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Gerald "Jerry" Anderson[fn 2] is a minor character in The Last of Us Part I and a supporting character in The Last of Us Part II. He was the father of Abby and the lead doctor among the Fireflies who was trying to find a cure for the Cordyceps brain infection.[3]
In April 2034, Jerry and Marlene decided to use the mutated fungal growth within Ellie Williams in an attempt to create a vaccine, and she was anesthetized in preparation for surgically removing her brain. However, Joel Miller interrupted the surgery and killed Jerry, and escaped the hospital with Ellie in his arms.
Quick Answers
What was Jerry Anderson's role among the Fireflies in The Last of Us?
What was Jerry Anderson's profession before the Cordyceps brain infection outbreak?
How is Jerry Anderson related to Abby in The Last of Us?
Where did Jerry Anderson receive his medical education?
Biography[]
Background[]
Prior to the Cordyceps brain infection outbreak, Jerry lived in Utah and attended the Northern Utah Medical University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology degree in 2007.[4] After the outbreak, he spent many years among the Fireflies under their leader Marlene attempting to find a cure. At some point, he had a daughter, Abby Anderson, and raised her as member of the Fireflies. Within the group, he also looked after people around Abby's age, such as Manny Alvarez, Owen Moore and Mel, who he began to train as an understudy. Jerry was also an avid coin collector, a trait his daughter soon picked up.[3]
Events of The Last of Us Part II[]
Jerry served with the doctors of the Fireflies and still resided at Salt Lake City by 2034, working as the head of the St. Mary's Hospital facility. On April 28th, Jerry was out scouting with his daughter Abby Anderson. He desired to train her how to track animals and wanted to help a pregnant zebra at the local zoo in Salt Lake City. Abby showed him a coin she had found, pleasing Jerry as he could add it to his coin collection.[3]
Abby and Jerry save a zebra.
The pair eventually found the zebra stuck in some wire. Jerry handed Abby wire cutters and held the Zebra in place so she could cut it free. Owen arrived, revealing Marlene wanted Jerry back at the hospital. Jerry ignored him though, telling him to help restrain the zebra. Owen obeyed and Abby successfully cut the zebra free. Jerry then chased after the zebra to make sure she found her new-born was alright. Owen then revealed that the smuggler Marlene had told them about had brought a girl apparently immune to the Cordyceps brain infection. A stunned Jerry returned to the hospital.
Marlene and Jerry discuss the morality of sacrificing Ellie.
Hours later, Jerry was in a meeting with his superior Marlene. To his surprise, Ellie was indeed immune and he believed, as the group's lead surgeon, that he could somehow create a vaccine by extracting the fungus on Ellie's brain, though it would kill her. Marlene protested, begging him to find another way. Jerry admitted he could not see one. Marlene challenged him further, questioning if he could kill his own daughter to create the cure. Jerry responded that finding a cure would make everything he and all the Fireflies, including those who died, worth it. Abby came in to bring her father food. Marlene, giving in, gave Jerry permission to start the surgery before storming out, insisting she was going to tell Joel because he had a right to know either way. Jerry, overwhelmed, sat back on the table. Abby comforted him, insisting, if it was indeed her he had to kill, that she would want him to if it meant the group's goal of creating a vaccine could be secured.[3]
Events of The Last of Us Part I[]
Jerry recorded himself before the surgery, recounting his previous studies of other infected, comparing both the similarities and differences between those others and Ellie, and expressing his hope that she would prove to the breakthrough necessary to preserve the future of humanity.[5]
Joel kills Jerry.
However, having forced his way through the hospital, Joel entered the room to prevent the surgery. Though Jerry attempted to stop Joel by threatening him with a scalpel, trying to make the man understanding how vital Ellie is, Joel killed him (much to the distress of another doctor, Kari) and fled the hospital with Ellie.[1]
Soon after, the bodies of Jerry and Marlene were found by the surviving Fireflies. Jerry was mourned by Owen, Manny, and Abby, the latter of which cried for his death and promised to get revenge by killing Joel.[3]
Dr. Anderson's death, alongside Marlene's, led the remaining Fireflies to conclude that creating a cure was now impossible, and the group soon disbanded.[4] Abby suffered recurring nightmares of finding her father's body. Abby would eventually avenge Jerry's death, alongside the death of the Fireflies' cause, four years later when she and her group (Owen, Mel, Manny, Nora, Jordan, Leah and Nick) finally found Joel in Jackson and killed him.[2]
Personality and traits[]
Jerry was a compassionate man and caring father. He had a great love of nature, an easygoing demeanor, and fully supported the Fireflies' cause.
Aside from his leadership, Jerry was a skilled doctor: based on an account from Mel, Jerry was the only person who could have developed a cure for the Cordyceps infection. Despite his love for nature, he was rather poor at gardening.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
- In Part I, the player is forced to kill Jerry to progress the game. Conseqeuently, they decide how Jerry dies. Getting close to Jerry will trigger a prompt which will result in Joel stabbing Jerry in his neck. Per Part II, it is revealed this is his canonical death given the lack of burns or bullet wounds to his corpse.
- Jerry's death was initially different to the final product; in an alternate ending, Joel was to hold him hostage in a cinematic cutscene as Marlene tried to dissuade Joel. Joel soon killed them both, the player not participating but merely watching the scene play out.[6]
- In 2025, Neil Druckmann confirmed Jerry and the Fireflies could have made a vaccine using Ellie, stating, "Our intent was yes they could. Now, is our science a little shaky now that people are questioning it? Yeah, it was a little shaky. [...] All I can say is, our intent is that they would have made a cure, that makes the most interesting philosophical question for what Joel does."[7]
Quotes[]
- Abby: "Well, I mean, I found you."
- Jerry: "Yeah, but you cheated."
- Abby: ""You do what you need to do to get it done""
- Jerry: "Wow. You actually listen."
- Marlene: "You're okay with killing her?"
- Jerry: "No, I'm okay with developing a vaccine that'll help save millions of lives. How many Fireflies have died for less?"
- Marlene: "That was their choice."
- Jerry: "Everything that we've been fighting for, all the sacrifices, all the horrific… All of that is justified with this one act."
- Jerry: "After years of wandering in circles, we're about to come home, make a difference, and bring the human race back into control of its own destiny. All of our sacrifices and the hundreds of men and women who've bled for this cause, or worse, will not be in vain.
- Jerry: "I won't let you take her. This is our future, think of all the lives we'll save."
Gallery[]
The Last of Us[]
The Last of Us Part II[]
Appearances[]
- The Last of Us (2013)
- Act 11: "The Firefly Lab"
- Chapter 28: "The Hospital" (first appearance)
- Act 11: "The Firefly Lab"
- The Last of Us: One Night Live
- The Last of Us Remastered
- The Last of Us Part II
- Act 1: "Jackson"
- Chapter 1: "Prologue" (flashback)
- Act 3: "Seattle Day 2"
- Chapter 19: "St. Mary's Hospital" (mentioned only)
- Act 5: "The Park"
- Chapter 23: "Tracking Lesson" (flashback)
- Act 6: "Seattle Day 1"
- Chapter 25: "On Foot" (indirectly mentioned)
- Act 1: "Jackson"
- The Last of Us Part I
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered
Notes[]
- ↑ Jerry was briefly depicted in The Last of Us: One Night Live, though was portrayed by Annie Wersching, who originally portrayed Tess, not the original motion capture actor due to them being unable to appear.
- ↑ Jerry's actual name is Gerald, as seen on a certificate in his office at St. Mary's Hospital when Ellie goes there.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Firefly Lab"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Jackson"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Seattle Day 1"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Seattle Day 2"
- ↑ Surgeon's recorder
- ↑ The Last of Us - An alternate ending, YouTube. Accessed July, 2018.
- ↑ Reddit: Neil debunks the cure viability debate once & for all
