Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
Years after reaching Jackson, Joel and Ellie live in its settled community, but their bond is strained by Ellie’s doubts about his story of the Fireflies. On a winter patrol, Joel and Dina encounter Abby Anderson and her companions near an infected horde. Abby kills Joel in front of Ellie, then leaves Ellie alive. Back in Jackson, Ellie is determined to find Abby. After the town council rejects a posse, Ellie and Dina leave for Seattle on their own. Abby’s group belongs to the WLF, a militia at war with the Seraphites.
Ellie and Dina reach Seattle; Dina reveals she is pregnant, and Ellie shares her immunity. Jesse catches up with them and takes the wounded Dina back to the theatre while Ellie reaches the hospital. Nora confirms that Joel killed Abby’s father, a Firefly surgeon who planned to operate on Ellie. Ellie tortures Nora for Abby’s location and gets clues to a Ferris wheel and whale mural. At the theatre, Ellie tells Dina what she did and explains why Abby sought Joel. The next morning Ellie and Jesse leave to find Tommy, but she follows the clues to the aquarium instead. When Owen reaches for a gun, Ellie shoots him, and the bullet also wounds Mel. Ellie discovers Mel’s pregnancy too late to save her or the baby.
Abby finds them at the theatre, shoots Jesse in the face and holds Tommy at gunpoint. Ellie offers herself for Tommy. Abby reminds Ellie she spared her and fires; the episode cuts to black before revealing Ellie’s fate or the confrontation’s outcome. It then jumps to Seattle Day One: Abby wakes in the WLF stadium and is summoned by Isaac, shifting the perspective and leaving the confrontation unresolved.