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"The Suburbs" is the sixth chapter of The Last of Us. The player takes control of Joel Miller.

Characters[]

Plot[]

Sewers[]

Sewers section

Joel wakes up to find himself and Ellie alive on the riverbank, along with Sam and Henry. Henry is glad that Joel is okay though Joel is less than happy that the brothers left him and Ellie to die in the city. Henry manages to defuse the situation, saying that if the roles were reversed Joel would do the same, and that he saved them from drowning. Joel slowly acquiesces and the four go on their way. Along the beach they come across a ruined, weathered boat, as well as a note from Ish, one of the survivors after the outbreak.

The four find a large pipe, covered with a grill, located on the cliff side. Henry assures the group the sewer should go all the way through to the radio tower. Immediately the group reaches a fork as the pipe opens up into the sewer; Henry and Sam go left while Joel and Ellie head right. Joel and Ellie find a small area enclosed with a wire fence, and a blocked door. Joel pulls a grate off the left side of the wall for Ellie to crawl through, and open the door. Ellie then wonders if the others will join them to Tommy's. After exiting this area, they walk straight ahead to find the others who have found a path.

The four arrive in a room filled with water; Sam exclaims he cannot swim. Ellie points out the generator across the room while Henry notices an old platform on a motorized track. After a momentary detour to both open the gate, and to guide Ellie to the generator using a pallet, as well as an encounter with two sleeping clickers — Henry, Sam, and Joel are then brought to the other side.

Following the corridor, they arrive at a set of double doors painted like a castle in a very bright, cheery fashion. Upon opening it, Joel sets off a 'sound trap', which, according to Henry, is a type of alarm. The sewer appears to have once been a settlement. As a momentary reprieve, Ellie and Sam play with a discarded soccer ball, but then Henry gently warns Sam to 'keep it down'.

Soon, the group hears a herd of infected coming their way; they quickly dispatch them. Joel observes that since a clicker was part of the horde, the infected have been in the sewers for a while. Furthermore, in one of the many rooms, there are three skeletons covered by a tarp. Scrawled on the floor are the words, "they didn't suffer." Reading the accompanying note reveals one of the adult caretakers had killed the children, to avoid the possibility of them becoming runners. The room is filled with children's toys. (Later the player finds out that it was Kyle who shot the kids.)

Continuing on, they walk down a flight of stairs leading to an open space. The ceiling has fallen away on the left side, but is too high to reach. Joel goes to open the wire door on the right, but unknowingly triggers a safety door. It slams down, splitting the group into a parallel — Henry with Ellie, and Sam with Joel. They briefly talk before numerous clickers, alerted by the noise, chase away Henry and Ellie. Joel and Sam continue on, but not before dispatching a large group of stalkers.

They wind up in what could have been the main area of the survivors' hideaway. There were areas for anything and everything: sleeping, eating, washing, toileting, schooling, and storage. The little rooms all had small, different personalized touches. Reaching the far side, through what looked to be a nursery, Joel boosts Sam up a small wall to drop down a ladder. Running through a corridor to then drop down into another room, they regroup with Henry and Ellie — there is no time for pleasantries however, as they must flee from an incoming herd of infected.

They run into another area, and Joel slams the door shut and barricades it. When confronted with another blocked gate, Joel and Henry start to utilize their strength to try and force it open, before Sam crawls through a grate. Ignoring Henry's panicked shout, Sam quickly opens the gate. They run along the path ending up in a decrepit locker room, with their way out blocked from the outside. Henry boosts Ellie and Sam through a small window over the door, and stays to help Joel fend off the herd of infected. Soon Ellie shouts out that the door has been opened — Henry and Joel squeeze through and out. As the group revels in the fresh air, Sam points out a warning on the wall, declaring the fact that infected were inside.

Joel then asks how far the radio tower was; Henry replies that it was close. The group then walks down the path, where they see the radio tower in the distance.

Suburbs[]

Suburbs section

The group continues through the suburban neighborhood, noting the sights, and explaining long dead things to the kids. It's a general moment of respite, with the kids playing, exploring, and taking note of a Firefly insignia, indicating they had passed through. While trying to make their way through another part of the neighborhood to the radio tower, they are ambushed by a sniper who, taking refuge in a house down the street, takes potshots at the group. Joel readily volunteers to act as both distraction and subduer. Moving towards the sniper while simultaneously taking cover, and gunning down the sniper's allies, Joel reaches the house. He is taken by surprise when the sniper jumps him, shiv in hand — they briefly engage in a power struggle, before Joel gains the upper hand. Killing the sniper, he notices the group moving up the road, and moves to cover them via the mounted sniper rifle.

More hunters emerge from the woodwork, but are quickly dispatched by Joel. Unfortunately, the Humvee from Pittsburgh makes its appearance, rolling down the street towards Henry, Ellie, and Sam. Joel's shots are ineffective, until a hunter pops up to throw a Molotov at Henry and the kids. After Joel snipes him, the hunter drops the Molotov and it immolates the Humvee's interior. The vehicle then crashes into a nearby house.

The group seemingly safe and collected, are caught off guard when a few infected, attracted by the sounds of the recent fight, rush them and manage to tackle Sam and Henry to the ground. With help from Joel, they manage to kill them, before they caused any serious harm. Soon, an enormous herd of infected emerges in droves, prompting Joel and the others to slip out through a gap in the wooden fence behind the house, and they escape the Suburbs.

They finally arrive at the tower, and take a temporary reprieve. Henry and Joel bond over stories of Joel and Tommy renting a pair of Harleys to drive cross country. After Ellie excuses herself to visit Sam, who is taking inventory of the food they had found that day, Henry reluctantly faces the fact no one from his original group will come.

Meanwhile, Ellie and Sam converse about their fears, their accomplishments, and the existential possibility of an infected still being human, deep down. At first, Ellie uses humor to deflect Sam's probing queries, but eventually responds accordingly. Ellie admits she is afraid of being left alone, and Sam is scared of being infected. Sam tells Ellie that his brother once said, that the infected were no longer 'people'; that they've 'moved on'. Ellie agrees, telling Sam that that person is 'not in there anymore'. Before Ellie bids Sam goodnight, she remembers to give him the toy robot he was fiddling with back in Pittsburgh. With her parting words, 'if [Henry] doesn't know about it, he can't take it away,' she leaves for bed. After a moment, Sam drops the toy to the ground, and pulls up his pant leg to reveal an infected scratch.

The following morning, Ellie wakes up to Henry cooking breakfast. She asks where Sam is, and Henry replies that he let him sleep in 'for once'. Henry suggests she go wake him, and she readily agrees. However, moments after she enters the room she is attacked by Sam, who has turned overnight. Panicked, Joel searches his bag for his gun, but Henry deters him with a stray round from his own gun.

Henry hesitates, prompting Joel to reach for his weapon again. No sooner he does this than Henry shoots his brother in the head. Distraught over his actions, Henry blames either Joel or himself for what has happened to Sam and commits suicide, shooting himself in the head.

Walkthrough[]

Main article: The Suburbs/Walkthrough

Collectibles[]

"The Suburbs" contains the following eighteen collectibles:

#
Name Type Section Location
1
Antiparticles Comic "Sewers" Climb onto the deck of the wrecked fishing boat at the start of the chapter. Enter the bridge and the comic can be found inside on the console, next to an artifact.
2
Boat note Artifact "Sewers" Climb onto the deck of the wrecked fishing boat at the start of the chapter. Enter the bridge and the artifact can be found inside on the console, next to a comic.
3
Josh Scheffler Firefly pendant "Sewers" Drop through the hole in the fishing boat deck or cut through the big hole on the side. The pendant is at the bow on top of a pile of lobster cages and behind some netting.
4
Robert Righetti Firefly pendant "Sewers" Soon after entering the sewer, climb into the small water duct on the right side. Search in the water to the left for the pendant.
5
Sewers note Artifact "Sewers" After Ellie unlocks the storage room by crawling through a vent, enter the room and go to the far left corner. The note can be found on a table.
6
Eddie Fuentes Firefly pendant "Sewers" Once you reach the flooded room with the platform in the middle, turn left and jump into the water. Dive underwater and search next to the submerged car to find the pendant.
7
Trading note Artifact "Sewers" After knocking the pallet into the water, open the nearby door and enter the room with two clickers. The note can be found next to a mattress in the back of the room.
8
Bomb: Containment Training manual "Sewers" After entering the door protected by the sound trap and finding the shorty, search the shelves in the corridor straight ahead. The training manual can be found on the bottom shelf.
9
Rain catcher note Artifact "Sewers" After the group is ambushed by some runners and a clicker in the sewers, enter the utility room on the right. The note is found by some rain catchers on the table in the back.
10
Cornered note Artifact "Sewers" After the group is ambushed by some runners and a clicker in the sewers, ascend the stairs and enter the door on the left. The note sits on a bench near the corpses in the corner.
11
Kid's drawing Artifact "Sewers" As you pass through the sewer's nursery with Sam, search the bookcase next to the easel on the right side to find the drawing.
12
Looting note Artifact "Suburbs" Upon exiting the sewers, enter the first brick house and head to the second floor. In the back bedroom to the left, the note can be found on a bedside table by a lamp.
13
Melee: Techniques Training manual "Suburbs" Inside the brick house on the second street of the suburbs, go to the top of the stairs and pull the rope for the attic access. Boost Ellie into the attic and she will come back with the training manual.
14
Father's note Artifact "Suburbs" Inside the brick house on the second street of the suburbs, go to the second floor and enter the left bedroom. The note is found on a dresser inside.
15
Messenger Particle Comic "Suburbs" Enter the last house while exploring the suburbs and go to the second floor. In the first bedroom to the left, search inside the attached bathroom to find the comic sitting on the toilet.
16
Survivors note Artifact "Suburbs" Enter the last house while exploring the suburbs and go to the second floor. In the first bedroom to the left, the note can be found on the computer desk inside.
17
Matchbook Artifact "Suburbs" Enter the last house while exploring the suburbs and go to the third floor. The matchbook can be found on the computer desk at the top of the stairs.
18
Matthew White Firefly pendant "Suburbs" Go to the side yard of the last house while exploring the suburbs. The pendant is suspended in a tree above the swings near the playset. It needs to be shot or hit with a brick or bottle in order to get it down.

Transcript[]

Main article: The Suburbs/Transcript

Behind the scenes[]

  • It is impossible to immediately kill the runners that first surprise the group after the truck fight; they only become vulnerable after they grab Henry and Sam.
  • If Joel waits around the house with the attic and safe for long enough, Ellie and Sam will start a game of darts, which Joel can participate in. Interestingly, Sam and Ellie are better than Joel, proven by how Joel misses the board, hitting the wall while Ellie and Sam both hit the board twice.
  • When zoomed in on Ish's sewers note, he has written "These sewers seem pretty safe. Unlimited exits/entrances make it easier to defend." whereas if you press square, it says "Limited exits/entrances make it easier to defend".
  • In the George R. Stewart's novel Earth Abides, the protagonist Isherwood Williams teaches the youth of his surviving community just as the Ish in the sewers taught the kids who dwelt there with him.
  • The sniper is not actually on the rifle while it is firing - and the rifle doesn't turn much. It stays in place, while bullets fly sideways out of the barrel if Joel is too far to the left or right. If Joel reaches the snipers house at a precise point, the player will see the unmanned gun shoot, and (on occasion) hear him yelling, despite not manning the gun. When upstairs, if Joel looks carefully where the hunter is supposed to stand, they are not there, only appearing when Joel enters the room.
  • After coming out from the sewer, the player can enter Kyle's house (the first accessible house) and there is a photo of a woman holding a dog on one the shelves on the wall. The exact same photo can be seen in the chapters "Tommy's Dam" and "The University", on several locations.
  • If the player looks around the houses in the suburbs, they can see the same painting of a woman in a dress with her arms in the air in several houses.
  • In one of the rooms in the sewer, Ellie and Sam will come across a dilapidated set of soccer goal posts. If Joel waits around, Ellie will kick the ball to Sam, who saves it. Henry will intervene by telling them to be quiet and Sam will roll the ball away.

Gallery[]

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