Zombie Kissed Tess | Last Of Us Episode 2 Explained

Source : HBO Last Of Us Season 1 EPisode 2

The zombie-human kiss is one of the most terrifying body horror elements featured in The Last of Us episode 2. Yeah, it's been that way for a long time, but we are surviving. This is our chance. Joel and Tess take Ellie to the state house to meet up with the fireflies, and the group must battle two deadly clickers they come across at a museum on the way there in order to get to their destination when the fireflies are discovered dead at the state house.

Tess is greatly upset and appears to be determined to assist Ellie in finding the fireflies. It is revealed that Tess's desperation comes from the fact that 1 of the clickers bitter earlier in the episode and she is already feeling its effects this causes her to truly believe Ellie's Last of Us immunity is special and she forces Joel to take Ellie to the fireflies while she stays behind to delay the infected horde following them the already infected test stays behind tipping out barrels of oil in the fireflies grenade AIDS so that she can burn the infected horde kill herself before she turns and by Joel and Ellie more time unfortunately for Tess her lighter does not work immediately causing an infected to invade Tess's personal space with the tendrils coming out of its mouth both The Last of Us episode 1 and episode 2 have established the idea of tendrils a new addition to HBO's adaptation of the games these tendrils seem to be how the infected transmit cordyceps from themselves to their hosts through bites the reason the zombie seems to kiss Tess likely comes from the infection already present in Tessa's body the zombie likely senses the fungi cordyceps infection with the tendrils attempting to reach those of the same kind that will undoubtedly grow from Tessa's mouth in due time making for a horrifying scene that makes Tess's death that much more heart-breaking how the tendrils and hive mind makes the last of Us's infected scarier Craig Mazzin and Neil Druckman have stated that the tendrils of HBO's The Last of Us will take the place of the game's original spores. In the game, spores were discovered in highly contaminated locations, and they spread the illness via flying. The spores were changed to tendrils in HBO's The Last of Us for a heightened level of visual dread because the concept only really works for video games; the tendrils in the infected make them more like a hive mind than the game, as demonstrated in The Last of Us episode 2. Tess explains that someone could step on a tendril in one place, and it would alert a group of infected elsewhere, much to the discomfort of Bella Ramsey's Ellie and the world-weary confirmation of Pedro Pascal's Joel. This makes the infected much scarier, as it makes them a more present threat throughout the show. Making the infected connected by long distances means that any feeling of safety can be ripped away at a moment's notice, making The Last of Us infected scarier than their already terrifying game counterparts with the serial edition.

A key thing that differentiates clickers from the runners of both The Last of Us show and the game is their strength. HBO's The Last of Us episode 2 showcases this in both their physical power and their ability to withstand damage. The first clicker encountered by the trio is initially shot by Joel with multiple bullets. This same clicker is then shown grappling with Joel and having the strength to disarm him. Later in the scene, a clicker pins Joel down, which Joel shoots two more times. The clicker then takes four more shots to the head before finally dying, showing just how strong and durable they are. The second clicker also showcases incredible strength, even after Tess hits it with an axe. The Last of Us episode 2 demonstrates that the clickers are much more advanced than the runners in the tragic opening that saw Sarah's death in The Last of Us episode 1 in that sequence Joel kills The Miller's neighbour with 1 hit truly highlighting how much stronger and more powerful clickers are to the regular infected inhabitants of the last of Us's post-apocalyptic USA