While The Last of Us gears up for the release of season 2, its creator and co-showrunner have revealed exciting new details about the show’s infected, who are humans that succumbed to Cordyceps, a viral fungus. Season 1 of the video game adaptation primarily featured Clickers, a blind variant of the infected that communicate through clicks and croaks. The Last of Us protagonists Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) have encountered infected, but a criticism of The Last of Us season 1 was that they were not seen enough.
In an interview with Empire, showrunner Craig Mazin and creator Neil Druckmann speak about the future of the horrifying zombie-esque creatures. The pair tease that viewers are in for a never-before-seen version of the infected in The Last of Us season 2. This new variant is referred to as Stalkers, and are more intelligent than the previously established Clickers.
Mazin: All I’ll say is that for the people who want to see more of the infected… Buckle up!
Druckmann: You get to see a different evolution of this infection.
It’s kept certain parts of their brain alive, so they are smarter. They coordinate and hide and do things that we’ve never seen any other infected do on this show.
What This Means For The Last Of Season 2
The Infected Will Be More Dangerous
The Last of Us season 2 will feature the infected in a different part of their life cycle. Whereas Clickers are in a late stage of succumbing to the Cordyceps fungus, the incoming infected are still young enough to retain some of their brain power. As Druckmann explained, these Stalkers are smarter and stealthier than clickers, making them a more powerful threat to the survivors in The Last of Us. By including a more intelligent force to go up against humanity, The Last of Us featuring new enemies will help set the show apart from other zombie-style series.
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Ellie and Joel are in for an intense fight against the new infected. While the Stalkers do not have the super strength of a clicker, their intelligence will make them a serious threat in season 2. Per The Last of Us video game, Stalkers carefully hunt their prey, but still have the speed of Runners, which are in the first stage of infection. As Druckmann said, the Stalkers will be unlike any infected that the audiences have seen thus far in the show.
Our Take On The New Infected
The Last Of Us Season 2 Will Have Higher Stakes
The introduction of the stalkers will undoubtedly raise the stakes of The Last of Us season 2. Facing a more intelligent enemy will push the show’s survivors to new limits, requiring them to take new approaches to subduing and killing the infected. Following the criticism that season 1 did not feature enough infected enemies, season 2 is poised to tackle that issue head-on. Possessing speed, smarts, and stealth ensures that the stalkers will be a harrowing threat to the remaining humans of The Last of Us.
Source: Empire
The Last Of Us
8/10
- Release Date
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January 15, 2023
- Network
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HBO Max
- Showrunner
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Craig Mazin
- Directors
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Craig Mazin
- Writers
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Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin