HBO has delivered The Last of Us, some ten years after the release of the classic, highly acclaimed game, and it is absolutely fantastic.
Craig Mazin’s The Last of Us brings Naughty Dog’s survival horror game to life on the smaller screen, putting an end to the gaming curse. While a film was approved as far back as 2014, it has since morphed into an HBO series.
The show features Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), an odd pair compelled to collaborate on a cross-country journey across America in the midst of a deadly monster fungus plague.

There is an opposing group you should be aware of: the Fireflies. Let’s take a look at who they are and why they’re significant.

If you’re attempting to “look for the light,” here’s all you need to learn about the Fireflies, what they’ve been working for, and what the bandit group has in store for the rest of season one.

The Fireflies

The Fireflies are an opposing rebel group in The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II, as well as a playable army in Splinter Cell: Multiplayer. They rose up against military persecution in a number of quarantine zones across the country, attempting to reestablish government rule. They were, however, mostly unsuccessful in their fight against FEDRA. Along with the Fireflies, ordinary residents from quarantine zones frequently rose up in response to food scarcity, military brutality, and Firefly incitement. When trying to compare the Fireflies to these unregistered rebels, the latter will usually have more numbers and be more vicious, but they will also be less coordinated and frantic.

The Fireflies, who emerge as an oppositional force to FEDRA’s martial law, are led by Marlene, who is portrayed by Merle Dandridge, who also played the character in the video game.

The Fireflies were established in the 2010s, though the timeframes in the show are separate, and their support grew after six of their members were put to death. Fast-forward to the Boston Quarantine Zone, where an underground uprising known as the Fireflies is taking place.

The phrase “When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light” is scribbled all over the walls. The Fireflies use the statement as a greeting.

Given her feisty personality, we learn Ellie’s loyalty is to the Fireflies when she gets a moth-like tattoo in The Last of Us Part II. According to Druckmann, it acknowledges the Fireflies and her past relationship with Joel, which is odd given what happened to Ellie with Marlene’s group.

 The Fireflies are the prominent adversaries in the first game. Because Ellie is resistant to the Cordyceps illness, Marlene assigns Joel and Tess the responsibility of transporting her across the United States to meet with other Fireflies and seek a cure.

The Death Of Marlene And Disbanding Of The Fireflies

Doctors told Marlene that they couldn’t retrieve Ellie’s fungus-infected brain without killing her as she was being taken away and prepared for surgery. Marlene grudgingly agreed, but when Joel found out about the procedure, he killed his security Ethan and headed to the surgery room, shooting the Fireflies in his path. When Jerry Anderson objected to letting Joel take Ellie, Joel killed him; the Fireflies tried in vain to capture him in the doctors’ area, but Joel escaped in an elevator.

When Joel escorted Ellie down to the parking lot, Marlene attacked him and tried to convince him to hand over Ellie since that is what Ellie would have wanted to do: save humanity and develop a vaccine.

Joel, however, killed Marlene because he thought she would only pursue them after he decided he would not lose Ellie.

Joel murdered Marlene, Ethan, and Jerry, and the other Fireflies were left feeling quite discouraged. A significant number of the remaining Fireflies lost all hope in the group and decided to legally disband, therefore terminating the original Fireflies’ status as a rebel militia after years of enduring recurrent military setbacks, the deaths of the Firefly leadership, and the failure to find a vaccine.

 Is FEDRA The Main Antagonist In Season 1 ?

Although it’s still early, it’s likely that FEDRA will be portrayed throughout The Last of Us as an unfriendly force, exactly like it is in the game. FEDRA, along with the Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control, is one of the last remaining government entities in the original source, where it is combined with the US military to oversee quarantine zones.
After the outbreak, FEDRA assumed control of the nation as the top authority and imposed martial law. However, due to raids and attacks by Fireflies, hunters, and the Washington Liberation Front, it had lost ownership of various places.

It appears to be the dominant organization in the series, with Boston’s Fireflies commander Marlene talking about their battles with FEDRA.

Neil Druckmann, the game’s director, guaranteed that The Last of Us would stay true to the video game, and we have already witnessed an accurate rendition of the game after only two episodes. Apart from Sarah Miller’s (Nico Parker) tragic arc, the second half of episode one transported us to the Boston quarantine zone to focus on the conflict involving FEDRA (the Federal Disaster Response Agency) and the Fireflies.