WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for The Last Of Us.
HBO’s The Last of Us series premiere included one small by key detail that made the entire show possible. Since premiering in January 2023, the acclaimed series based on the successful video game franchise of the same name has remained one of the best television shows of the year. The Last of Us season 1 follows Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) who form an unlikely duo that must travel through a post-apocalyptic United States after a horrific fungal outbreak called Cordyceps essentially takes over humanity and the world as we know it.
While the real-life fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which The Last of Us’s Cordyceps is based on, actually exists in nature, scientists believe that the “zombie ant-fungus” presents no current threat to humans. According to Medical News Today, Cordyceps is only specialized to infect ants and spiders and is unlikely to evolve to their point where it’s mind-controlling effects could work on people. However, in the fictional world of The Last Of Us, one critical decision made by Joel in the very first episode nearly changed the entire series by infecting him with Cordyceps from the beginning.
Joel Forgets Pancake Mix And A Birthday Cake In The Last Of Us Premiere
Joel’s forgetfulness in the first episode of The Last of Us actually turns out to be his saving grace in the series. Joel forgets to get pancake mix and a birthday cake during the first episode of the series, titled “When You’re Lost in the Darkness”. This seemingly mundane misstep from Joel is crucial because he later discovers that the Cordyceps virus was infecting people through the flour processing plant, which has been contaminated by the parasitical fungus. Joel also notably avoided other types of food products made with flour in the first episode, such as his neighbor’s biscuits.
Joel had originally intended to by the pancake mix that his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) was going to use to make him pancakes on the morning of his birthday. This occurs in the very first scene of The Last of Us in 2003 after the initial cautionary prologue of the Cordyceps virus set four decades earlier in the series premiere. Sarah makes him eggs instead, an act that would unknowingly save her father’s life. Joel admits that he’s not a big fan of pancakes, implying that Sarah might have eaten some herself and would have also gotten infected. In this light, Joel’s mistake saved both he and Sarah from getting infected.
Joel’s Forgetfulness Saved His Life In The Last Of Us Season 1
Joel’s forgetfulness to buy himself a birthday cake is also ironically a highly beneficial mistake despite initially appearing like he broke a promise to his daughter. As he and Sarah eat their birthday eggs in the kitchen in on of The Last of Us’s first scenes, Joel promises Sarah that he will return home from a double shift at work with a birthday cake so that they can still celebrate his birthday. It’s worth noting that Joel doesn’t seem too excited about turning another year older, which turns out to be a life-saving sentiment. His forgetfulness, as well as his reluctance to celebrate his birthday, turns out for the best.
The Cordyceps contaminated flour posed an immediate threat to anyone who ate any bread product or general baked good, including the cookies that Sarah’s neighbor Mrs. Adler offers her as she leaves their house during The Last of Us season 1, episode 1. It appears that a series of small disinterests in baked goods that day made all the difference for Joel and his daughter Sarah, until the end of the episode when Sarah’s tragic fate is revealed. Joel continued to live on after Sarah’s death, but as depicted in the rest of The Last of Us season 1, he would never be the same again.
The Last Of Us Couldn’t Happen Without Joel Surviving
Joel is an essential figure in The Last of Us season 1 and the show likely would not have been as compelling or intense without the conflicted nature of his character. Joel is very intriguing to watch due to his determination to survive without having much of a purpose for living after the death of his daughter Sarah. When he meets Ellie, a small glimpse of meaning in his life returns and is amplified by the sacrifice of Joel’s longtime partner Tess Servopoulos, making him the perfect candidate to get Ellie to a hospital out West with the hope of a cure. Ellie might have found another way to reach the Salt Lake City hospital in The Last Of Us season 1 finale, but doing it with Joel make the series as powerful as it is.
The Last Of Us
Based on the critically acclaimed video game The Last of Us developed by Naughty Dog, the story of the TV series takes place twenty years after a parasitic fungal infection wreaks havoc across the world that turns humans into zombie-like creatures. Joel (Pedro Pascal) agrees to smuggle a 14-year-old girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of a quarantine zone, only to discover she may be the key to discovering a cure. The Last of Us TV series is a collaborative effort between one of the original creators, Neil Druckmann, and the creator of the award-winning HBO series Chernobyl.
- Release Date
- January 15, 2023
- Seasons
- 1
- Season List
- Craig Mazin
