‘The Last Of Us’ Season 1 Episode 2 Spoiler Review – “Infected”

We continue our coverage of Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann’s long-awaited post-apocalyptic drama television adaptation of the PlayStation/ Naughty Dog video game series, The Last of Us. Following the series’ pilot, this episode marks the first major post-apocalyptic death for Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey).

The second episode of the series’ premiere season is titled, “Infected”. It is written for television by Mazin and directed by Druckmann.

In this review, I will be discussing The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 2. There will be spoilers present, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion as I will discuss some character developments and some references to the source material, i.e., the 2013 video game.

Please note that I have seen all nine episodes of this first season ahead of the season’s release.

The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 2 Synopsis

According to WarnerBrother Discovery, here is the synopsis for The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 2–“Infected”.

After escaping the QZ, Joel and Tess clash over Ellie’s fate while navigating the ruins of a long-abandoned Boston.

WarnerMedia

Discussion

As always, when it comes to adaptations of source material, it is best to begin with, “If you know, you know”. This second episode runs at fifty-three minutes, about half an hour shorter than the pilot episode. It does not have much going for it that we do not already know from the game. What is new about the series’ overall narrative is a nine-minute prologue featuring the Cordyceps fungal virus outbreak in late September 2003 as referenced the morning before the virus reached Texas. Meanwhile, the remaining forty-three minutes of the episode–more or less–centers on Joel, Tess (Anna Torv), and Ellie’s journey from the Boston quarantine zone, through the outskirts, and to the statehouse of the area. To be frank, the journey could have been a bit longer.

In the game, what made this trek to and fro as long as it had been was the military’s extensive search for the trio, which we do not get in this episode. Perhaps, the narrator was playing on Easy Mode? Aside from the Museum, the episode avoids taking the viewer through many of the obstacles that players endure in the game, such as the travel through tunnels, traversing up the fallen building, and the portion in the subway station. The only confrontation with the Infected that we get in this episode is the trio’s run-in with a couple of Clickers, hence the episode’s title.

Although funny enough, there is a little exchange of dialogue between Tess and Ellie where Stalkers, Bloaters, and Shamblers are currently nothing but mere myths to them. I will say that we will run into maybe one of them midway through the season, as teased in some promotional footage of the series. Other than that, do not get your hopes up.

Action

There are some interesting features from the game that the episode adapts pretty well. One of these is Joel boosting up other characters. This is usually done with Ellie due to her smaller size, but as the characters travel up the fallen building, Joel gets Tess to climb up and crawl through to the other side of the debris to move away from the blockage. The episode also points out the fact that Ellie cannot swim. This is a huge element in the 2013 video game that holds Joel back a bit. However, in this episode, Ellie mentions this about herself, and Joel has her water across the water in a hotel.

Also, you might miss it, but after the trio escapes the Bostonian museum via the rooftop, you can hear the sound of tape coming from Joel when patching up Tess’s leg. This is a reference to the healing feature in the video games. Having seen the entire first season myself, this is a rare appearance of the minor actions and features that the Naughty Dog games had to offer. We do not get Firefly dogtags, not even glass bottles or brown bricks.

Curiously enough, when Joel and Ellie attempt to sneak away from Clickers in the museum, the former accidentally steps on broken glass, and it is the crunching sound of this that alerts the Infected in the building. This shows how potent Clickers can be, but I feel that it also alludes to a later level in the first The Last of Us, where Ellie has to sneak away from a villain named David inside a restaurant. Of course, in terms of the show itself, we will get there when we get there.

The Crew Behind The Last of Us

The Last of Us is created for television by Mazin and Druckmann.

Greg Spence and Cecil O’Connor serve as the producers of the series. Jacqueline Lesko is the co-executive producer. Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Evan Wells (Naughty Dog), Rose Lam (Schmigadoon!), Carolyn Strauss, Druckmann, and Mazin are the executive producers.

Ksenia Sereda serves as the cinematographer for the episode, while Mark Hartzell is the editor. Emily Mendez, Tim Kuper, Ben Cook, and Andrew McGivney are the assistant editors.

Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain) scores the music for the episode. Michael J. Benavente is the supervising sound editor, while Christopher Battaglia and Chris Terhune are the sound designers. Juan Luqui and Jake Staley score additional music for the episode.

Evyen J. Klean (Game of Thrones, Watchmen, Euphoria, Scenes from a Marriage, Peacemaker, House of the Dragon) and Ian Broucek (Peacemaker, Orphan: First Kill) are the music supervisors. Maarten Hofmeijer serves as the music editor. From PlayStation Studios, Scott Hanau serves as the score supervisor.

Corinne Clark is the Canadian casting director for the episode. Megan Bayliss serves as the Canadian casting associate, while Elizabeth Brown is a casting associate. Alyson Lockwood is the extras casting director. Betty Tong serves as the background casting assistant.

Denton Edge serves as the stunt double for Joel. Taryn Roberts is the stunt double for Ellie. Maggie Macdonald and Andrea Ross (Fargo, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Fall of the House of Usher) are the stunt doubles for Tess.

Aesthetics

John Paino serves as the production designer. Don Macaulay is the supervising art director.

Callum Webster, Stevo Bedford, and Tristan Tondino are the art directors for the episode. Nathan Blackie and Joseane Brunelle serve as the assistant art directors.

Bianka Bergeron, Michael Erickson, Shannon McArthur, Andrew Lee McConnell, Angela O’Sullivan, Peter Stratford, and Kyle White are the set designers of the episode. Paul Healy is the set decorator.

Cynthia Ann Summers is the costume designer for the series, while Kelsey Chobotar is the assistant costume designer. Chris Glimsdale is the head of the hair department.

Joel Whist is the special effects supervisor. Alex Wang is the visual effects supervisor, while Sean Nowlan is the VFX producer. Luke Botteron is the VFX editor, while Ryan Faulkner is the VFX assistant editor.

The Cast of The Last of Us

Bella Ramsey portrays Ellie, the female protagonist of the series. Pedro Pascal portrays Joel Miller, a survivor of the Cordyceps outbreak and the main male protagonist.

Christine Hakim guest stars as Ibu Ratna, an Indonesian professor of mycology. Yayu A.W. Unru plays Liutenant General Agus Hidayat.

Anna Torv portrays Tess, Joel’s companion and partner-in-crime.

Sharon Crandall plays a lab worker.

Philip Prajoux portrays an Infected kissing man, while Olivier Ross-Parent and Samuel Hoeksema portray Bostonian museum Clickers.

Performances and Character Developments

Ramsey is hilarious as Ellie from what we see in this episode. The character does not bring up the pun book that we get in the video game just yet, but the actor’s delivery of jokes and other lines is a great build-up to them solidifying their role as the series’ Ellie. We also get to see the character holding their iconic pocket knife, which will not get its origin story until the season finale. Still, there is a brief conversation between Ellie and Joel about the morality and choice of whether to kill–or not kill–other human beings. It is important to take note of this as the series progresses, introducing viewers to the live-action versions of Henry, his younger brother Sam, and a man during the wintertime named David.

There is something about the Indonesian prologue that is worthwhile. The way that Hakim says the word “bomb” followed Unru’s look of shock as a man in the military says so much. Even Ibu Ratna’s discovery of tendrils is horrific, and I appreciate how this played out within the confinement of nine minutes. On one hand, I wish this prologue were longer. However, there is something about this introduction to the episode that I felt conveyed enough information and got effective results out of the viewer.

Tess’s sacrifice was something long-time fans of the first game anticipated. Although, it is the way Torv portrays these actions and decisions on-screen that has its effect. The stressful sparking of her lighter as a Runner (another type of Infected) approaches her with a kiss is a new element to her death scene that we did not get in the video game. I like this layer of the episode and how the stakes are still present when necessary.

Final Thoughts on The Last of Us Season 1 Episode 2

This second episode of The Last of Us does not seem to possess the same impact on me as the video game’s version of this portion does. It could probably be due to the fact that the characters are not running from the Boston QZ military. Rather, they are merely trying not to get the attention of the Infected. Even then, the stakes are present, but they just are not as intense as some would expect them to be. “Infected” does serve its titular purpose, which is to introduce long-time fans and newcomers to the series about the mutated human-turned-creatures of the show. It dumps a good amount of information on you, such as the implicit difference between Runners and Clickers.

On the bright side, Santaolalla’s scoring as well as Battaglia and Terhune’s sound design is chilling to listen to as the episode progresses. Paino’s production design of Boston continues to be a remarkable display and depiction of what many recognize. If only there were more to see, but the crew can only give us so much to take in.

On top of the upcoming fourth and maybe sixth episodes of the season, I feel there is not much to do than to re-watch the events of the game play out with crucial portions omitted. Until then, all we can do is wait for the public to find out themselves.

The Last of Us is now airing on HBO and streaming via HBO Max!

Have you played The Last of Us or its sequel? If so, what are your thoughts? Let us know! For more drama, horror and science-fiction-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Also, if you want a closer look at Ellie, Joel, Tess, and the Infected, then you might want to purchase the Artwork of The Last of Us (2013) via Amazon!