| “ | When you're lost in the darkness, look for the light.
―The Fireflies' slogan.
|
” |
The Fireflies are a revolutionary militia group in HBO's The Last of Us. They revolted against military oppression in numerous quarantine zones around the United States, intending to restore democratic government control.[1]
History[]
Background[]
Prior to 2023, the Fireflies formed under the leadership of Marlene in response to the military's inadequate solutions to the problems brought on by the Cordyceps brain infection. FEDRA and the military designated them as a terrorist organization and openly hunted them in the quarantine zones, including Boston.[1] According to David, the group's violent clashes with FEDRA led to whole zones collapsing, such as in the Pittsburgh zone in 2017.[2]
The Fireflies did have other bases throughout the country. Most notably, they had one at Saint Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City, which acted as a major command base. They also took over the University of Eastern Colorado and adapted it into a research facility to find a cure for the Cordyceps brain infection. However, they abandoned it by the winter of 2023 to move to their Salt Lake City base.[3] Furthermore, there was a Firefly unit stationed in Atlanta.[4] The group also had a safe house in the woods outside of the Boston zone. It was here where Anna gave birth to Ellie and made Marlene swear to take care.[5]
At some point, Tommy Miller joined the group but eventually left. Tommy's involvement in the group was enough that his older brother Joel blamed the group and its leader Marlene for turning his own brother against him.[1] Riley also joined the group in the summer of 2023 and was stationed at the Liberty Gardens mall where she made pipe bombs to commit bombing attacks on FEDRA checkpoints.[4]
In the summer of 2023, in Boston, Ellie found her way to Marlene, revealing she had been bitten by infected but remained immune. Marlene consequently took her to her unit's hideout in the city.[1]
Events of HBO's The Last of Us[]
Taking refuge in an old hideout used by Miguel, Marlene and what remains of her unit kept a young girl whom they refer to as "Veronica" captive and subject to regular tests for Cordyceps infection. Kim Tembo, a senior Firefly, questioned Marlene as to why they are holding Veronica against her will and why Marlene had been ordering several seemingly pointless bombings and firefights against FEDRA throughout the Boston quarantine zone.
Sensing a hidden depth to the questioning, Marlene responded by asking Kim if she still believed in the Fireflies and their goal of overthrowing FEDRA and restoring democracy and freedom in America. Marlene then told her that if that was true, then they had to stop trying to liberate the quarantine zones since that strategy had not worked for twenty years and the Fireflies were at risk of becoming nothing more than "spray paint".
Marlene explained that the attacks had a purpose: using a map of the zone, she revealed that only one quadrant had not been targeted. Kim learned that with each attack, FEDRA became more distracted and disorganized, thereby enabling the Fireflies to carry out their real mission: escape from the quarantine zone and regroup with the rest of their allies in the abandoned Massachusetts State House. As to why the girl was present, Marlene handed over a note with a message confirming that she was immune to the Cordyceps infection. With this information, Kim agreed to do whatever it took to get her out of the quarantine zone.
Marlene then met with Veronica, returning her backpack to her. She explained that Veronica would not succumb to the Cordyceps infection, but that the Fireflies could not let her go. They needed to take her to their research facility out west. Marlene further reveals that she knows the girl's name is Ellie, and that she had placed Ellie at the FEDRA military school after her mother Anna's death.
One stumbling block remained as the Fireflies still need to finish repairing a repurposed FEDRA vehicle to transport Ellie. Marlene had arranged for a local smuggler named Robert to sell them a car battery. Robert arrived with his crew and asked to be paid immediately, not revealing that he conned Joel and his partner Tess out of the same battery. The battery turned out to be a dud. Marlene told him to leave and refused to pay the agreed-upon amount. In desperation, Robert tried to take the payment at gunpoint, setting off a close-range gunfight where he and his men were killed along with most of the Fireflies, with Marlene and Kim the only survivors.
Joel and Tess then arrived, having tracked down Robert. Ellie tried to attack Joel with her knife when she saw him sneaking up on Marlene. Joel subdued her, and after a short standoff, Marlene explained her situation and offers to pay Joel in whatever supplies he wanted if he and Tess agreed to take Ellie to the state house; with her bleeding out from a wound to her abdomen and Kim's right ear blown off, neither was in any condition to handle the job themselves. Joel accepted the offer, and he and Tess departed with Ellie while the two remaining Fireflies prepared to make their own escape.[1] However, unbeknownst to Marlene, the Fireflies at the state house had all succumbed to Cordyceps, meaning Joel and Tess were unable to hand over Ellie; Joel and Tess escaped while Tess used the fuel and grenades in the building to kill herself and all of the infected Fireflies.[6]
Over the next several months, Marlene and her remaining soldiers made it to Saint Mary's hospital. By 2024, a Firefly patrol noticed Joel and Ellie wandering near the hospital. They used a smoke grenade to disarm them, knocking Joel unconscious and taking him and Ellie to the hospital. Once inside, Marlene confirmed who they were and had Joel kept in 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, Marlene permitted him to proceed.
A while later, Joel regained consciousness and Marlene informed him of her decision. Despite Joel's protests, Marlene insisted her choice was final and ordered two of her soldiers to march Joel from the hospital, returning his backpack and Ellie's switchblade to him. Joel, however, did not want Ellie to die. While on a staircase, Joel attacked the guards, taking one's semi-automatic rifle and killing them with it. He then retrieved his bag and Ellie's switchblade and went on a rampage, slaughtering any Firefly that stood in his path to reach Ellie in the pediatric ward. Once there, he ordered the doctors to release Ellie. When the head surgeon resisted, Joel killed him. The nurses then released Ellie and Joel took her to the parking garage to escape.
Marlene confronted him at gunpoint. Despite her efforts, Joel refused to surrender Ellie, shooting Marlene with a hidden pistol. Once he secured Ellie in a vehicle, he returned to the wounded Marlene, executing her to ensure she could not regroup the decimated Fireflies and pursue him and Ellie.[5]
Known members[]
- Marlene (leader; deceased)
- Kim Tembo
- Anna (deceased)
- Tommy Miller (formerly)
- Riley (deceased)
- Unnamed sniper[1]
- Unnamed medic[1]
- Unnamed recruiter[1]
- Unnamed surgeon[5]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 HBO's The Last of Us episode 1: "When You're Lost in the Darkness"
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us episode 8: "When We Are in Need"
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us episode 6: "Kin"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 HBO's The Last of Us episode 7: "Left Behind"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 HBO's The Last of Us episode 9: "Look for the Light"
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us episode 2: "Infected"
