(Read at your own risk: contain spoilers!)
If you’re wondering why everyone is talking about the Cordyceps fungus, clickers, and bloaters then you’re not alone. The Last of Us, adapted from the iconic video game, appears to be all the rage in 2023, scoring a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.2/10 on IMDb. Critics claim it’s the best video-game adaptation ever created.
Coming from someone who isn’t particularly a fan of TV shows, I couldn’t help but find out what all the hype was about and watch the first episode myself. I have to say, I was hooked.
The beginning reminded me of the opening scene in the first film of the Hunger Games series, however, in place of Caesar was Josh Brener and instead of Seneca Crane, a couple of epidemiologists, Dr. Neumann and Dr. Schoenheiss, discussing a deadly fungus (we later learn is the Cordyceps fungus) that could wipe out the human population. When Brenner asks Dr. Neumann whether “the prospect of a viral pandemic keeps [him] up,” he responds, “No.” and argues that it is not a bacterium or a virus but a fungus that presents a danger to the population because “there are some fungi who seek not to kill, but to control.”
The show eventually cuts to 17 years later in Austin, Texas from the perspective of a teenage girl, Sarah, living with single father Joel and her Uncle Tommy. Sarah learns the senile grandmother next door is infected and Joel and Tommy speed her away in a pickup truck to escape the chaos. While maneuvering through the city, a plane collides into the street behind them, an explosion rocking the ground and sending a propeller through the pickup truck. Sarah and Joel climb out on the opposite side of Tommy, forcing them to part ways for now.
One of the infected spots Sarah and Joel, leading to a nail-biting chase that puts them in the sights of a soldier. Tommy comes from behind and shoots him, but not before he fires off a shot that lands a fatal blow to Sarah. You could feel the uncontrollable horror running through Joel’s mind as he held a dying Sarah in his arms.
Fast forward to 2023, set in the city of Boston, we are shown a world just as Dr. Neumann predicted. Millions if not billions have been either infected or killed by the Cordyceps fungus and quarantine zones have been established by FEDRA (Federal Disaster Response Agency). Anyone who tries to escape is served the death sentence and the infected are burned in a large fire pit.
We soon encounter a rebel group, the Fireflies, that is formed with the interests of taking down FEDRA to revive democracy. Ellie, your typical rebellious teenager, is important to the resistance when we discover that despite having been infected weeks ago, she shows no signs of becoming a zombie. Normally, it takes two days for those infected to show zombie-like symptoms.
Overall, the actors accurately captured the emotions in each scene. I could feel the tension in the air as Joel and Sarah were being chased by an infected and the grief radiating off Joel when Sarah was killed off. The special effects were also very realistic, particularly when the airplane crashed into the street, leaving a smoldering inferno in its wake. With an explosive start to the series (no pun intended), The Last of Us never fails to keep you guessing as to what will happen next.
You can watch the first season here on HBO Max: The Last of Us Season 1