Marlene (HBO series)

Marlene is a supporting character and the final antagonist of the first season of HBO's The Last of Us. She is the leader of the in the post-apocalyptic that had been ravaged by the .Kit, Borys; Shanley, Patrick (March 5, 2020). "'The Last of Us' Series in the Works at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
== Biography ==
=== Background ===
==== Forming the Fireflies ====
Prior to 2003, Marlene grew up and formed a close friendship with . The pair became s of the in 2003. Over time, Marlene grew to hate how and the 's solution to dealing with the was to kill them and forgo all efforts to find a cure, leading her to form the , a militia group focused on curing the disease and fighting FEDRA's control of the zones. Support for her group expanded as civilians realized the military were more interested in oppressing rather than protecting non-infected survivors in their infected-free s, leading to a twenty-year-long war against the military. 
At some point, she recruited into her group, leading his brother, to despise her—the man claiming Marlene's actions harmed their relationship. She also came to know Joel's partner, and their capability in the post-pandemic world.
In either 2008 or 2009, Marlene and Anna were stationed at their safehouse just outside the Boston zone. However, Marlene and her patrol were delayed reaching the area. Upon arriving, Marlene found Anna in her room with a new born baby. Anna revealed she was infected but insisted her baby, named , did not have the infection. After a tearful conversation, Anna made Marlene promise her that she would care for Ellie. Marlene took the child but hesitated killing Anna. However, upon hearing her cries, Marlene returned to the room and executed Anna, crying shortly after at the death of her best friend.HBO's The Last of Us episode 9: "Look for the Light"
Knowing Ellie was ironically safest in FEDRA's care in an orphanage, Marlene placed her in the one run by Captain Kwong in the quarantine zone but ensured herself or Firefly soldiers kept an eye on her over the years. 
By the summer of 2023, Marlene's monitoring over Ellie led her to notice her friend . She admired the girl's skills in sneaking out of her orphanage and exploring Boston at night. She called out to the girl one night, expressing her interest in recruiting Riley into the Fireflies. Riley, upon admitting her disdain for FEDRA, agreed. Marlene subsequently ensured Riley obtained a gun and posted her at the mall in the city to make pipe bombs and commit hit-and-run bombings on FEDRA checkpoints. However, Marlene noticed Riley was missing Ellie and - fearing she would harm the girl's safety - arranged for her to be sent to a Firefly unit in the zone.HBO's The Last of Us episode 7: "Left Behind" 
Soon after, Ellie came to Marlene, revealing Riley ran away to tell her Marlene's plan for Riley and it led to the pair being infected with Cordyceps, and Ellie had to kill Riley. However, Ellie was actually immune to the infection, the only known human to be so. Realizing Ellie was the key to her group creating a cure, Marlene placed her with a Firefly unit in the city to monitor and confirm Ellie was immune. She also had Kim Tembo order the Boston contingent militia members to bomb military checkpoints in areas away from their hideout.HBO's The Last of Us episode 1: "When You're Lost in the Darkness"
=== Events of HBO's The Last of Us ===
==== Entrusting Ellie to Joel ====
In the summer of 2023, Marlene arranged a deal to secure a car battery from smuggler . She then returned to the apartment, interrupting Kim's meeting with other Firefly members. Kim, not knowing Ellie was immune, challenged Marlene's orders. Marlene reminded Kim that the Fireflies' goal was to restore democracy and freedom by waging war against FEDRA. She said the Fireflies have been fighting for twenty years and had gained no ground and explained that the last attack was to divert the military far from the building so all their members could group there and prepare to flee. She then revealed Ellie's immunity and the importance of getting her out to the State House beyond the zone.
Marlene then visited Ellie in her room, handing her backpack to her and sitting next to her. Ellie was upset, despite Marlene reminding her that she saved her life. Ellie allowed Marlene to unlock her from the chains, and asks if "it" is going to happen, to which Marlene said no. She then asked to be allowed to leave, to which Marlene also said no. Marlene revealed that she was responsible for Ellie's placement in the FEDRA military school immediately after her birth. Shocked, Ellie briefly contemplated whether Marlene might be her mother, and then she asked why a "terrorist" like Marlene would place her in FEDRA care. Marlene responded that she felt Ellie would be safest there, but was insulted by the "terrorist" remark, reminding Ellie about 's involvement with the Fireflies, and asked if she was a terrorist too. The tone became grim as Marlene told Ellie of the plan to leave Boston. Ellie questioned Marlene about why she was being smuggled, to which Marlene revealed that Ellie served a greater purpose, telling her about the Fireflies research facility out west. 
Later that day, Robert arrived with his henchmen to deliver the battery to Marlene. However, it did not actually work. A shootout ensued between the two groups, with Marlene being wounded in her abdomen during the gun fight. Soon after, smugglers Joel and Tess arrive, searching for the now deceased Robert. As Joel was about to say something to Marlene, Ellie lunged at him from the adjacent room with her knife but he subdued her. Marlene reacted harshly, ordering him to point his weapon at her, not Ellie. 
When Joel and Tess explain that they needed the battery, Marlene offered them a deal. As FEDRA would arrive soon to investigate the gunshots, and she and Kim were too injured escort Ellie, Marlene suggested Joel and Tess take her and promised to provide them whatever they wanted in return. Marlene offered a fully-fueled working truck, guns, and the supplies they needed to leave the zone and search for Tommy. After a brief moment of consultation, Tess and Joel agreed to the proposal. Ellie was not happy about it, but Marlene urged her to go.
==== Meeting Joel again and death ====
Over the next several months, Marlene and her remaining soldiers made it to Saint Mary's hospital. By the spring of 2024, Marlene was informed a patrol had found Joel and Ellie wandering the city. Once inside, Marlene confirmed who they were and had Joel kept on a ward while the group's doctors assessed Ellie. The head surgeon confirmed to Marlene that a mutation had occurred in Ellie, likely around the time she was born, that made her immune. He believed a successful surgery on her brain would enable him to create a vaccine. Though devastated as the operation would cause Ellie's death, Marlene gave him permission to proceed.
A while later, Joel regained consciousness and Marlene informed him of her decision. Despite Joel protesting, Marlene insisted her choice was final and ordered two of her soldiers to march Joel from the hospital, gifting one Ellie's switchblade and Joel's bag to return to him. She then watched as her guards marched him away. However, soon after, a radio call out revealed Joel had stolen a gun, killed his guards and was fighting his way to Ellie's position. Marlene moved to the parking lot beneath the city to cut Joel off his escape route.
When Joel arrived carrying the unconscious Ellie, Marlene came from her hiding place and held him at gun point. She argued that Joel could not protect Ellie forever therefore he should allow her to die a meaningful death of one saving humanity from Cordyceps. She then lowered her gun and approached him. Despite this, Joel decided he would prefer Ellie to live a meaningful life, choosing to shoot Marlene with his concealed pistol. Marlene collapsed, her gun flying from her grip. She writhed in pain on the floor until Joel approached her. She looked at him, begging he spare her. Joel replied that she would only chase him and Ellie, proceeding to execute Marlene with a bullet to the head.
== Appearance ==
Marlene was a woman of average height with long black hair tied back. She tended to wear a green tops with cargo pants fitted with a holster strapped to her right thigh for her pistol and boots. According to Riley, she looked like a woman aged between forty and fifty, which by post-apocalyptic standards was considered old.
== Personality ==
Marlene was defined by her intense idealism and leadership qualities. When the Cordyceps outbreak erupted, Marlene wanted the world to be restored to how it was before, setting out a plan to create a vaccine for the Cordyceps infection and wage a guerrilla war against the oppressive FEDRA to free the people from their perceived tyranny. Her passion inspired others to join her cause, leading her to create and lead the Fireflies. These followers, like Tommy and Kim, were fervently loyal to her, seeing in Marlene a true possibility to restore order in the world. Even teenagers admired her, like Riley.
However, some were not swayed by her ideals. For instance, several residents in Boston did not follow her group, viewing Marlene as a terrorist. Tess would characterise her as a violent revolutionary akin to Che Guevara and Joel would dismiss her efforts to create a vaccine as futile.
Despite the challenges she faced, Marlene's ideals to achieve a greater good for others could supersede her love for those dearest to her. Indeed, Marlene only tentatively cared for Ellie, placing her in a FEDRA school in Boston rather than raising the girl herself. Then, nearly fifteen years later, she would make the difficult choice to sacrifice Ellie on the chance a vaccine for Cordyceps could be made to save humanity from the infection, displaying her want to improve lives for the wider society out weighed her love for those she personally connected with.
== Relationships ==
=== Anna ===
Marlene and Anna were childhood friends, growing up together before the outbreak. The pair were incredibly close, spending the initial years of the apocalypse together and Anna even joined the Fireflies. When Anna fell pregnant, Marlene cared for her in their safehouse near Boston, regularly visiting her with her Firefly patrols. However, on the night of Ellie's birth, Marlene was delayed reaching Anna, leading to her facing an infected and contracting Cordyceps. The action impacted Marlene who was faced with her friend's inevitable death.
While initially reluctant to take Ellie from her, Marlene soon saw it her duty to honor her friend's dying wish, displaying incredible loyalty to her. She even executed Anna to spare her suffering becoming an infected even though the action emotionally devastated. 
Marlene felt that she owed it to Anna to look after her daughter, a promise that she kept until her decision to sacrifice Ellie in hopes of a vaccine. As such, she revealed that, when it came down to it, she would betray her promise to Anna to put her group's cause for the greater good first.
=== Joel ===
Joel knew Marlene as the leader of the Fireflies ever since his brother Tommy joined the militia group. Tommy's membership in the group created a rift between the two, with Joel heavily distrustful of the woman. Marlene reflected this distrust, abhorring the fact she had to rely on Joel to smuggle Ellie from Boston. However, when Joel did succeed in delivering Ellie to her, she applauded the man, insisting she owed him whatever he needed. 
Marlene felt a connection with Joel after his journey with Ellie, sensing that his bond with Ellie was similar to her own and understood that, as Ellie's surrogate parents, the decision to kill her to develop a vaccine was hard on them both. 
However, Marlene reluctantly decided to kill her while Joel attempted to save Ellie from that fate, demonstrating how different the pair's beliefs were; Marlene had always been about saving humanity no matter the cost despite how personal it became for her, while Joel had always been about keeping those he loved safe because he saw what remained of humanity as unworthy of saving. The clash of these juxtaposed philosophies culminated in Joel killing Marlene in fear that she would come after Ellie.
=== Ellie ===
Marlene treated Ellie as her surrogate daughter, following her friend Anna's dying wish, placing her in the Boston FEDRA school to ensure Ellie came to no harm from her association with the Fireflies. When meeting her fourteen years later, Marlene cared for the girl, ensuring her fellow Fireflies did not harm her and even personally provided her with her backpack and returned Anna's switchblade to her.
The pair were close enough that Ellie didn't want to part from her with Joel and Tess and felt a need to protect her when she saw Joel enter the room with a visibly wounded Marlene. Despite the affection she gained for Ellie, Marlene was still willing to sacrifice her in order to find a vaccine.
== Behind the scenes ==
* Marlene is portrayed by American actress and singer , who also provided the voice and motion capture for the same character in the video game series.Poster released by The Last of Us (@TheLastofUsHBO) on . Tweet. Retrieved November 30, 2022. This made her the first and only actor from the video game series to reprise their character in the television series until , who reprises his role as , joined in the second season.
** Dandridge revisited the game in preparation,Keane, Sean (January 6, 2023). "'The Last of Us' HBO Adaptation Goes Far Beyond the PlayStation Game". CNET. Retrieved January 15, 2023. and said she was consistently surprised by the physical elements on the show's set, having only portrayed Marlene within a motion capture stage and suit during the games.Deckelmeier, Joe (January 6, 2023). "Merle Dandridge Interview: The Last Of Us". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 15, 2023. She found the character had "a heavier stillness" in the show, which she attributed to the weight of living in the post-apocalyptic world.Melendez, Marcos (January 6, 2023). "The Last Of Us Actor Merle Dandridge Wanted To Revisit This Aspect Of Marlene In The HBO Series". /Film. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
== Quotes ==
:Anna: "How long have we known each other?"
:Marlene: "Our whole lives."
:Tess: "So this is who Robert screwed us over with? The Che Guevara of Boston. War must be going pretty shitty for you to be buying from scum bags like him."
:Marlene: "Yeah it kinda has been. The merch was bad and he obviously didn't take up offering it."
:Marlene: "I need it for a better reason than you do. No offence, but Tommy is just one man. It's our job to know things."
:Joel: "You're the cause of it. You turned my own brother against me!"
:Marlene: "We lost half our crew crossing the country. I had five men whose only job was to protect me and I still almost got killed. How did you do it?
:Joel: "It was all her. She fought like hell to get here."
:Marlene: She would have been dead on day one. You are the one person I never wanted to be in debt to. I owe you. We all owe you."
:Joel: "Find someone else."
:Marlene: "There is no one else. We didn't tell her, we didn't cause her any fear. There won't be any pain."
:Joel: "No, you take me to her. you take me to her right now! Please. You don't understand."
:Marlene: "I do. I was there when she was born Joel. I promised her mother that I would save her child. I promised. So I do understand. I'm the only one who understands. I'm sorry. I have no other choice."
:Joel: "I do."
== Gallery ==
=== Promotional images ===
Marlene HBO promo poster.jpeg|Promotional poster featuring Merle Dandridge as Marlene.
=== Official stills ===
S1E9 Marlene 1.jpg|Marlene carrying .
S1E9 Marlene 2.jpg|Marlene coddling Ellie in her arms.
S1E9 Marlene 3.jpg|Marlene shortly after executing .
Marlene injured TV.jpg|An injured Marlene in Boston
Marlene talking.jpg|Marlene talking to Kim Tembo.
S1E9 Marlene 6.jpg|Marlene in the ward in Saint Mary's hospital.
S1E9 Joel and Marlene 1.jpg|Marlene informs he found the .
S1E9 Marlene 4.jpg|Marlene aiming her gun at Joel.
S1E9 Marlene 5.jpg|Marlene offers Joel the chance to surrender Ellie.
=== Behind the scenes ===
S1E9 Marlene BTS 1.jpg
S1E9 Joel and Marlene BTS 1.jpg
== References ==
Category:HBO's The Last of Us characters
Category:Members of the Fireflies (HBO series)
Category:HBO's The Last of Us deceased characters