When did the apocalypse begin in The Last of Us?

"The Last of Us" tells the story of how a fungal virus ended up spreading across the world and destroying modern civilization. The production has become a real hit on HBO/HBO Max, but what many viewers question is how this disaster began. What was the trigger that turned the world into this dangerous dystopia? CineBuzz explains.

In the third episode of the first season, entitled "Long Long Time", Joel (Pedro Pascal) in a conversation with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) reveals the date and how the pandemic originated.

According to the character, it all started on September 26, 2023, and that the most likely theory of contamination by Cordyceps was through foods such as grains and flour. As we know, the series had already given hints about the origin of the pandemic in the second episode of the production, when it showed that the first infections occurred in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2003, in a flour and grain factory.

An interesting fact is that Indonesia has the largest flour mill in the world and is one of the largest exporters of flour and wheat. These raw materials are exported and imported around the world, due to the fact that we live in a globalized era, thus facilitating the spread of the fungus.

This explanation also clarifies why Joel, Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Sara (Nico Parker), were not infected in the first episode when the outbreak started in Texas. None of the characters, as is shown, consumed any type of food derived from these raw materials on the day and, consequently, were not contaminated.

The fact that the pandemic originated through flours and grains was already a known theory by fans of the series. Showing that the viewer is attentive to every detail of the plot, as well as demonstrating the strength of the script to build a narrative based on cinetific facts and true facts, further corroborating the "realism" of the production.