When You're Lost in the Darkness

"When You're Lost in the Darkness" is the series premiere and first episode of the first season, and the first episode overall, of HBO's The Last of Us. The episode was written by series creators and , the former of which also directed the episode. The episode aired on HBO on January 15, 2023.
== Synopsis ==
2003. As a parasitic fungal outbreak begins to ravage and the world, attempts to escape the escalating chaos with and . Twenty years later, a now hardened Joel and his partner fight to survive under a , while the insurgent harbor a with a unique gift."When You're Lost in the Darkness" at HBO. HBO. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
== Cast and characters ==
Main cast
* as 
* as 
Guest starring
* as 
* as Dr. Neuman
* as 
* as Murray
* as Dr. Schoenheiss
* as Danny Adler
* Marcia Bennett as Connie Adler
* as 
* as Abe
* as 
* as 
Co-starring
* Wendy Gorling as Nana
* Jessica Belbin as Mrs. Lauterstein
* Haysam Kadri as Nasir
* Sarah Himadeh as Tahira
* Caitlin Howden as Denise
* Max Montesi as Lee
* Natasha Mumba as Kim Tembo
* Jason Burkart as Knapp
* Gina Louise Phillips as medic
* Taylor St. Pierre as buzzcut
* Ryan D. Clarke as FEDRA soldier
* Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah as kind field soldier
* Logan Pierce as the boy
* Corina Akeson as sooty faced woman
* Andrea Greening as FEDRA officer
* Arran Henn as newscaster
Uncredited
* as Army soldier
* Bud Klasky as man being eaten
== Plot ==
=== 1968 ===
In 1968, a talk show segment hosted by Murray features two epidemiologists, one of whom is Dr. Neuman. They begin discussing the prospect of a global pandemic, and Dr. Neuman asserts his belief that humans will always overcome any potential threats. However, he makes an unusual claim that fungus will pose more of a threat to humankind than any other microorganism, since fungi tend to be psychoactively, as opposed to physiologically, pathogenic. He describes , a fungus that can take control of an ant's brain, kill the ant, and keep the ant from decomposing. His colleague, Dr. Schoenheiss, claims that this type of fungus is not known to affect humans. Dr. Neuman agrees but insinuates that global warming may force fungi to adapt to higher temperatures, by which a single genetic mutation in ascomycete, candida, ergot, aspergillus, or cordyceps would allow the fungi to invade the human brain and cause a global pandemic affecting billions of people. After an awkward silence, the talk show abruptly cuts to a commercial break.
=== Outbreak Day ===
On September 26th, 2003, in Austin, Texas, cooks breakfast for her father, . As they enjoy breakfast, , Joel's brother, joins them. In light of a construction project falling behind schedule, Joel and Tommy agree to work a double shift that day, in order to regain ground and maintain financial stability. Sarah is disheartened as she will be unable to celebrate her father's birthday with him. However, Joel mitigates the situation by pledging to bring home a cake that evening. Meanwhile, the news on the radio reports about an in Jakarta, Indonesia. Breakfast is cut short, and Sarah gets ready for school. She grabs $60 and a broken watch from Joel's room, and she plays with the blade of his knife. As Joel packs the car, Sarah makes a deal with her neighbor, Danny Adler, to come over after school and bake cookies with his wife, Connie Adler.
Near the end of the school day, Sarah notices one of her classmates has an odd arm twitch. After dismissal, she takes the bus to Lone Star Watch & Jewelry. Sarah is surprised at the jeweler-watchmaker Nasir's offer to fix her watch for only $20. As he fixes it, police cars can be seen speeding by the store, and Tahira walks in demanding that the store be closed. She returns the repaired watch to Sarah and ushers her out of the store.
Sarah arrives at the Adler household and questions Connie about the heightened presence of law enforcement in the city. Connie suggests it is a result of moral decay in the community and believes that people need to embrace Christianity as the solution. After baking cookies with Connie, Sarah works on homework while Connie feeds her mother, Nana, who seems to have a progressive form of dementia or aphasia, in the adjacent room. Connie leaves to take the cookies out of the oven, and Sarah enters the room with Nana, checking out Connie's DVD collection. As Sarah approaches Connie to ask if she can borrow one of Danny's DVDs, Curtis and Viper 2, she is unaware that in the other room, Nana is turning into one of the . Connie agrees to lend her a DVD, and Sarah mentions that she needs to leave soon as Joel will be back soon. Connie offers her some cookies as a snack before she goes. While walking out, she notices that the Adlers' dog, Mercy, is staring intently at Nana. On her way home, Sarah notices fighter jets flying overhead.
Joel comes home an hour late without a cake, much to Sarah's disappointment. However, she quickly cheers up and gives him his two birthday presents: a watch she had fixed for him and a copy of Curtis and Viper 2 from Danny Adler. The two watch the movie together on the couch, and Sarah falls asleep. As Joel watches the movie, he receives a phone call from Tommy who is in jail for assault and needs to be bailed out. He explains that he got into a fight defending a waitress at a bar, knocking a man out who was "". Joel, with a heavy heart, agrees to bail him out so he won't have to spend the weekend in jail. He carries a sleeping Sarah to her room, tucks her in, and leaves the house at 11:03 p.m.
At 2:16 a.m., Sarah is awakened by the sound of a helicopter. She gets up to find Joel missing, and turns on the TV to see the Emergency Alert System being broadcasted. She is startled when Mercy pounds against the window, and heads outside to comfort him. As she looks up, she sees a military helicopter in the sky. She tries to bring Mercy back to the Adler's, but he breaks his collar and runs away. 
Sarah walks into the Adlers to find Danny sitting against the kitchen wall, fatally injured and in shock. She sees an infected Nana biting a lifeless Connie's neck. Nana, with her tendrils fully exposed, notices Sarah and stares at her for a few seconds before chasing her outside. Just then, Joel and Tommy arrive, and Joel urges Sarah to get in the truck. Nana runs out of the house and trips on the doorstep, and they watch in awe as she crawls, then runs, toward Joel, who strikes her in the head with a pipe wrench. While Joel consoles a frantic Sarah, a transformer explodes in the distance, and Tommy urges them to get in the car. As they drive out of the neighborhood, Tommy runs over an infected Connie and sideswipes an infected Danny. Denise, another neighbor, runs outside, shocked that Joel would run over Connie, only for Danny to attack her.
While driving to an alternate highway, they pass multiple police officers, and Joel and Tommy attempt to calm a curious, yet stressed Sarah. They discuss rumors of it being a virus or parasite, the lack of communication systems, the possibility of a terrorist attack, and the chance that one of them may be sick. They see their friend 's farm engulfed in flames and pass a stranded family on the side of the road. Joel convinces Tommy not to stop. They try to merge onto the highway, avoiding contra-flow traffic, only to see that it is full of people trying to escape. They attempt to cut through a field to the west, only to see the Army has set up a huge blockade. Out of options, they head north to cut through a town, find a river, and pick up the highway on the other side of the blockade.
Tommy continues to race toward town and is suddenly astonished to see three passenger jets flying very low over them. His path is blocked by law enforcement vehicles, so Tommy detours through the heart of the town, which is saturated with panicked civilians and infected. Tommy feels uneasy about following Joel's suggestion to drive through civilians. As a large crowd runs out of a theater in front of them, the situation becomes more chaotic and Joel urges Tommy to reverse through the street. Suddenly, one of the passenger planes starts to fall from the sky behind them; Tommy quickly switches gears and drives forward. The plane crashes in the distance, sending debris flying into their truck. 
The truck is totaled, and Sarah sees an infected feeding nearby. Joel grabs Sarah, whose ankle is injured, and exits the truck, with Tommy exiting on the other side. A law enforcement vehicle collides with Tommy's truck, barricading Joel and Sarah in an alley and separating them from Tommy; they plan to regroup at the river. Since Sarah cannot run, Joel carries her through the burning town, stumbling upon a group of infected. One of them notices Joel and chases him into a diner. The runner thrashes through the kitchen, almost catching up to Joel in the field outside the diner, but it is unexpectedly shot in the head. Joel turns around to see a soldier aiming his gun at him. The soldier radios his superiors for instructions, notifying them of Sarah's ankle injury. He is told to kill Joel and Sarah. Joel tries to convince the soldier that neither of them are sick, but the soldier opens fire and they fall down a hill. Joel, only grazed by a bullet, is almost shot by the apologetic soldier, but Tommy kills the soldier and saves Joel. They then shift their attention toward Sarah, who was fatally shot in the abdomen and is hyperventilating. Joel attempts to move her, to no avail. He then tries to apply pressure to the wound and calm Sarah, who is in severe pain. He screams for Tommy to help, but Tommy knows it is too late. Sarah passes away in Joel's arms.
=== Twenty years later ===
20 years later, a dazed young boy stumbles through a forest, coming across a desolate and ravaged , Massachusetts. The child almost makes it to a processing center for the , before collapsing and being brought in by a few soldiers. He is rolled into a room, where infographics regarding the Cordyceps infection are posted on the wall. A sympathetic soldier asks the boy a few basic questions, including where he got his injury, to which the boy is non-responsive. Another soldier scans the boy with an unknown device, which then displays the color red. The soldier asks the boy if he would like some medicine and for them to make his favorite food, to which he nods "yes." As the other soldier injects the boy with a drug, she promises him new clothes, toys, and safety.
Afterward, Joel Miller, among other quarantine zone residents, are burning previously infected, deceased bodies. A truck arrives with more bodies to burn, and Joel and a woman move to unload it. Finding a child's body in the truck, the woman stops and tells Joel that she cannot bring herself to throw a child into the fire. Joel stoically does it himself, and the child is revealed to be the boy from earlier. Later, Joel is finishing his manual labor and collects payment from a foreman named Knapp. Joel asks if there are any other possible jobs for the day, and Knapp offers one of two jobs: street sweeping or sewer maintenance. Joel chooses sewer maintenance since it pays more.
The Boston quarantine zone is shown to be a functioning society, dictatorially run by the , controlled by . The soldiers impose a strict curfew, and the rooftops are constantly manned with snipers. Workers paint over graffiti resembling a firefly. Joel walks into an audience witnessing a public execution but discreetly retreats with a soldier on the side. The soldier, Lee, gives Joel a considerable sum of ration cards; Joel counts it and claims Lee is short $5. Lacking the money, Lee gives him a pack of cigarettes. In exchange, Joel gives Lee . Joel asks about the status of a vehicle he wants, and Lee says he has convinced everyone necessary for the acquisition. Lee asks for $600 for himself and the four accomplices and lets Joel know the vehicle is in bad condition. Joel leverages this and negotiates the price down. Lee warns Joel to stay off the streets due to violence from both an opposition group called the and sleep-deprived FEDRA soldiers.
Elsewhere in Boston, is held in a basement by and his men. Robert apologizes to Tess for ripping her off, having sold a car battery owed to Tess to someone else. Tess, sporting a swollen eye and bloody lip, says they can forget it ever happened, but Robert is still hesitant to release her. He fears reprisal from Joel when he sees Tess's injuries and learns about the car battery. Tess insists that Joel answers to her, and if she tells him to leave Robert alone he will. Robert is about to agree to release Tess when an explosion tears open the basement wall, killing one of Robert's men and allowing Tess to escape. She emerges onto the street amid blaring alarms, and sees the streets quickly flooded with FEDRA soldiers. A firefight breaks out between FEDRA and a rooftop shooter. Out of options, Tess surrenders to FEDRA and is detained, shouting that she is not a Firefly.
Meanwhile, a young girl is chained to the wall of a room. A medic walks in, attempting to give the girl a tray of food, which she kicks away. A woman asks the girl to perform a series of specific actions, to which the girl, calling herself "", impudently complies. Veronica warns them that FEDRA will come looking for her, and she pleads to be let out. The Firefly slogan is painted on the wall, indicating the Fireflies have kidnapped Veronica.
Joel visits Abe, who is working as a radio caller. Joel gives him the cigarettes, and Abe says that he hasn't heard anything back from Tommy, even with Gabriela or his elder son listening at night. Joel sent Tommy a message three weeks prior, and is insistent that it never took Tommy more than a day to respond previously. Joel presses for the location of Tommy's tower, and the man says it is in Wyoming. The man admits Joel is capable of handling himself, but he warns that a trip from Boston to Wyoming will likely be obstructed by the infected, raiders, slavers, and worse things he hears on the radio daily. The man begins marking the location on Joel's map, when Joel abruptly walks out, clearly annoyed.
Joel enters his apartment, shifts a dresser, and uncovers a hidden stash by removing some wooden floor tiles. He takes out a map and closely studies it while indulging in alcohol and drugs. it is revealed that he still wears the watch that Sarah had fixed for him. He dozes off but is abruptly awakened by a nightmare. Tess enters the room and joins him in bed.
In the morning, Joel is shocked to see Tess's injuries. Tess lies, claiming that she was simply jumped by a few 19-year-olds she provoked. Joel notices that the injuries are old, to which she admits she was being held captive by FEDRA for a day. Tess then comes clean and admits she was injured by Robert's men. She says that Robert sold their car battery to someone else. She tries to calm him, claiming they can either get the battery or the money back. Joel seeks the battery, since he is worried about Tommy and wishes to leave as soon as possible. Tess agrees to get the battery and the money, but she asks Joel to calm down before making a move to ensure a stealthy operation. After hashing out a plan, Joel pulls a gun out of the stash.
A woman walks into a Firefly meeting, where she is quickly pressed on the reason behind attacking FEDRA. The woman tells them to just follow orders. Her name is revealed to be , and she reiterates to the questioner, Kim Tembo, that the Fireflies' goal is to restore democracy and freedom by waging war against FEDRA. She says the Fireflies have been fighting for 20 years and have gained no ground. She reveals a new plan to distract FEDRA while the Fireflies rendezvous at a specific building and leave Boston, permanently. Kim asks why they are quitting, to which Marlene says the new plan is to smuggle Veronica somewhere out west. Marlene shows Kim a note containing a shocking message, and they come to an agreement.
As Joel watches Tess negotiate ration cards for intel on Robert's whereabouts, a man tells Joel that he looks a little lost, likely trying to gauge Joel's reaction to the phrase and assess if he is a member of the Fireflies or sympathetic to their cause. Joel threatens the man and leaves with Tess. Tess claims Robert is taking the battery to a red-tagged building formerly used by a man named Miguel. She suggests they go through the subway tunnel that night and enter the building from below, taking Robert by surprise.
=== Smuggling Ellie ===
Veronica attempts to break the chains when rainwater drips from the ceiling onto her face. Marlene then enters the room, handing Veronica's backpack to her, and sitting next to her. Veronica is still clearly upset, despite Marlene reminding her that she saved her life. Veronica allows Marlene to unlock her from the chains. Veronica asks if "it" is going to happen, to which Marlene says no. She then asks to leave, to which Marlene also says no. Marlene reveals that she knows Veronica's real name, Ellie, and that Marlene is responsible for Ellie's placement in the FEDRA military school immediately after her birth. Shocked, Ellie briefly contemplates whether Marlene is her mother, and then she asks why a "terrorist" like Marlene would place her in FEDRA care. Marlene responds that she felt Ellie would be safest there. Insulted by the "terrorist" remark, Marlene references 's involvement with the Fireflies. The tone becomes grim as Marlene tells Ellie of the plan to leave Boston. Ellie questions Marlene about why she is being smuggled, to which Marlene reveals that Ellie serves a greater purpose, telling her a secret that she says can never be revealed.
Joel and Tess enter the Haymarket North Extension and begin to traverse the tunnel. Tess is extremely frightened by a deceased infected whose fungus has grown into the walls. Joel suggests that whatever infected him may still be in the tunnel. Tess navigates them through the route until they reach a barricaded door leading to the desired building. Joel smells gunpowder, and blood pours off the sill of the door. Upon opening the door, they find a group of recently killed Fireflies, as well as the battery, which Tess deems non-functional. Turning a corner, Joel raises his gun and sneaks up to Marlene and Kim, both of whom are badly injured. 
All of a sudden, Ellie jumps out of her room brandishing a knife, and Joel knocks her into the wall. Marlene and Kim turn around, surprised to see him. When Ellie tries to retrieve her knife from underneath Joel's foot, he holds her at gunpoint, prompting Marlene and Kim to hold Joel at gunpoint. Marlene urges Joel to point his weapon at her instead of Ellie, and the women lower their weapons as Joel shifts to holding them at gunpoint. Marlene claims she needed the car battery to relocate Ellie but asserts neither she nor Kim are in any position to do so anymore. She proposes that Joel smuggle her, to which Kim, Ellie, and Joel immediately object. Marlene offers Joel and Tess a fully fueled truck, guns, and supplies if they smuggle Ellie to the statehouse. Upon briefly talking it over with Joel, Tess agrees to the plan. Ellie does not, but Marlene forces her to go. Joel, Tess, and Ellie walk briskly through the rainy streets.
The three reach Joel's apartment; Ellie eavesdrops on Joel and Tess as they discuss a contingency plan to head to and 's town, as well as a plan for Tess to scout the area ahead while Joel rests. Using this information, Ellie cracks a portion of a smuggling code, given to Joel by Bill and Frank, hidden in Joel's book: she deduces that 60s music implies no new information and 70s music implies a new message. When Joel enters, she asks who Bill and Frank are, and what 80s music implies. Joel, annoyed, ignores her questions and takes a nap on the couch. Ellie notes Joel's broken watch.
Joel wakes after nightfall. Ellie seeks confirmation of Joel's ability to handle the operation, and Joel questions Ellie's importance. Ellie claims that "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! had played on the radio while he slept, visibly worrying Joel. Ellie then reveals she lied to gauge his reaction to an 80s song playing on the radio and finishes cracking the smuggling code: 80s implies Bill and Frank are in trouble. Before Joel can reprimand her, Tess enters and says it is time to leave.
FEDRA patrols the streets, enforcing a curfew. Joel, Tess, and Ellie emerge from underground. The group discreetly makes their way through the apocalyptic rubble, ducking behind buildings and cars until they come across a urinating soldier. The soldier is startled when the group tries to sneak past him and it is revealed that the soldier is Lee, the man that Joel had bribed with drugs. Despite Joel's urges for compromise, Lee asserts his authority over them and insists on enacting the standard FEDRA response to escaping civilians. 
Tess attempts to negotiate but without success. Lee makes them kneel with their hands on their head and begins to scan them. As he scans Ellie, she stabs him in the leg with her knife. Quickly recovering, he holds Ellie at gunpoint, but Joel blocks him. The situation triggers Joel's PTSD, as it parallels the death of Sarah. As Lee advances, Joel lunges at him and pummels his face into the ground in a furious rage as Ellie watches, mesmerized. Tess then picks up the scanner which indicates that Ellie is infected. Ellie denies this and as Tess pleads with Joel, Ellie shows her the bite on her arm, saying she got it three weeks prior. Realizing the greater threat, the three of them decide to seek safety. Joel grabs Lee's assault rifle and they set off to navigate the unsettled ruins of a tempestuous Boston.
Meanwhile, in Joel's apartment, the radio begins playing "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode. Released in 1987, this implies that Bill and Frank are in trouble.
== Reception ==
The series premiere is the second largest debut for an HBO series since 2010, beaten only by 2022's . The episode drew in 4.7 million views on premiere night, the lowest of the entire series.LeBlanc, Wesley (January 17, 2023). "'The Last Of Us' Premiere Was HBO's Second Largest Debut Since 2010". Game Informer. Retrieved January 21, 2023. However, within the first 2 weeks of release, the episode surpassed 22 million viewers in the United States, reflecting the series' immense rise in popularity garnered by the episode's critical acclaim.Otterson, Joe (January 27, 2023). "'The Last of Us' Renewed for Season 2 at HBO" Variety.
The episode received high acclaim from numerous critics, who praised the episode's visual style, storytelling, and faithfulness to the heart of the opening of the original game. The episode was further commended for expanding on the opening, particularly with the exploration into the entire final day of Sarah's life before the outbreak. It currently holds a 9.1 rating out of 10 after accounting for over 109,000 reviews, the second most public reviews by viewers in the series."The Last of Us" episode 1: When You're Lost in the Darkness review count, IMDB, (Accessed October 23, 2023)
== Transcript ==
== Behind the scenes ==
=== Featured music ===
* "" by 
* "" by 
* "" by , plays from the radio in Joel's empty apartment, continuing into the end credits. An acoustic cover of the song by Jessica Mazin is later featured at the end of episode 6, "Kin".
=== Production ===
* The episode was originally planned to be directed by ,Galuppo, Mia (June 8, 2020). "'Chernobyl' Director Johan Renck to Helm 'The Last of Us' HBO Pilot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2023. but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts of the COVID-19 pandemic.Porter, Rick (November 20, 2020). "'The Last of Us' Series Gets HBO Greenlight". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2023. was named his successorKit, Borys (January 15, 2021). "'Last of Us' HBO Series Finds Its Director With 'Beanpole' Filmmaker (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2023. until he left the project due to creative differences.Vlessing, Etan (October 28, 2022). "Kantemir Balagov to Direct 'Butterfly Jam' for Square Peg, AR Content (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 18, 2023. Co-creator eventually took the helm as director.Deckelmeier, Joe (January 7, 2023). "Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann Interview: The Last Of Us". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
* The episode was originally written as two—the original first episode would have ended shortly after the twenty-year skip—which were combined as HBO executives felt the original first episode would not compel viewers to return the following week due to the limited screen time between and .HBO's The Last of Us Podcast episode 1: "When You're Lost in the Darkness"
* Co-creators Mazin and wrote additional scenes to expand the world and allow viewers to empathize with its characters, especially in order to imitate the game's opening sequence where players briefly play Sarah.
* The episode's lengthy car sequence was scripted as one take, and filmed at night across four weeks in Fort Macleod using hundreds of extras. A dune buggy was mounted to the top of the car, controlled by a stunt driver, while cinematographer Ksenia Sereda was stationed in the backseat, having full degree of movement during shooting. Due to the limited hours of darkness at night during summers in Alberta, the cast and crew would rehearse from 9:30 to around 11:30 p.m., and then shoot until 4:30 a.m. While the crashing plane was a visual effect, the explosion was mimicked on set by flashing a group of powerful lights at the camera. The cast and crew were instructed to not look directly at the light to avoid damaging their eyes.Romano, Nick (January 15, 2023). "How HBO's The Last of Us pulled off its first big shocker: 'An extreme Halloween Horror Nights'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 28, 2023.Bennett, Tara (January 15, 2023). "'THE LAST OF US' SHOWRUNNERS TAKE US INSIDE SERIES PREMIERE, BREAK DOWN CHANGES FROM THE VIDEO GAME." SyFy. Retrieved February 28, 2023. referred to the experience as like an "extreme ."
=== Easter eggs and references ===
* The first shot of 's room is of her curtains, mirroring the menu screen of the first game.
* In the background of Lone Star Watch & Jewelry, the shop Sarah goes to repair 's watch, one can see the eye symbol that is a part of Ellie's bracelet given to her by Dina in The Last of Us Part II.
* The movie Sarah borrows from her neighbors, the Adlers, is Curtis and Viper 2. This fictional film series was originally mentioned in The Last of Us Part II, where Ellie remarked to Dina that she and Joel had been watching the movies together.
* Tommy refers to the burning farmhouse as "'s place." This is a reference to Jimmy Cooper, the infected neighbor of the Millers from the original game who was replaced by the Adlers for this episode.
* During the driving sequence, the Millers are nearly t-boned by another car, only for it to narrowly stop in time. This is a reference to how the same sequence ended in the original game.
* According to production designer John Paino, the movie theater that people are seen pouring out of is playing Dawn of the Wolf, a Twilight parody that appears in the game. This detail cannot be spotted in the final episode, suggesting it was a set detail that did not make it on camera.Tangcay, Jazz (February 27, 2023). "Building the ‘Last of Us’ Mall: Production Designer Explains How They Made That Arcade, Carousel and More (EXCLUSIVE)." Variety. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
* When the screen goes black during the plane crash scene, the game-over sound effect from the game can be heard.
* When Sarah gets shot, her game counterpart's scream is reused.
* When the trio is spotted by Lee outside the quarantine zone, the getting spotted sound effect from the game can be heard.
* In the final shot of the episode, a can be seen on the roof of one of the buildings (the source of the ominous clicks before the blackout).
=== Mistakes ===
* As Sarah looks out of the window to see 's cityscapes, numerous vehicles that are made later than 2003, such as 4th Generation Ford Transit vans, a 2019 Jeep Cherokee, and a 2008 Ford Escape, can be briefly seen on the parking lot and the streets.
*The song playing in the background of the Lone Star Watch & Jewelry shop is "I Can't Believe You're Back" by Jad Mhanna, which was released in 2018, not before 2003.
* The bookshelf in the Adler residence contained several DVDs that Sarah looked through. Although the prologue is set in 2003, there are copies of , , and , which were released in 2005, 2009, and 2014, respectively.
* One of Joel and Sarah's neighbors has a posted in their front yard. The first Little Free Library wasn't built until 2009 by Todd Bol, as a tribute to his late mother.
== Gallery ==
=== Promotional images ===
HBO Max Nordic The Journey 1 large.jpg|"The Journey" graphic released by HBO Max Nordic.
HBO Max Nordic The Journey 1.jpg
=== Official stills ===
Joel flashlight TV.jpg|Joel with his flashlight.
Sarah and Joel talking TV.jpg|Joel consoles Sarah.
Marlene injured TV.jpg|Marlene, wounded, with Kim.
Tommy rifle TV.jpg|Tommy with his rifle.
Ellie and Tess talking TV.jpg|Tess asking Ellie if she is really immune.
Joel and Tess look at infected.jpg|Joel and Tess inspect a deceased infected.
Ellie and Tess behind cover.jpg|Tess hides with Ellie.
HBO Ep1 graffiti 1.jpg|The Fireflies slogan in Boston.
Joel and Tess.jpg|Joel and Tess prepare to enter the tunnels in Boston.
HBO Ep1 graffiti 2.jpg|The Fireflies slogan in Ellie's room.
Sarah school.jpg|Sarah at school.
Tommy rifle 2.jpg|Tommy in Austin during the outbreak.
Marlene talking.jpg|Marlene reveals her plan to Kim.
Sarah sprinkler.jpg|Sarah outside her home in Austin.
Joel shielding Ellie.jpg|Joel protects Ellie in Boston.
Infected HBO Series.jpg|An infected corpse fused to a wall in Boston.
Joel hands up.jpg|Joel is spotted by Lee.
Tess Joel and Ellie hiding.jpg|Joel, Ellie, and Tess hide from FEDRA search lights.
Boy infected.jpg|A boy infected in Boston.
Sarah watch.jpg|Sarah with Joel's watch.
Sarah looking.jpg|Sarah sees Nana's infected self.
Sarah walking backpack.jpg|Sarah walking in Austin.
Tommy rifle 3.jpg|Tommy with his rifle during the outbreak.
Bloodied Tommy 2.jpg|Tommy outside Joel's house during the outbreak.
Ellie chained up.jpg|Ellie chained to a wall in Boston.
Bloodied Tommy.jpg|A close-up of Tommy during the outbreak.
Rival Smugglers holding Tess hostage HBO.png|Tess held hostage in Robert's hideout.
Robert interrogates Tess.jpg|Robert interrogates Tess.
Tess bodies.jpg|Tess discover Robert's group is dead.
HBO Tess holding a scanner.jpg| holding a scanner.
HBO Tess checking Ellie's arm.jpg|Tess checking the bite on 's arm.
S1E1 Tess cover.jpg|Tess hides from the FEDRA and Firefly shootout.
S1E1 Tess survive explosion.jpg|Tess in the Boston streets.
=== Videos ===
A Father's Love – Building The Last of Us Episode 1
The Last of Us - Inside the Episode - 1 - HBO Max
Episode 1 - “When You’re Lost in the Darkness” - The Last of Us Podcast - HBO Max
== External links ==
* 
* 
* "When You're Lost in the Darkness" at 
== References ==
Category:HBO's The Last of Us episodes
es:Ep_1_Cuando_Estés_Perdido_en_la_Oscuridad
fr:When You're Lost in the Darkness