The first episode of The Last of Us season 2 introduces the ‘Stalker’ – one of the most disturbing forms of the infected yet. Unlike the ‘Runners,’ who recklessly charge at prey, or the ‘Clickers,’ who rely on echolocation (locating objects by reflected sound) due to their blindness, the Stalkers take it up a notch by mixing stealth, speed, and strategic movement. In the season premiere, Ellie’s face-off with a Stalker in an abandoned supermarket reveals how different this infected type is – quiet, scheming, and capable of hiding and striking with precision.
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What are these Stalkers?
Stalkers are a mid-stage form of Cordyceps infection, typically appearing between two weeks to a year after initial exposure. By this point, fungal growths have started to rupture through their skin, especially around the eyes and shoulders. Unlike Clickers, Stalkers retain partial eyesight and higher mobility, allowing them to stalk prey silently before striking — hence the name.
Their physical form is a mix of human and fungal terror: twitchy, aggressive, and abnormally fast when provoked. They often emit croaking or gurgling sounds, which makes identifying their presence all the more difficult.
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Game vs Show
In The Last of Us video game, Stalkers are known for lurking in dark corners, clinging to walls, and ambushing players suddenly. They are described as the “in-between” phase – more erratic and evasive than Runners, but not yet as mutated as Clickers. Players of the video game often encounter them in small packs, where their unpredictability makes them the most stressful enemies in the game.
The TV adaptation, however, amplifies their horror by making their behaviour more intelligent – they observe, plan, and move in silence. In the supermarket scene of the first episode, one hides in a maze of shelves, making it seem like a predator toying with its prey. This stalking behaviour makes the TV version of the Stalker psychologically more terrifying than the video game version.
Does the upgrade work?
The decision to evolve the Stalker’s behaviour for live-action not only ups the tension but also reflects how the infected might adapt in more real-life settings. While the videogame Stalkers relies on jump scares, the TV show version seems more grounded in the idea of evolutionary survival – a creature designed to patiently wait for the perfect moment to strike, more like a Tiger.