The Last of Us season 2 episode 5 showed us something that fans of the video game didn’t think they’d see. During it, we see one of the infected breathing something into the air. For the uninformed, the person is breathing spores, and it’s another way for people to get infected with the cordyceps virus.
This method wasn’t used in season 1 of the HBO series, but it set to become a fixture of it going forward. And it's a change that will no doubt have a major impact on the series going forward.
*** WARNING! SPOILERS FOR THE LAST OF US SEASON 2 EPISODE 5 (AND POSSIBLY SEASON 3!) ***
Spores
The beginning of the episode shows Sgt. Park, explaining why she killed a bunch of her soldiers of the Washington Liberation Front (or WLF) and locked others in the basement of the hospital. She explains that she had to: Whatever infected them was in the air. The only way to keep everyone safe was to kill those in the room and lock the floor down. One of the people she left there was the commanding officer, who’s also her son. Yes, this is the introduction of the spores.
Introducing spores to the TV series is a smart move for a couple of reasons. First, it shows that the cordyceps are evolving. It’s something that everything on Earth does to survive. Since humans aren’t being killed and taken over with force, nature found a way to infect them differently.
Waiting to introduce the concept of spores shows us that this may not be the last step the cordyceps take in their attempt to fully take over the world. The creative team could add another evolutionary step in the future. We don't know what's coming in season 3 or 4. The way HBO's The Last of Us alters the story, gamers could be in for a surprise.
Second, this is how Nora is infected when she’s running from Ellie in The Last of Us Part II. Having her get bitten during this chase instead of breathing it in wouldn’t have made sense. Not only would it have taken away from the chase, but the WLF's reputation would have taken a hit. They're known for being thorough. Missing an infected human isn't thorough. Plus, viewers got to see what it looks like when someone breathes in the infection.
The Rat King?!
Another thing to look for going forward in The Last of Us season 2 is a new kind of infected human. The addition of the hospital basement could mean the creepiest and deadliest of them all is coming, and it makes the bloaters look like normal runners. This writer is referring to the Rat King, and it could be on its way in season 3 to give viewers nightmares.
The first time I saw the infected Rat King in the video game, I yelled, “WHAT THE (CENSORED) IS THAT?!” It pops up out of nowhere and looks like something from A Nightmare on Elm Street or The Human Centipede. It’s a giant, grotesque amalgamation of different infected people combined into one large, impossibly strong monster. To make it worse, you don’t have an NPC helping you in this fight. It’s just you (as Abby) and whatever weapons are available.
Sgt. Park says the first cordyceps patients in 2003 were in the basement. If they’ve been down there for twenty-six years, it’s easy to think that something like a rat king would happen. If evolution is a thing, maybe forming into one behemoth was the only way to survive (another reason to think more evolution is coming). Sadly, we won’t know the answer to this until season 3. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow to find out if it happens.