Episode 2: Infected

The second episode of “The Last of Us” jumps back in time to 2003 in Jakarta, Indonesia, with Mycology Professor Ibu Ratna being taken by the Indonesian government to examine a body that was recently infected and killed by a fungus. 

A government official explained to Dr. Ratna what had transpired leading up to the death of that person after her examination of the body. The body was of a flour and grain factory worker. The worker had suddenly become rabid and bit the other workers in the factory and attacked the cops, ending with the worker shot and killed.

In an eerie speech, Dr. Ratna explained that she has studied fungi her entire life and in her professional opinion, there is absolutely no cure for this. The worried government official asked what was there to be done. She simply said, “Bomb. Start bombing. Bomb this city and everyone in it.”

The show then jumps back to 2023 and the adventure of Joel, Tess, and Ellie. After the group had successfully escaped the QZ and had begun their trek westward, they arrived in a ruined Boston. Boston was home to many infected people and  would serve as the group’s first real trial with zombies.

As the group continues to travel, they come upon a museum which they must go through in order to reach their destination. They found dead fungi on the outside of the museum and assumed there were no infected inside because of this. They were dead wrong. 

As they enter, Ellie stumbles upon a freshly deceased human. This puts them all on high alert because it meant that there actually were zombies in the museum. As they silently make their way through the creepy museum, they have their first encounter. 

The zombies in this museum are not like the regular kind, they are called “clickers.” This is made known by the video game, and is not clearly stated in the second episode of the show. These zombies make horrible clicking noises and look even more taken over by the fungus, as their heads are about 50% mushroom.

Luckily, Ellie is traveling with two zombie killing experts, Joel and Tess. The two use their expertise to get out of the museum after a scuffle with around four or five clickers. The thing about these mushroom zombies is that they are all connected. If one finds you or is killed, it alerts all of the zombies connected to them. 

Some have no other zombies connected to them and others have hundreds. The entire reason the group went through the museum and not the faster way was because there was a group of about 100 zombies in their way just out on the street. Unfortunately, the zombies in the museum were connected to those 100 zombies. The group was alerted of this when they heard a cacophony of screams from far away. 

The group bolts across a field of grass to a different building to hide, but the zombies are still heading their direction. They are confused as to how they know where they are, when Tess suddenly reveals she got infected in the museum.

Luckily, there were barrels of oil and a few grenades in the building they were in, the group decided that Tess would stay behind and blow up the zombies and the others would make a run for it. Joel and Ellie sprint out of the building spilling as many oil barrels as they could.

As Tess begins to try and set the oil on fire with her lighter, the zombies storm the building looking for her. One of the zombies who found her, walked up to her and in one of the most disgusting scenes so far, opens its mouth to reveal a plethora of mushrooms reaching out. 

As the zombie gives Tess the most horrific kiss ever, she is finally able to light her lighter and set the oil coating the floor on fire. Joel and Ellie are shown running through the grass as the building explodes. They look back saddened by the fact they just lost their comrade, but know that they have a mission and have to carry on no matter the cost. 

This episode leaves the audience with the feeling that this world they are in is more brutal than we could have ever imagined. I think next episode it will be even more evident. There will probably be a lot of fighting between Joel and Ellie due to their sadness and frustration with their loss. 

The group will probably continue their trek westward but I think more than anything, there will be a paradigm shift. I believe that the main enemy will be the military rather than the zombies in the next episode. I am sure they will encounter zombies, but it seems the military has a greater influence in this story than we think.