*WARNING: Spoilers ahead for The Last Of Us*
After anticipation for HBO’s The Last Of Us series has been building over the past few months, the first episode has finally arrived, delivering an enthrallingly tense and grounded opening chapter.
Episode 1 begins with an eerie prologue as the first signs of the cordyceps outbreak first begin to appear an unusually large number of emergency vehicles can be seen in the background as Joel and his daughter Sarah go about their lives.
During the prologue, young Sarah crosses paths with her neighbors and their dog, Mercy, and knowing the nature of The Last Of Us, fans wasted no time in asking whether the dog dies.
The Last Of Us prologue
Like the original game, The Last Of Us TV series opens with a prologue sequence that takes place 20 years before the timeline of the main story.
Set in 2003, the prologue follows Joel Miller and his daughter Sarah as they go about their busy lives in Austin, Texas as the first signs of the cordyceps outbreak start to emerge.
As an expansion on the game, we see Sarah interacting with her neighbors, the Adlers, and she pays them a visit after she gets home from school.
However, it’s clear that not everything is right with the elderly Nana as the Adlers’ dog Mercy starts acting strangely around her.
Does Mercy the dog die in The Last Of Us?
No, Mercy the dog does not die on screen in episode 1 of The Last Of Us.
As the cordyceps outbreak starts to take hold, Mercy the dog ends up pawing at the Millers’ window and Sarah goes out to investigate.
When she gets to her neighbors’ door, Mercy pulls back and eventually wriggles out of his collar before running off into the night.
This is the last we see of Mercy in episode 1 and as the rest of the story takes place 20 years after the prologue, it’s safe to say that he will have, at the very least, died of old age during the intervening years.
A close call with the Adlers
After Mercy bolts off into the wilderness, Sarah decides to investigate her neighbors’ house further, cautiously walking inside until she arrives at the kitchen and slips on a pool of blood.
Looking further into the kitchen, she sees Mr Adler with blood pouring from his neck after being bitten and another few steps inside reveal that the elderly Nana has become infected and is chowing down on Mrs Adler, who we met earlier.
Unsurprisingly, Sarah flees outside, only to have the zombie-like Nana follow her. Nana is moments away from attacking Sarah too until Joel arrives with his brother Tommy and beats the infected old lady to death with a pipe wrench.
The Last Of Us premiered on HBO and HBO Max in the US on Sunday, January 15, 2023, and followed a day later internationally, with UK viewers able to watch via Sky Atlantic and NOW.
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