{"id":209409,"date":"2023-01-16T18:59:46","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=209409"},"modified":"2025-07-01T20:10:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T03:10:44","slug":"the-last-of-us-recapped-episode-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/the-last-of-us-recapped-episode-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last of Us TV Show Timeline: When Did the Outbreak Start?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a very different type of article, but we\u2019re super excited to share it. This article is rated S for spoilers, as we\u2019ll be taking a look at the first episode of The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/disaster-strikes-hbo-max-the-last-of-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Last of Us released recently on HBO Max<\/a>. If you aren\u2019t aware, there were so many people trying to watch episode one when it dropped that the <a href=\"https:\/\/hbo-max.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HBO Max<\/a> servers actually crashed. However, this isn\u2019t that story. This is the story of the first episode of The Last of Us.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Last of Us | Official Trailer | HBO Max\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uLtkt8BonwM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The show takes place in three main time periods, 1968, 2003, and 2023. We\u2019ll review the show as such, and, again, this article will contain tons of spoilers. So, if you haven\u2019t seen the show yet and don\u2019t want the first episode ruined, watch it first. Although, if you haven\u2019t been able to due to HBO Max and it\u2019s temperamental nature where this show is concerned, read on. Wink, wink.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/Mc4X9NwvBEBag8prmStiAk.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1968<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The cold open of the show is set in 1968.<\/li><li>It depicts a scene from an intellectual talk show interview with two scientists.<\/li><li>One of the scientists is worried about a fungal infection that could cause a pandemic.<\/li><li>The fungus depicted in the show can infect humans and causes them to fall into a deranged state, eventually consuming them from the inside out.<\/li><li>The scientist mentions that such a fungal infection would be unable to survive in the human body but becomes possible if the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/4-apps-to-learn-more-about-climate-change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">earth becomes warmer<\/a>.<\/li><li>The audience is left tense and aware of the potential danger of such an outbreak.<\/li><li>The scene takes place during the era when the scientific community first started exploring the possibility of disasters due to climate change.<\/li><li>The show is a fictional horror, but it&#8217;s based on realistic horrors that we face each day.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2003<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The story picks up in 2003, presumably the year when the earth reached the temperature at which a fungal infection could wreak havoc within the human body and society.<\/li><li>The episode introduces the characters of Joel and his daughter Sarah.<\/li><li>The episode is presented from Sarah&#8217;s point of view and takes place on Joel&#8217;s birthday.<\/li><li>One critical moment is where Sarah decides to have her father\u2019s favorite watch repaired for his birthday.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Sarah and Joel&#8217;s neighbors, the Adlers, are killed by Mrs Adler&#8217;s mother who has undergone some sort of transformation.<\/li><li>Sarah, Joel, and his brother try to escape the area, but Sarah is killed by military enforcement while trying to reach safety.<\/li><li>This part of the story highlights that even <a href=\"https:\/\/zombie-apocalypse.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in an apocalypse<\/a>, humans are the biggest threat to humanity.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2023<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The story now jumps forward to a post-apocalyptic Boston, 20 years after the outbreak of the pandemic.<\/li><li>A camp has been set up by the disaster relief agency FEDRA, where soldiers maintain order. There is also a rebel group called the Fireflies who are actively fighting against FEDRA.<\/li><li>Joel is now a smuggler who helps people get supplies and has a life partner, Tess.<\/li><li>He still wears a watch that his daughter Sarah got fixed for him, representing the moment she died and symbolizing his inability to move on. The watch is still cracked from the bullet that killed Sarah.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Tess and Joel are trying to find Joel&#8217;s brother Tommy, who is still alive but missing.<\/li><li>They come across Ellie, who is being held captive by the Fireflies for an unclear reason.<\/li><li>Ellie is unique as she has been infected by the fungus but has not become sick or transformed, making her a medical miracle.<\/li><li>Marlene, leader of the Fireflies, wants to bring Ellie out west to study her unique condition and offers her to Joel as a smuggling job.<\/li><li>Joel is reluctant but Tess convinces him to take on the job and they set off on their journey.<\/li><li>Ellie sees their home and the signaling system they have set up with friends Bill and Frank.<\/li><li>The relationship between Joel and Ellie mirrors the trope of the reluctant guardian, similar to Hopper and Eleven&#8217;s dynamic in Stranger Things.<\/li><li>Joel will have to make several moral decisions throughout the course of the show, starting with his decision not to help a family with a child in 2003 and the decision to smuggle Ellie out of the <a href=\"https:\/\/international-phonetic-alphabets-military-nato.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">military zone<\/a>.<\/li><li>The episode ends with a crucial moment when Joel runs into a soldier he had sold pills to earlier in the episode.<\/li><li>Joel doesn&#8217;t know Ellie yet, but when faced with a similar situation that cost his daughter&#8217;s life, he acts instinctively.<\/li><li>He lunges at the soldier, fueled by 20 years of pent up rage.<\/li><li>Ellie&#8217;s initial joy turns into fear as she witnesses Joel&#8217;s violence.<\/li><li>Joel gets up and continues on with his life, but the soldier does not survive.<\/li><li>The episode ends with the heroes continuing their journey on the road, and the camera cuts back to Joel&#8217;s radio as &#8220;Never Let Me Down Again&#8221; by Depeche Mode begins to play, signaling trouble from Joel&#8217;s smuggler friends.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s that. I hope you\u2019ve enjoyed this dramatic retelling of the first episode of The Last of Us. We\u2019ll be back again next week with more news about the series and how it progresses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And now, enjoy what is coming on the following weeks and check some fans reacting to the first episode:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Weeks Ahead Trailer | The Last of Us | HBO Max\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E5tSO9aR2Ds?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TheLastOfUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TheLastOfUs<\/a> HBO show is hands down the best video game adaptation I\u2019ve ever seen. Fuckin\u2019 nailed it.<\/p>&mdash; Trevor Richards (@trevor_sr) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trevor_sr\/status\/1614841506010906624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Okay, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TheLastOfUsHBO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TheLastOfUsHBO<\/a> is as good as every said and more. Wow.<\/p>&mdash; Josh Gad (@joshgad) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joshgad\/status\/1614837070413058048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TheLastOfUs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TheLastOfUs<\/a> may have just dropped one of the best premieres I\u2019ve seen in years. With the same gripping tension of the video game balanced with dramatically satisfying characters and impeccable narrative pacing, it expands on the world while being faithful to its tone. I\u2019m sat. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/arhCnVzNH7\">pic.twitter.com\/arhCnVzNH7<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Karl Delossantos (@karl_delo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/karl_delo\/status\/1614825209072177152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a very different type of article, but we\u2019re super excited to share it. This article is rated S for spoilers, as we\u2019ll be taking a look at the first episode of The Last of Us released recently on HBO Max. If you aren\u2019t aware, there were so many people trying to watch episode &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/the-last-of-us-recapped-episode-1\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Last of Us TV Show Timeline: When Did the Outbreak Start?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9222,"featured_media":209468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[3774],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-209409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-the-last-of-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322594,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209409\/revisions\/322594"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209409"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=209409"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=209409"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=209409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}