Zombies in The Last of Us aren’t exactly zombies in the traditional sense. Unlike other notable zombie media, the zombies in the game and the shows aren’t simply reanimated corpses. Throughout the two games and the adaptation, several instances corroborate the theory that there’s a little more to the infected than meets the eye, especially in the initial stages.
Although the concept of human consciousness being trapped inside the body isn’t exactly exclusive to TLOU, as The Walking Dead also played around with this idea to some extent, in TLOU‘s case, there’s no ambiguity.
Infecteds in The Last of US are more than reanimated corpses
Back in The Walking Dead’s first season, Frank Darabont experimented with the prospect of potential consciousness in walkers, as seen in the pilot, where several walkers display signs of intelligence or repressed memories. While this storyline wasn’t explored in the following seasons, barring the last season in Telltale’s TWD, primarily because of Darabont’s departure, The Last of Us delivered on this front with the infected.
Throughout the two games, the infected retain some form of consciousness in the runner/stalker stage, which primarily consists of four stages involving runners, stalkers, clickers, and bloaters/shamblers.
For instance, if a player eavesdrops behind a runner, occasionally, one can hear them crying or making some distinct noises, implying they’re still feeling some emotions. It also ties in with the intelligence of stalkers, as seen in the first episode of season 2, and many infected can be seen resisting their actions by making potential whimpering and crying noises.
One instance that does highlight this transition is the Ground Zero section, as one patient’s note in particular displays this disturbing phenomenon. In the HBO show, the pilot itself feeds into the theory that the infected are indeed trapped inside their own body because of the fungus, which makes the zombie apocalypse of TLOU much more distressing and horrifying than its peers.
Episode 6 will once again tug at viewers’ heartstrings
The ripples from the horrors of episode 2 are still present, and the next episode will once again tug at fans’ heartstrings with the flashback sequences. Considering the episode is penned by the duo behind the game, Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross, their writing, coupled with Druckmann’s direction, can propel this episode among the best in the series.
When asked about the episode, Druckmann added (via Variety):
Our actors, particularly in this episode, felt like they left a piece of their soul in this episode. I’m very proud of it.
Given that the flashback sequences are some of the few joyful sequences in the game, barring the heartbreaking confrontation, with Druckmann and Gross at the helm, it’s safe to be optimistic about this one, before the finale.
The Last of Us season 2 is currently streaming on Max (USA).
