The Last of Us Episode 2 Ending Explained: When Was Tess Bitten? What Happened to the State House Lights?
The ending of the second episode of The Last of Us, has created many questions for the future of the series
The Last of Us Episode 2 ended on a tragic note, providing many questions for the future of the series. Joel and Tess continue their journey with Ellie to the State House where she the latter will rejoin the Lights. The episode opens with the trio deciding whether to take a long way or the shortest way, though both are filled with unknown dangers. Of course, they’ll take the longer one first, then come back and pick the short one. Here they will face the Clickers before reaching their destination. After we got to the State House, the episode – just like the finale of the first one raised a lot of questions. That said, here’s everything about the end of The Last of Us Episode 2 explained.
The Last of Us Episode 2 Ending Explained
The Last of Us, by HBO, has finally done justice to the film and serial adaptations taken from video games. The genre can now wake up from hibernation and take a cue from The Last of Us, available on Sky and streaming on NOW. Video games are still a relatively young art form, and it took a while for them to reach their narrative potential. First and foremost, a game should entertain with its mechanics and gameplay, but titles like Silent Hill 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Red Dead Redemption and many others have also proven that they can tell fantastic stories. In 2013, the original game The Last of Us joined that list.
*This article contains spoilers from The Last of Us Episode 2*
What Happened to the State House Lights?
One of the first questions raised by the second episode finale is what happened to the Lights that should have taken Ellie out of Joel and Tess’s hands. When the trio reaches the building, they find empty trucks and barricades at the entrance. Upon entering, Luci’s entire squad was annihilated. Joel deduces that one of the groups has been bitten and has begun spreading the infection to his comrades. Eventually, the uninfected fought back, resulting in everyone dying. This affects Joel and Tess’ plan, who were counting on them to find Tommy.
When Was Tess Bitten?
During the episode, it is also revealed that Tess was bitten and infected with the parasite. However, the moment is not overtly shown, leading to questions as to when it happened. During the scene where Joel, Tess and Ellie are fighting two Clickers, there is a part where Tess is separated from the others, being chased by two infected. The episode focuses entirely on Joel and Ellie up until they manage to kill the Clicker, before Tess and the other ninth dead come back into the picture. Tess was likely bitten during this invisible segment, showing her bitterness and anger after exiting the museum. Unlike Ellie, she is not immune and reveals the bite to the State House after finding the dead Lights.
Why Does Tess Want Joel and Ellie’s Journey To Continue?
Tess’ bite and her reaction tie into why she begged Joel to go along on the trip with Ellie. While Joel was determined to give up now that the Lights and their means of reaching Tommy were gone, Tess seemed more confident than ever in helping Ellie reach her destination. The woman desperately starts looking for a radio or a map to find the destination of the Lights, before their untimely disappearance. When Joel angrily refuses, she reveals the bite and subsequently the reason for her newfound desperation to help Ellie.
Tess begs Joel to take Ellie to Bill and Frank, probably anticipating big things in the third episode (because of the foreboding song in the first). This scene is also very important in understanding her and Joel’s relationship: the end of this episode confirms that, although they have been intimate with each other, Joel’s past has prevented him from committing to Tess as she has done with him.
Who Are Bill and Frank? The Last of Us Episode 3 Setup Explained:
As mentioned, Tess begs Joel to take Ellie to Bill and Frank so they can accompany Ellie the rest of the way. The two have been foreshadowed in the show’s two episodes thus far. From the radio signal that allows Joel and Tess to communicate with them, to the hints in this final segment, the show is creating elements that will likely appear in the third episode. From what has been revealed so far, Bill – played by Nick Offerman – and Frank (Murray Bartlett) are business partners of Joel and Tess.
Since the two are smugglers, they use Bill and Frank as contacts outside the Boston quarantine area and can supply them with new things, revealed to Ellie that she discovered the radio code in the first episode and what is known about Bill from the games. Given the game’s timeline, it’s very likely that Bill and Frank will appear in episode 3 of The Last of Us.
