The Show (HBO)

 
The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO. 

Based on the 2013 video game developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set in 2023, twenty years into a global pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which forces its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. 

 

The series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States. 

Guest stars include Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah, Gabriel Luna as Joel's younger brother Tommy, Merle Dandridge as resistance leader Marlene, and Anna Torv as Joel's smuggler partner Tess.

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Joel Miller

 

Joel was a survivor in post-apocalyptic America that had been ravaged by the Cordyceps brain infection. After losing his only daughter Sarah in the early stages of the outbreak, Joel became a ruthless and cynical smuggler eventually tasked with smuggling and protecting Ellie Williams, a young girl who was the key to mankind's survival. Joel eventually formed a strong bond with her.

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Ellie Williams

Ellie grew up as an orphan in the Boston quarantine zone and attended a military preparatory school, where she met and befriended Riley Abel. When Ellie was fourteen, the pair were both infected with the Cordyceps brain infection, where Ellie discovered she was immune. 

A friend of her mother's and the leader of the Fireflies, Marlene, believed that she was the key to reverse engineering a vaccine. Marlene tasked Joel Miller, a smuggler, with escorting Ellie outside of the QZ. The simple drop-off turned into a year-long journey across America, and the two eventually formed a close bond. 

Upon reaching the Fireflies in Salt Lake City, Joel learned that only killing Ellie could create the cure. Refusing to allow this, he killed the head surgeon and escaped with Ellie to settle down in Jackson, his brother's community in Wyoming. For the next four years, Ellie came to resent Joel for saving her life. In 2038, Abby Anderson, a former Firefly and the surgeon's daughter, found and killed Joel. Ellie vowed revenge and pursued Abby to Seattle. 

Her efforts were fruitless, leading her to retire on a farm with her girlfriend Dina and her son JJ. Unable to forgive Abby, Ellie abandoned her family and pursued her once again to Santa Barbara, only to spare Abby in the end. She returned to Jackson once more, coming to terms with Joel's death and his decision to save her life. 

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