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"The Quarantine Zone" is the second chapter of The Last of Us Part I. The player takes control of Joel Miller.

Characters[]

Plot[]

20 Years Later[]

20 Years Later section

We return to find Joel twenty years later, where much of civilization has been destroyed by the infection. In the United States, civilians are residents of heavily-policed quarantine zones set up by FEDRA. Those living outside the zones are oftentimes desperate survivors who live alone, in small groups, or in independent settlements. Many of these survivors are hostile. Joel now lives in the Boston quarantine zone and makes his living as a smuggler, getting people, items, and weapons through the zone's walls, and appears to have built a ruthless and fearsome reputation for himself. He is woken up by Tess, his friend and business partner, who informs him that she was attacked by Robert's men, a local weapons dealer who is in debt with them. They decide to confront him in his warehouse. While walking to the checkpoint that they need to pass in order to reach their destination, Tess comments that the ration line hasn't opened yet, but people are already lining up due to shortages. The duo is also present as four civilians are dragged out of a nearby condemned building by soldiers in HAZMAT suits, who scan them to see if they are infected. The first two are found to be clean, but the third tests positive. Despite pleading that she isn't, she is lethally injected by a soldier, killing her. The fourth civilian attempts to escape, only to be shot dead.

Afterwards, the duo arrives at the checkpoint. As they are about to go through, a terrorist attack by a rebel group known as the Fireflies destroys a military vehicle. This causes the Army to close the checkpoint and order everyone in the area to get off the streets. This forces Joel and Tess to take a detour through a series of tunnels and the outside of the area.

Beyond the Wall[]

Beyond the Wall section

Joel and Tess go through a series of abandoned buildings and houses. In one of the houses, they are forced to put on their gas masks to avoid the infectious spores released by a dead infected. There, they also find a small group of people desperate to break into the zone. As Joel learns from an artifact in the area, they weren't there long before the spores infected most of them. They are all killed by the infected, except for one man who is still alive and trapped under a pile of rubble, with a tear in his mask. He begs Joel to kill him so he will not turn. Joel then has the option of shooting him or not. Eventually they find the entrance to the slums where Robert is hiding.

The Slums[]

The Slums section

Upon arriving, as Joel predicts, Robert is afraid and expecting them. The two bribe their way in to the Slums, walking past several black market stalls. A man offers Tess a bargain but she brushes him off. Another says hello to Tess, causing suspicion from his girlfriend. As Joel crosses past a fistfight, several spectators betting their ration cards, a guard tries to stop him. Just as Joel is about to fight him, Tess catches up, telling the man to sit down, to which he complies; having recognized Tess. The pair learn from another guard that Robert has returned to the wharf. They pursue him, killing his men that try to stop Tess and Joel from reaching him. They progress through a series of warehouses with many men patrolling the area, eventually reaching Robert.

The Cargo[]

The Cargo section

After a short pursuit, Robert is caught and reveals to Joel and Tess that he gave the guns he owed them to the Fireflies, to whom he was also in debt. He offers to go after them and get the weapons back, but Tess shoots him dead. As they decide what to do next, Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies appears, nursing a gunshot wound from an earlier skirmish with the military. She offers to give them the guns back and more, but only if they smuggle something to Boston's capitol building. After passing by more military patrols, she introduces them to a teenage girl named Ellie, the "cargo". Joel hesitates at first, but agrees to the job after Marlene shows Tess the guns, and they leave later that night.

Walkthrough[]

Main article: The Quarantine Zone/Walkthrough

Collectibles[]

"The Quarantine Zone" contains the following eleven collectibles:

#
Name Category Section Location
1
Boston Q.Z. map Artifact "Beyond the Wall" Once you pick up Joel's backpack for the first time, the artifact will already be inside.
2
Military pamphlet Artifact "Beyond the Wall" Once you pick up Joel's backpack for the first time, the artifact will already be inside.
3
Vigil's Firefly pendant Firefly pendant "Beyond the Wall" After climbing the ladder with Tess, head to the right into the bedroom with the Fireflies symbol and writing on the walls. The pendant is on the ground by the bedside table.
4
Note to brother Artifact "Beyond the Wall" After the first encounter with the infected, go up the stairs and turn left before dropping outside through the hole in the wall. The artifact is on a table in the room past the closed door.
5
Glueck's Firefly pendant Firefly pendant "Beyond the Wall" Suspended from a tree to the left after passing through the alley where Joel warned Tess to watch out for soldiers. It needs to be shot or hit with a throwable object in order to get it down.
6
Drafting notice Artifact "The Slums" After passing through the bus in the slums (where Malick confronts you), walk straight ahead in between a vendor to the left and a canopy to the right. The artifact is on the ground among a pile of papers.
7
Wanted poster Artifact "The Slums" After passing through a bus in the slums (where Malick confronts you), walk straight ahead to the fence with a man and woman leaning against it. The artifact is posted on the bulletin board to the left.
8
Warehouse key Artifact "The Slums" After Joel and Tess drop through a hole in a fence towards the wharf, four of Robert's smugglers appear. The last enemy defeated will drop the key, and is required to advance through the chapter.
9
Shipping manifest Artifact "The Slums" After arriving at the docks where Robert's men are patrolling, drop down go to the railing overlooking the water to the right. The note is behind the blue trash bin next to a fishing net.
10
Docks note Artifact "The Slums" After arriving at the docks where Robert's men are patrolling, go inside of the large warehouse where a fishing boat is hoisted up at the loading bay. On the right side, against the railing behind a blue trash bin, is the note.
11
Liu's Firefly pendant Firefly pendant "The Cargo" After being joined by Ellie, there are three dead Fireflies lying on the street. The pendant can be found on the far body, leaning against some newspaper vending machines.

Transcript[]

Main article: The Quarantine Zone/Transcript

Behind the scenes[]

  • During the start of the chapter, if the player walks directly up to one of the street guards, they will push Joel away and warn him not to do it again. If the player does not heed this warning and tries to get up in the personal space of the same soldier a second time, then Joel will be pushed to the floor and the guard will shoot him in the head. This is the only point in the game where a female character can kill Joel as some of the soldiers guarding the street are women.
  • In the slums, there is a young girl holding a giraffe toy. The giraffe is a recurring theme seen throughout the game.
  • As Joel and Tess chase Robert, he jumps out a window and can be heard struggling with a gate in the alley to the left. Beside the window, the player can pan the camera by it and peak out to the left. Doing so will reveal that Robert's model isn't actually there until the following cinematic starts by jumping through the window.
  • The ending cutscene foreshadows Joel's assault on the Firefly's base in Salt Lake City. Robert fatalistically declares they should fight the Fireflies, which Joel eventually does to save Ellie's life.
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