The Last of Us - Game Script Summary

Overview

The Last of Us is a narrative-driven game that follows the journey of Joel and Ellie across a post-pandemic United States. The game is divided into different seasons, each representing a chapter in their journey.

Prologue - Hometown

• Setting: Texas
• Characters: Joel, Sarah (Joel's daughter), Tommy (Joel's brother)
• Plot: Joel arrives home late, has a brief interaction with his daughter Sarah who gives him a birthday present. They go to sleep, but are awakened by chaos outside due to an outbreak.
• Key Events:
  • Sarah wakes to news reports of riots linked to a pandemic.
  • The family attempts to escape, facing infected neighbors and widespread panic.
  • They encounter military intervention, leading to Sarah's tragic death in Joel's arms.

The Quarantine Zone - Spring

• Setting: 20 years later, in a quarantine zone.
• Characters: Joel, Tess (Joel's partner), Marlene (leader of the Fireflies)
• Plot: Joel and Tess are smugglers trying to survive in the strict quarantine zone.
• Key Events:
  • Tess is injured in a deal, revealing Robert's betrayal.
  • They hunt down and kill Robert, learning the Fireflies have their weapons.
  • Marlene offers a deal: smuggle Ellie out of the city in exchange for their stolen weapons.

The Outskirts - Summer

• Task: Joel and Tess are tasked with smuggling Ellie, who is immune to the infection.
• Plot: The trio navigates through dangerous city outskirts, evading soldiers and infected.
• Key Events:
  • Tess reveals she is infected and sacrifices herself to allow Joel and Ellie to escape.

Bill's Town - Summer

• Characters: Bill (Joel’s acquaintance who is a survivalist)
• Plot: Joel and Ellie seek out Bill for a car.
• Key Events:
  • Bill helps them gather parts for a car while navigating through a town filled with traps and infected.
  • They escape the town with a running vehicle.

Pittsburgh - Summer

• Plot: Joel and Ellie arrive in Pittsburgh, encountering hostile hunters.
• Key Events:
  • Struggle to survive attacks from hunters.
  • Meet Henry and Sam, fellow survivors.
  • Plan to escape the city together.

The Suburbs - Summer

• Plot: The group navigates through suburbs trying to avoid hunters.
• Key Events:
  • Sam gets infected, leading to tragic deaths of both Sam and Henry.
  • Joel and Ellie continue their journey alone.

Tommy’s Dam - Fall

• Setting: Tommy’s hydroelectric dam
• Characters: Tommy, Maria (Tommy's wife)
• Plot: Joel reunites with his brother Tommy, seeking his help to find the Fireflies.
• Key Events:
  • Tension arises between Joel and Ellie about their future.
  • Joel decides to stay with Ellie despite planning to leave her with Tommy.

The University - Fall

• Plot: Joel and Ellie reach the University of Eastern Colorado searching for the Fireflies.
• Key Events:
  • Discover the Fireflies have relocated.
  • Joel gets severely injured during an attack.

Lakeside Resort - Winter

• Setting: Snow-covered wilderness
• Plot: Ellie cares for a wounded Joel, scavenging for supplies.
• Key Events:
  • Encounters with a group of hostile survivors led by David.
  • Ellie is captured but manages to escape and kill David.
  • Joel recovers enough to save Ellie.

Bus Depot - Spring

• Setting: Salt Lake City
• Plot: Joel and Ellie reach the city, hoping to find the Fireflies.
• Key Events:
  • Survive through a flooded tunnel.
  • Joel and Ellie are captured by the Fireflies.

The Firefly Lab - Spring

• Setting: Hospital where Fireflies are based
• Plot: Joel learns that Ellie must die to create a cure.
• Key Events:
  • Joel rescues Ellie from surgery, killing Marlene in the process.
  • Lies to Ellie about the Fireflies abandoning the cure.

Epilogue - Jackson

• Setting: Near Tommy’s settlement
• Plot: Joel and Ellie make their final journey to Tommy’s community.
• Key Events:
  • They have a final conversation about trust and survival.
  • Joel lies again about the Fireflies.

Themes and Motifs

• Survival vs Humanity: Balancing survival instincts with moral dilemmas.
• Hope and Despair: Searching for hope in a world ravaged by despair.
• Parental Bonds: Joel’s evolving relationship with Ellie mirrors a father-daughter dynamic.
• Trust and Betrayal: Encounters with other survivors and groups paint a complex picture of trust in a hostile world.

This game script creates a richly detailed narrative that explores the depths of human emotion and moral ambiguity in a post-apocalyptic setting, accentuated by its dynamic character development and storytelling.