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REVIEW | THE LAST OF US: SEASON 1 EPISODE 2 "INFECTED"

Episode 2 "Infected" connects you to characters further while setting their place in this truly horrifying world.
WRITTEN BY ELLIOT LINES / JANUARY 24, 2023

Episode 2, titled Infected, begins (just like episode 1) with a preview into the past, at the moment the infection is discovered. So far both these scenes may just be the most harrowing yet. This time we are taken to Indonesia, and get introduced to Doctor Ratna Pertiwi (Christine Hakim), a professor in Mycology (the study of fungi). Introduced to one of the infected you can see the fear in her from that moment on, the fear is then emphasised when she says the only way to stop this is to "bomb". Christine Hakim plays this moment perfectly to portray the dire situation the world finds itself in.


From there we head back to Joel, Ellie and Tess. Now outside the walls they find themselves having to navigate through this now dystopian world, avoiding the nightmares that now exist. But there are trust issues, and you can tell Joel and Tess aren't quite sure of the revelation they discovered about Ellie and how to take that information forward. With a little bit of talking and some quip lines from Ellie, "I'll have to throw a f***in sandwich at them" being the most notable, we move on further into this world.


This is where the horrors start to reveal themselves. From the skyline of a hotel we see what has become of the human race, Joel and Tess explain to Ellie how the infected operate in amongst looking over some quite gorgeous scenery (even if the world is in tatters). Realising they can't go the way they wanted, they choose a different path, which now seems clearer than previous visits, how were they wrong. *click*

In these moments we get to see how deep this infection goes, not for everyone, but most certainly for some. They have no vision, but the "clickers", as they are known, aren't something to be trifled with. The sudden realisation on Joel and Tess' face show this, complete silence, that if not adhered to comes with dire consequences.


Without spoiling more we get to see more of the infected, and the exact operation Joel and Tess explained earlier. Episode 2 "Infected" connects you to characters further while setting their place in this truly horrifying world. It rarely take more than two episodes to realise the potential of something, and potential is certainly something The Last of Us possesses going forward.



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