Plot :
In
2013,
Joel (
Troy Baker) is a single father living near
Austin, Texas, with his twelve-year-old daughter
Sarah (
Hana Hayes). One night, an outbreak of a mutantCordyceps fungus ravages the
United States, which transforms its human hosts into cannibalistic monsters. As Joel, his brother
Tommy (
Jeffrey Pierce), and Sarah flee the chaos, Sarah is shot by a soldier and dies in Joel's arms
.
In the 20 years that follow, much of civilization is destroyed by the infection; survivors live in heavily policed quarantine zones, independent settlements, and nomadic groups. Joel works as a smuggler with his friend
Tess (
Annie Wersching) in a quarantine zone in
Boston. The pair hunt down a local gangster to recover a stolen weapons cache. Before Tess kills him, the smuggler reveals that he traded the goods to the
Fireflies, a rebel group fighting against the quarantine zone authorities. The leader of the Fireflies,
Marlene (
Merle Dandridge), promises to double their stolen cache in return for smuggling a teenage girl,
Ellie (
Ashley Johnson), to Fireflies hiding outside quarantine zone.
Joel, Tess, and Ellie sneak out in the night, but after an encounter with a patrol, they discover Ellie is infected. Full infection normally occurs in under two days, but Ellie claims she was infected three weeks ago, and that her immunity may lead to a cure. The trio fight their way out of the quarantine zone to the drop-off
point, but find that the Fireflies there have been killed. Tess reveals she was bitten during an encounter with the infected; believing in Ellie's importance, Tess sacrifices herself against pursuing military soldiers so Joel and Ellie can escape.
Joel decides to take Ellie to his brother Tommy in hope that he knows the remaining Fireflies' whereabouts. With the help of
Bill (W. Earl Brown), a smuggler who owes Joel a favor, they acquire a working vehicle.
Driving into
Pittsburgh, they are ambushed by bandits and their car is wrecked. They ally with two brothers,
Henry (Brandon Scott) and Sam (
Nadji Jeter); after they escape the city, Sam is bitten by an infected and attacks Ellie.
Henry shoots Sam and commits suicide.
In the fall, Joel and Ellie finally find Tommy in
Wyoming, where he has assembled a fortified settlement near a hydroelectric dam. Joel contemplates leaving Ellie with Tommy, but after she confronts him about Sarah, he decides to stay with her. Tommy directs them to a Fireflies enclave at the
University of Eastern
Colorado. They find the university abandoned, but learn that the Fireflies have moved to a hospital in
Salt Lake City. As they leave, they are attacked by bandits and Joel is severely wounded.
In the winter, Ellie and Joel shelter in the mountains. Joel is on the brink of death and relies on Ellie to care for him. While hunting for food, Ellie encounters
David (Nolan North) and
James (
Reuben Langdon), scavengers willing to trade medicine for food;
David reveals that the university bandits Ellie and Joel killed were part of his group. They kidnap her, intending to force her to join their group of cannibals. She escapes after killing James but David corners her in a burning restaurant. Joel recovers from his fever and sets out to find Ellie. He reaches Ellie as she kills David; Joel consoles her before they flee.
In the spring, Joel and Ellie arrive in Salt Lake City and are captured by a
Firefly patrol
. In the hospital, Marlene tells Joel that Ellie is being prepared for surgery: to produce a vaccine for the infection, the Fireflies have to remove and examine Ellie's infected brain, killing her in the process. Joel battles his way to the operating room and carries the unconscious Ellie to the parking garage. There he confronts and kills Marlene to prevent the Fireflies from pursuing them. On the drive out of the city, Joel lies to Ellie about what happened, telling her that the Fireflies had found many other people who are immune, but were unable to create a cure and have stopped trying. The pair arrive on the outskirts of
Tommy's settlement. Ellie expresses her survivor's guilt and asks Joel to swear that his story about the Fireflies is true; he does.
- published: 17 Nov 2014
- views: 55