[Warning: Spoilers for The Last of Us below]

The first The Last of Us title, developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, was released in 2013. Fans of the franchise have waited over seven years for a sequel, and finally, gamers will get what they want when The Last of Us Part 2 releases this month after much anticipation.

Though there have been several leaks about the plot of The Last of Us Part 2, much of the second game remains a mystery to players. In Naughty Dog's previous installment, gamers assumed the roles of both Joel and Ellie, a smuggler and teenage girl, who were trying to make their way across the United States to get her to safety. However, when traversing a post-apocalyptic wasteland, nothing is very safe.

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As players gear up for the release of The Last of Us Part 2, it can be easy to forget the events which happened in the original game. After all, there were a lot of details and characters introduced along the way, making it hard to remember every single one of them. However, the most important reason The Last of Us such a thrilling franchise is because of its heart-wrenching and well-crafted storyline.

What Happened In The Last Of Us

Ellie playing guitar in Last of Us 2

After losing his own teenage daughter, professional smuggler Joel is asked to help transport a young girl, Ellie, to the Fireflies, a group looking to find a cure for a terrible outbreak. This is no easy task given the post-apocalyptic society that has taken shape, as it’s been twenty years since the onset of the infection. Even more, Joel quickly learns Ellie isn’t a regular teenage girl. Rather, she may hold the key to a possible cure or vaccine, evidenced by the fact that she didn’t turn after getting bit by an infected.

Joel and Ellie come in contact with various factions and foes along their journey in The Last of Us. They receive a car from Bill, a fellow smuggler, allowing the duo to drive to Pittsburgh where their vehicle is attacked by The Hunters, a brutal gang of survivalists infamous for killing anyone who steps on their territory, subsequently stripping them of their supplies and clothes. As they escape the city, Ellie and Joel join forces with a pair of brothers. But the good times don’t last for long, as the younger brother, Sam, becomes infected, leading the older brother to shoot him as well as take his own life.

Joel and Ellie look back in The Last of us 1

The Last of Us' story then flashes forwards to the fall, when the pair finally stumble onto Joel’s brother Tommy’s impressive settlement where he resides with his wife and other survivalists. Though Joel tries to leave Ellie in his brother and sister-in-law’s care, he ultimately changes his mind after he learns the truth about his own daughter. Still on the hunt to find the Fireflies, Tommy says he heard the group has a lab at the University of Eastern Colorado. Though Joel and Ellie eventually find the University abandoned (save for a bunch of zombies) they get a lead that the Fireflies may have moved to Salt Lake City. As they try to leave the University, however, they’re ambushed by an unknown group, leaving Joel with serious injuries.

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Throughout the winter months, Ellie is forced to care for an ailing Joel in a makeshift shelter she crafted. She hunts wild animals for sustenance, but one day she runs into trouble when she discovers two scavengers, David and James, who ask her to trade deer meat for medicine, which she desperately needs for Joel. After defending themselves against a series of infected, David shows his true intentions and reveals it was his group that attack Joel and Ellie at the University. Ellie is subsequently kidnapped by David, and once they make it to their settlement, she learns their group survives primarily on cannibalism (and she may be their next meal). Luckily, Joel finds the strength to begin searching for Ellie when she fails to return. He manages to find her just as she’s killing David in a burning restaurant in one of the most gripping scenes from The Last of Us, after she also narrowly managed to kill James.

The Last of Us header

Finally, by the springtime and close to the end of The Last of Us, Joel and Ellie reach the Fireflies’ lab in Salt Lake City. As Ellie is being prepped for surgery, Joel speaks to Marlene, the woman who originally asked him to smuggle the teen across the United States of America before the game began and who had known Ellie since birth. He learns that the Fireflies have to kill Ellie so they can extract the infected part of her brain and attempt to create a cure. Finding this unacceptable, Joel subsequently breaks into the operating room and rescues Ellie. However, in the process he also shoots and kills Marlene, who was trying to explain to him the significance of his actions – if Joel takes Ellie, he’s ruining any chance they have at finding a cure.

In the next scene, Ellie wakes up in the back of a car and asks Joel what happened. He lies to her, saying they found other people who are immune but weren't able to create a vaccine, so they gave up. It's unclear if Ellie fully believes Joel’s lie or if deep-down she knows that he saved her list at the cost of a cure. Many fans of the franchise wonder if Ellie will learn the truth in The Last of Us Part 2, leading to conflict between her and Joel. The Last of Us ends with the duo seemingly heading back towards Tommy's settlement, likely with humanity doomed as a result.

A lot happened in The Last of Us, and players can probably expect the story in TLOU2 to be even more suspenseful and compelling (especially if Ellie finds out Joel was lying) when it releases on June 19, 2020.

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