Numerous video games revolving around zombies and the apocalypse have come and gone, but one has maintained a steady fan base since its release. I am talking about The Last of Us, and what made this game (and now, an HBO TV show) so appealing are the real-world concepts it uses to create an apocalypse. Instead of using a failed science experiment or something similar, the infected zombies in this series are the byproduct of the Cordyceps fungus, which has been beautifully incorporated in the The Last of Us game and TV show.
Since the concept of zombies, referred to as infected in The Last of Us, is different, the way they function and evolve is also different here. So, let me tell you about the various infected zombie types that Joel and Ellie face, along with their transformation stages, in The Last of Us video game and TV series.
1. Runners
- infected for two days or less
- fungus has reached the brain and taken control
Runners is the first stage of the Cordyceps fungues infection. In this stage, the fungus reaches its host’s brain and starts taking control of it. The fungus takes over their body, and even though they retain most of their human features, we start seeing fungal growth on their skin, primarily on the face.
Furthermore, the eyes are the first sensory organ to take significant damage due to the fungus, thus, rendering the Runners almost blind. This is the most common form of infected seen in The Last of Us. Runners are the infected zombies that Joel first encountered with his daughter, Sarah, when the outbreak happened.
2. Stalker
- infected for around two weeks to one year
- most dangerous variant of the infected zombies
- have the agility of runners and ferocity of clickers
- stalkers have vision and make croaking sounds
Stalker is the second stage of the infected transformation. In this stage, the Cordyceps fungus starts growing out of the host’s head, and even though they lose most of their human functions, their body is still intact, with fungal growth all over.
Stalkers are one of the most dangerous versions of infected in The Last of Us since they are fast and strategize to take down their target. They boast the speed of Runners and the fierceness of Clickers (more on them below), coupled with vision and a distinct croaking sound that they make.
It seems as if the fungus fuses into their brains and starts using the human’s predatory instinct to hunt. In the first episode of The Last of Us Season 2, Ellie is seen being attacked by a Stalker in a grocery store. It moves around stealthily, distracts the girl with a croaking sound, and ambushes her, biting her in the belly.
3. Clicker
- infected for at least one year
- no vision, use echolocation to hunt prey
- possesses more strength than an average human
Named after the signature clicking sound they make to echolocate their prey, Clickers are the third stage of the Cordyceps fungus infection. The Stalkers turn into Clickers after roughly a year of being infected.
These creatures have lost almost every feature of their face, all of it being replaced by intense fungal growth. The only human feature left for them are their arms and legs. These infected zombies are the most aggressive and agile among all the variants and are known for going berserk with the intention of killing their target.
We first saw Clickers when Joel, Tess, and Ellie ran into them at the Boston Museum. It is also the location where Tess was bit by the infected and decided to sacrifice her life later on to save Ellie.
4. Bloater
- infected for more than a year
- rarest and most dangerous stage of the infected
- fungal growth over the entire body acts as armor
- very difficult to take down; require intense fire
If not killed at the clicker stage, the zombie turns into a Bloater and is one of the most dangerous variants of the infected zombies in The Last of Us. At this stage, the Cordyceps fungus has taken over their entire body with fungal growth so intense that it turns into a layer of armor, which is extremely difficult to penetrate with regular weapons.
Bloaters are much slower than other infected variants and use echolocation to find their prey, but their senses are dulled due to the excessive fungal growth. The most effective way of taking down a Bloater is with intense fire, aka a Molotov cocktail. Bloaters last appeared in The Last of Us Season 1, and now, there is a good chance they will reappear in Season 2 as well.
5. Shambler (Mutation)
- another fourth stage infected variant
- Clicker turns into Shambler due to wet and humid environment
- fungus has mutated and grown pus-filled spores on the body
An infected turns into a Shambler when a Clicker is stuck in a wet environment for a long time, as compared to the dry environment that leads to the Bloater transformation.
Due to the humid environment, the Cordyceps, instead of turning the Clicker into a Bloater, turns it into a Shambler. This version of infected zombies has their mouth permanently frozen so the fungus mutates and grows explosive pus-filled spores on their skins that burst when a target is nearby to infect them.
We did not see Shamblers in The Last of Us Season 1. Since they first appeared in The Last of Us 2 video game, there is a good chance that we will see at least one Shambler in the upcoming episodes of The Last of Us Season 2.
6. The Rat King
- final variant of the infected in TLOU
- infected for several years after the outbreak
The Rat King is, undoubtedly, the most horrifying infected version in The Last of Us franchise. This horrifying mutation happens if a person infected with the Cordyceps fungus survives for a long time. Over decades, multiple infected fuse into one another, as you can see in the image above, and turn into a monstrosity beyond comprehension.
The theory is that, with the human body gradually decaying with the fungus, the Cordyceps run scarce of nutrition to stay alive. To keep themselves alive, they fuse with other infected bodies, resulting in the formation of The Rat King.
As of now, we have not seen this infected variant appear in The Last of Us TV series, but there is a good chance that we might get to see it in Season 2 or 3. So, let’s wait and see what happens in the show, and till then, stay tuned with us for more updates!
