The first episode of the first season, it introduced Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) during the chaos of a global pandemic outbreak caused by a mutated form of the Cordyceps fungus that turns its victims into bloodthirsty attackers.

The episode received critical acclaim, with praise for its writing, direction, and performances of Pascal, Ramsey, Parker, and Torv.

Schoenheiss points out the impossibility of fungal infection in humans due to fungi's inability to survive body heat.

In 2003, in Austin, Texas, fourteen-year-old Sarah is awoken in the middle of the night and discovers her neighbors attacked by their relative, a once-senile elderly woman.

Twenty years later, in 2023, after the global pandemic of the Cordyceps fungi has destroyed human civilization, Joel lives in a military quarantine zone in Boston, Massachusetts, managed by the Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA).

Their leader, Marlene, reveals she placed Ellie into FEDRA military school as a child for her protection but now plans to transport her west.

Marlene begs Joel and Tess to take Ellie to the Massachusetts State House in exchange for supplies; they accept.

Joel, Tess, and Ellie enter a biological contamination area in Boston's commercial district to flee pursuing soldiers as the infected lurk in the distance.

[6] Johan Renck, Mazin's collaborator on Chernobyl, was announced as executive producer and director of the pilot episode in June 2020;[7] he dropped out by November due to scheduling conflicts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[8][9] He was replaced as director in January 2021 by Kantemir Balagov,[10] who had been interested in adapting the game for years and was set to direct the first few episodes.

[20]: 22:27  Mazin was initially worried by the suggestion and lamented the loss of some scenes, but trusted Bloys's instinct and ultimately felt it was the right decision.

Their original idea was to create their own version of an educational clip from the documentary series Planet Earth, which had inspired the game, but they found it boring.

[24] Druckmann was open to changing any aspects of the games but always wanted a strong reason,[25] ensuring he and Mazin considered the impacts on events later in the narrative.

The writers experimented with different reasons for Joel to leave Sarah in their house; they found Tommy being in jail allowed them to build the world and characters simultaneously.

[30] Ramsey was encouraged not to play the game after their audition to avoid replicating the original performance, instead watching some gameplay on YouTube to "get a sense of it".

[49] Stylist's Kayleigh Dray suggested the lyrics of "Tomorrow" foreshadowed Sarah's fate, while "White Flag" added a hopeful message, signifying Joel refusing to give up despite his struggles.

[53][65] Preparations in the town took place from July 5–12, including polling businesses and residents;[53][66] storefronts were changed to fit the show.

[29] Parker found filming the chase scene immersive and frightening due to the use of practical effects, allowing her to react in real-time.

[72][73] The crew looked at the Gaza Strip[24] and slums and council housing in England, France, and India for visual inspiration.

[75] The crew were granted a budget to reshoot scenes in the episode; additions included Tommy at breakfast and calling Joel from jail at night, which the writers felt allowed a better understanding of the character.

[76] Reshoots for Texas scenes took place in Olds in late May and early June, with several local businesses contracted to assist with construction and design;[77][78] a mural painted for the production, originally scheduled to be removed, was later approved to remain in the town.

The website's critical consensus called the episode "a haunting premiere that benefits immeasurably from Nico Parker's endearing contribution".

[101][102][103] GameSpot's Mark Delaney lauded Pascal's ability to stir emotions in portraying different sides of Joel before and after the outbreak.

[101] MovieWeb's Julian Roman praised Mazin and Druckmann's writing in the episode's opening act, particularly due to the intensity granted through Sarah's perspective.

[110] Den of Geek's Boo found the cold open contextualized the narrative in a meaningful manner;[101] IndieWire's Steve Greene called it "a deft bit of TV framing" to make the viewer both confident and anxious, though thought some of the rushed worldbuilding was awkward.

[106] Inverse's Dais Johnston felt expanding the game's prologue allowed viewers to more closely empathize with Sarah.

[114] Several critics praised Mazin's direction and Sereda's cinematography;[115][116] Total Film's Russell found the camera work from Sarah's perspective emphasized the narrative's "suffocating tone".

[102] Conversely, /Film's Valerie Ettenhofer felt the shaky handheld footage lessened the impact of the world's introduction and considered the episode the season's weakest.

[111] The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg called the episode "proficiently made" but found it "too familiar for [its] running time to sustain", noting it failed to reflect the video game's importance to new audiences.

[122] Parker was nominated for Outstanding Guest Performance in a Drama Series at the 7th Annual Black Reel Awards for Television.