The Last of Us episode two titled Infected, is a tense and compelling follow-up to last week's harrowing prologue and once again proves very similar to events of the original game (with many fun Easter eggs), despite some significant changes to the lore of the infected and the spread of the disease.
Unlike the game, in which letters and newspaper clippings only allude to the origins of the Cordyceps outbreak, we instead get a chilling and fascinating flashback to 2003 Jakarta where a justifiably nervous mycologist inspects a victim of Patient Zero. The end of civilisation we learn, began in Indonesia.
Fast-forward again to 2023 as we follow Joel, Tess and Ellie on their way to the rendezvous on the outskirts of post-apocalyptic Boston. With strong I Am Legend vibes, the details of this alternate decaying world are meticulous, the settings impressive and undoubtedly expensive - AMC would have had The Walking Dead spend an entire season here to justify the budget HBO has at its disposal. The clickers come alive in hideously realised glory.
This is arguably Tess' episode. I really enjoyed the chemistry and the motherly dynamic she gets to share with Ellie (who I will say is a little too abrasive for my liking currently) as well as her contrast with Joel. The writers however, once again squander the opportunity to develop Tess' backstory and make her something more than a narrative third wheel. Her infection and "that kiss", whilst gnarly and shocking, does nothing overall to enhance the emotional impact of her later heroic death, especially when we compare her demise to Sarah or even Tess in the original game; and that's because we don't get enough time with her like we do in the game. "Oops" indeed.
This is still a very good episode, but it did feel rushed overall and should've been longer. I'm now very slightly concerned this season is only 9 episodes when it was originally conceived as 10.
Unlike the game, in which letters and newspaper clippings only allude to the origins of the Cordyceps outbreak, we instead get a chilling and fascinating flashback to 2003 Jakarta where a justifiably nervous mycologist inspects a victim of Patient Zero. The end of civilisation we learn, began in Indonesia.
Fast-forward again to 2023 as we follow Joel, Tess and Ellie on their way to the rendezvous on the outskirts of post-apocalyptic Boston. With strong I Am Legend vibes, the details of this alternate decaying world are meticulous, the settings impressive and undoubtedly expensive - AMC would have had The Walking Dead spend an entire season here to justify the budget HBO has at its disposal. The clickers come alive in hideously realised glory.
This is arguably Tess' episode. I really enjoyed the chemistry and the motherly dynamic she gets to share with Ellie (who I will say is a little too abrasive for my liking currently) as well as her contrast with Joel. The writers however, once again squander the opportunity to develop Tess' backstory and make her something more than a narrative third wheel. Her infection and "that kiss", whilst gnarly and shocking, does nothing overall to enhance the emotional impact of her later heroic death, especially when we compare her demise to Sarah or even Tess in the original game; and that's because we don't get enough time with her like we do in the game. "Oops" indeed.
This is still a very good episode, but it did feel rushed overall and should've been longer. I'm now very slightly concerned this season is only 9 episodes when it was originally conceived as 10.