The Last of Us Episode 1 Ending Explained: Who is Riley? What Happens to Tommy?
The Last of Us Episode 1 was a tension-filled premiere and its ending may be confusing for some, due to the large number of things that have happened. Like the game on which it is based, television fiction focuses on the story of Joel and Ellie, a duo of survivors united by circumstances. Together they will cross a post-apocalyptic version of the United States that hides endless dangers in its desolate landscape. Expectations met and a story that captivated him from the first moment was what he presented in his number one chapter The Last of Us. Episode 1 of HBO Max’s adaptation of The Last of Us takes place in two different timelines.
The first part follows Joel before the outbreak of the Cordyceps pandemic and the second shows us his life after what happened in 2003, in the Boston quarantine zone. In addition to these events, we also see the first meeting between the protagonist and Ellie, the two fundamental pieces of the plot. Here’s everything you need to know about the episode’s finale and its ramifications for the future of the series: The post-apocalyptic fiction and based on the successful video game of the same name from the company Naughty Dog, came to HBO this Sunday with an incredible and long-lasting chapter. Pedro Pascal, who personifies Joel, is the protagonist of this series that experienced moments of high tension that fans of the game surely enjoyed as well as being the first to delve into this story.
The Last of Us Episode 1: Plot Summary
That The Last of Us series wanted to stay as faithful as possible to the source material was clear from the very first promotional images: after all, the presence of Druckmann as executive producer, writer and occasionally even director left little room for doubt. Yet, right in the opening bars of his debut, it becomes clear that the author’s and HBO’s approach is aimed at providing greater context and greater depth to every single element presented in the show. Starting from a divergence from the original work, however, decided by greater realism in dealing with the development of a global epidemic, the classic premises of a post-apocalyptic show quickly move away from any stereotype by introducing Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and their daughter Sarah (Nico Parker). The story of this small family from Austin, Texas is here an emblematic and brutal example of an unexpected and seemingly unstoppable tragedy that shook the planet in 2003.
After an initial narrative adagio, typical of that style of pursuit that observes and scrutinizes the characters in their daily lives, carving their image in the viewer’s mind, the second part of the prologue unleashes all its chaos and overwhelms the observer amidst moments of terror and fragments of tragedy. Heart-pounding sequences follow each other non-stop in a first episode that borders on a feature film (with a duration of almost 90 minutes) and demonstrates an incredible fidelity to the heart of the original work. With the uncontrolled proliferation of the Cordyceps fungus, humans have turned into infected beasts and the world’s population has been decimated. 20 years after that trauma, the protagonists of the events find themselves in a completely different world in which the federal government controls public order and a group of reactionaries intends to move in the shadows in the hope of finding a way out of the nightmare. Here Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is introduced, a girl who unknowingly will be at the center of an intrigue and a mission that could overturn the fate of humanity destined for oblivion.
The Last of Us Episode 1 Ending Explained: Who is Riley?
The series began with a TV program in which scientists were invited in 1968, debating the possibility of a viral pandemic or what they tell you from the beginning, it comes from fungi; anticipating how disastrous it would be for humanity. We then jump forward to 2003 in Austin, Texas to meet Joel (Pedro Pascal), his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna), and their daughter Sarah (Nico Parker). In the eyes of this girl (moment taken from video games), we see how the city where they live little by little presents problems and strange behavior from people.
With the kind granny who was her neighbor turning into a dangerous and murderous being, the first look at the monsters of the series is given and from which, together with Joel and Tommy, Sarah escapes. But everything ends badly when a soldier shoots at them and kills the protagonist’s daughter. The key point in Joel’s story that we see 20 years later, in 2023, living in a post-apocalyptic era in which he smuggles with his partner Tess (Anna Torv).
But here these zombies are not the antagonists but the world in which they live, with a military organization (FEDRA) that controls the country in a very dictatorial way and even murders those who don’t follow the rules. Here the fiction also presents the Fireflies, a group of rebels that seeks to fight FEDRA and also survive in this world. They introduce Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a tough 14-year-old girl whom they seek to protect for a mysterious reason.
This year what motivates Joel is reuniting with Tommy, who has also survived but has been missing for three weeks. To see his brother again, Pedro Pascal’s character organizes to assemble a vehicle that will take him to look for him. On this road, he meets Ellie and the mission to take her to the group of Fireflies outside the city, in exchange for a car that will take him to find Tommy. When they escape, things don’t go well and a soldier finds them, but Ellie attacks him to prevent him from seeing what she was hiding. And it is that as explained at the end, this girl was infected three weeks ago by this virus, but she has not converted yet. The situation that will lead Joel to protect and take Ellie around the country is a story known in the video game, but we will see little by little as the episodes of The Last of Us run.
Where Is Ellie Being Taken and Why?
Marlene hires Joel and Tess to sneak Ellie out of town. After being injured in a skirmish, she tasks the smuggling duo with taking the young woman to Massachusetts. There they will meet the rest of the Fireflies. After that, they intend to use the girl’s immunity to develop a cure for humanity.
Is Ellie Infected?
The conclusion of the first chapter of The Last of Us reveals something very important about Ellie. A guard stops her and starts scanning her to see if she is infected, before Joel rushes to the rescue and finishes him off, Tess sees the result of her. The screen turns red, indicating that she is infected, but upon checking Ellie’s bite they realize that she is very old. At that moment the real reason why, the Fireflies wanted to get her out of town becomes clear.
Ellie’s bite was long ago, and she hasn’t succumbed to the fungus yet. This means that the young woman seems to be immune to the disease for some unknown reason. That’s why the Fireflies are determined to get her out of the quarantined areas. An immune person could be the key to developing a cure for all of humanity.
The Hidden Meaning of The Song That Plays at The End?
In the final moments of The Last of Us Episode 1, we see Joel’s radio, which he uses to send signals to other smugglers. The melody we hear is Never Let Me Down Again, by Depeche Mode. During the episode, we found out that when an 80’s song plays it means they are in danger. Well, the music we hear after the episode is from 1987. This means that we will most likely see the group in serious trouble very soon.
What Happens to Tommy?
After seeing Joel and his brother Tommy working together to escape the outbreak in 2003, it’s quite shocking to see them separated later on. According to what we see in the first episode of The Last of Us, it seems that they haven’t seen each other for a long time, but they are still in contact through a radio tower. Shortly after we find out that Tommy hasn’t answered for 3 weeks, which is why Joel starts looking for him. When meeting Marlene we see that there is a clear tension between her and the protagonist. When the Firefly claims that her job is to know things, Joel snaps back, “Know things? You’re the cause; you turned my brother against me.” Thus, it is hinted that Tommy joined the rebel group sometime between 2003 and 2023 and that his brother did not agree.
Who is Riley?
During Episode 1 of The Last of Us, we hear that Marlene mentions another girl besides Ellie, a young woman named Riley. Even though we don’t see much more about this character in the episode, she is someone very important in the games. Both girls star in the Left Behind DLC, which shows the relationship between the two before the events of the main game. At the end of this short story, they both get bitten, but only Riley is affected, and this is how Ellie discovers her immunity to fungus from her.
