establishing two firm rules with Ellie: no personal stories, and his word is law.
The pair begins their journey to Wyoming, where Tommy resides. After securing a car through Joel’s associate Bill (W. Earl Brown), they head towards their destination but become trapped in Pittsburgh, where they encounter hostile hunters - survivors who have abandoned their humanity. While attempting to escape, they meet brothers Henry (Brandon Scott) and Sam (Nadji Jeter). Though the four initially agree to cooperate, the brothers abandon them when confronted by armed hunters.
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Pursued across a bridge, Joel and Ellie face a desperate choice at a broken section. Despite not knowing how to swim, Ellie leaps into the water below, forcing Joel to follow. The impact with a rock renders Joel unconscious, but Henry and Sam return to save them. Though Joel initially threatens Henry, Ellie’s reminder of their rescue and Henry’s explanation that he acted to protect his brother leads to a temporary truce.
The group finds refuge in a radio tower, sharing moments of connection over motorcycles and their fears of infection. Their brief respite ends tragically the next morning when they discover Sam has turned after being bitten. When Joel reaches for his weapon, Henry intervenes, determined to handle his brother’s fate himself. Overwhelmed by grief and guilt, Henry first blames Joel, then takes his own life before Joel can intervene.
As fall arrives in 2033, Joel and Ellie finally reach Jackson County, Wyoming, where they meet with Tommy. In a private conversation, Joel reveals Ellie’s immunity and requests that Tommy take over escorting her to the Fireflies. Though Tommy eventually agrees, Ellie overhears their discussion and, feeling betrayed, flees to a nearby ranch house.
When Joel tracks her down, he attempts to justify his decision by explaining that she would be safer with Tommy. Ellie confronts him directly, emotionally declaring that she isn’t Sarah and expressing her hurt over the pattern of abandonment in her life. The mention of Sarah escalates the tension, initially leading Joel to decide they should part ways. However, after cooling down, he reconsiders, offering to continue their journey together under the pretense of avoiding conflict with Tommy’s wife.
Tommy directs them to their next destination: the University of Eastern Colorado, where the Fireflies supposedly maintain a laboratory. Mounted on their horse, Callus, Joel and Ellie make their way to the campus. Upon arrival, they find the university deserted, with no signs of the Fireflies or their lab. Their search through the ruins yields an audio recording that redirects their mission to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Just as they prepare to depart for Utah, they encounter hostile survivors. During the ensuing conflict, Joel is gravely injured when a struggle sends him plummeting onto a piece of rebar. Though Ellie helps him to his feet, Joel can barely walk. They manage to fight their way free of the university, but Joel’s condition deteriorates rapidly as he continues to lose blood. The situation becomes dire when he loses consciousness and falls from Callus, leaving Ellie desperately struggling to get him back onto the horse.
As winter descends in 2033, Ellie devotedly tends to Joel’s recovery. While searching for medical supplies in nearby ruins, she discovers a military helicopter wreckage in an abandoned mall. Finding a medkit triggers memories of her time with Riley months earlier. After returning to Joel, she carefully tends to his wounds, wrapping him in blankets and securing him to a platform attached to Callus before venturing into the bitter cold.
Time passes as Ellie masters hunting with a bow and arrow, sustaining them both while Joel recuperates. During one hunt, after taking down a buck, she encounters two men: David (Nolan North) and James (Reuben Langdon). David offers to trade for the deer, and when Ellie inquires about antibiotics, James leaves to retrieve them. During their time alone, David attempts to befriend Ellie, who remains wary.
Her suspicions prove justified when David reveals he leads the group that attacked them at the University of Eastern Colorado, though he views Joel as the aggressor responsible for his men’s deaths. Despite James returning with a gun drawn, David surprisingly orders him to give Ellie the medicine and let her go, extending an offer of shelter which she promptly refuses.
Upon returning to their shelter, Ellie administers Joel’s medicine and falls asleep beside him. However, David’s group tracks her down, forcing her to create a diversion to protect the still-weakened Joel. Though she successfully leads them away, David eventually captures her. Ellie awakens in a cell, witnessing James butchering a body nearby. David attempts to negotiate her cooperation with false promises of protection, but when Ellie feigns compliance only to break his finger, he leaves in a rage, threatening to dismember her the next morning.
Meanwhile, Joel regains enough strength to search for Ellie. He methodically eliminates David’s men, sparing only two for interrogation to learn Ellie’s location. As David and James prepare to butcher Ellie, she reveals her infected bite mark, causing momentary panic that allows her to kill James and escape. The pursuit leads to a nearby restaurant, where the building catches fire during their struggle. Though David initially overpowers her, Ellie locates a machete and brutally ends his life. Joel arrives in time to comfort her, assuring her that everything will be alright as they embrace.
Spring arrives in April 2034 as Joel and Ellie spot the sign for Saint Mary’s Hospital along the highway. Their approach to the hospital is momentarily interrupted by an extraordinary sight: a herd of giraffes wandering through the city ruins. They pause to pet one of the magnificent creatures and observe the herd, taking in the haunting beauty of nature reclaiming the urban landscape.
In this peaceful moment, Joel suggests abandoning their mission and returning to Tommy’s settlement for a quieter life. However, Ellie firmly declines, insisting they’ve endured too much to abandon their goal now. The journey brings emotional closure for Joel when Ellie presents him with a photograph of him and Sarah at a soccer match, which she had taken from Tommy’s settlement. Rather than reacting with anger, Joel accepts this connection to his past, even breaking his own rule by sharing stories as they walk.
Their progress is interrupted in a flooded underground tunnel when a platform collapses, throwing Ellie into deep water. Though Joel rescues her, his attempts to revive her are cut short when Fireflies knock him unconscious. He awakens to find Marlene, whom he hasn’t seen in a year, explaining that Ellie’s immunity stems from a mutated Cordyceps infection. The surgeons plan to remove and study this infection, but Joel realizes the procedure will be fatal since it begins in her brain. Despite his protests and pleas to find another subject, Marlene remains resolute, believing the sacrifice necessary for humanity’s survival.
In a desperate rage, Joel fights his way through the facility, killing the doctors preparing to operate on Ellie and carrying her to the parking garage. There, Marlene confronts him at gunpoint, arguing that without this sacrifice, America will never recover from the plague of Clickers and untrustworthy survivors. Though appearing to consider her words, Joel ultimately kills Marlene and escapes with Ellie.
When Ellie regains consciousness in the car, Joel fabricates a story about the Fireflies discovering other immune individuals, claiming they no longer needed her. They journey back to Tommy’s settlement until their car breaks down in Jackson County. As they continue on foot, Joel opens up about how Sarah and Ellie would have gotten along well.
Finally, Ellie confronts Joel about the truth of what happened with the Fireflies, reflecting on all they’ve lost - Riley, Tess, Sam, and Henry - and her potential role in preventing such suffering. When she directly questions Joel about the other immune survivors, he maintains his lie, to which she responds with a simple, weighted “Okay.”