HBOThe Last of Us Season 2 Episode 3 sees Ellie and Dina travel from their town in Jackson, all the way to Seattle. Here’s how long that journey would take. Warning: spoilers ahead!
The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 2 featured the most shocking TV moment of the year, during which Abby tortured Joel, before killing him in cold blood.
Ellie witnesses the death, and is now hell-bent on revenge, so in Episode 3 – after recovering from her own injuries – she asks the people of Jackson to let her embark on a murderous mission.
It’s put to a vote, which Ellie loses. But local politics isn’t going to stop her, so under cover of night, she sets out on horseback with Dina, heading for where she believes Abby to be – Seattle.
The journey from Jackson to Seattle explained
Google MapsAccording to Google Maps, the journey from Jackson Hole in Wyoming to Seattle in Washington is 859 miles, which the site estimates would take 13 hours to drive, 3 days to cycle, and 312 hours to walk.
But that’s without a pandemic turning America into a terrifying wasteland, and following the release of The Last of Us Part 2 video game, a player took to Reddit to helpfully figure out how long it would take the characters in that universe.
“The distance is 629 miles as the crow flies and modern flight times are about 1h 45m, but a truly straight shot on land is quite unlikely considering the geography and their path passes through the Rocky Mountain range,” they wrote.
HBO“Based on the pace that Ellie and Dina were traveling in the opening of Seattle Day 1 we can assume a relatively leisurely pace of 20 miles per day. Assuming an efficient route of 700 miles at 20 miles per day on horseback brings us to a 35 day trip from Jackson to Seattle. A longer route, closer to that of the highway paths provided by Google, of 850 miles gives us a 43 day trip.
Related
“The shortest route possible, in theory, assuming they could ride their horses over mountains and over rivers, at about 630 miles would give a 32 day trip, and assuming the longest possible highway route we get a 47 day trip.”
So while Jackson to Seattle lasted just a few minutes onscreen, in reality, the journey would have taken at least a month, and maybe much more when you factor in that Ellie and Dina are riding the same horse.
But however long that journey took, they arrive in Seattle at the end of Episode 3, as the series builds towards a showdown between Ellie and Abby.
For more on The Last of Us, read about Dina’s fate in the games, learn more about Eugene’s importance in Season 2, and find out why some viewers stopped watching after Episode 2.