The Last of Us is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success

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https://time.com/7273394/the-last-of...cond_number%7D

by
Eliana Dockterman
Correspondent

Spoilers for The Last of Us Part II video game and (potentially) HBO's The Last of Us Season 2

If you thought The Last of Us was dark, just wait for the sequel. The Last of Us Season 2, which debuts on April 13, is based on the lauded video game The Last of Us Part II, a story of the endless cycle of vengeance. The apocalyptic tale pits our hero Ellie not against the zombies that served as the frequent antagonists in the first game, but other people bent on destroying her and her surrogate father Joel. There's a lot of story to tell, and the TV series' creators have said they're splitting the story from The Last of Us Part II into at least two seasons.

The Last of Us—both the game and Season 1 of the HBO adaptation—ended with Joel successfully ushering Ellie, the only known person immune to zombie bites, across the United States to Salt Lake City where a rebel group called the Fireflies fights against the oppressive FEDRA, the federal response agency that has essentially imposed martial law across the country. The Fireflies planned to research Ellie. But upon reaching their destination, Joel realizes that Ellie will have to die in order for the doctors to create a cure for the zombie infection. He then rampages through the hospital to recover an unconscious Ellie, killing doctors, nurses, and Firefly freedom fighters along the way. When Ellie awakens she asks what happened, and Joel lies to her.

The sequel is set about five years in the future. Ellie and Joel have gone to Jackson, Wyoming, where Joel's brother lives in a sort of colony. Ellie is angry at Joel for reasons that don't become apparent until later in the story, though you can probably guess they have to do with the mystery surrounding their sudden departure from Salt Lake.

If you did play the video game and need a refresher on the major plot points—or didn't play the game but want to be mentally prepared for all the twists and turns, here's what happens in approximately the first half of The Last of Us Part II and could become plot points in the second season of the show.