If you thought that the first season of The Last of Us didn't quite deliver enough zombie action, the next installment might be exactly what you need. During a recent virtual press conference, Variety reports that the show's creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, addressed fan complaints regarding the fact that the people infected with the Cordyceps virus weren't in enough sequences over the course of the adaptation's first season, which focused heavily on the main characters and their relationships with the world around them instead of the gruesome action. Here's what Mazin said about the team's use of the infected in the series:
Ultimately, we generally stressed the power of relationships and trying to find significance within moments of action. And so there may be less action than some people wanted because we couldn’t necessarily find significance for quite a bit of it, or [there was] concern that it would be repetitive. After all, you’re not playing it, you’re watching it. And although a lot of people do like to watch gameplay, it needs to be a little more focused and purposeful when we’re putting it on TV.
The showrunnner reinforced his statement by promising more infected for the second season of The Last of Us, just as the show aired its first season finale last night. Titled "Look For The Light", the episode depicts Joe (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) finally arriving to their destination. The girl needed to be taken to a hospital controlled by Fireflies, so they could scientifically understand why she was immune to the Cordyceps virus, hoping her blood would be the secret needed to manufacture a cure that could bring civilization back. What the lead characters don't know is that they might not be ready to make the necessary sacrifices to save humanity.
The final episode of the season also featured Ashley Johnson as Ellie's mother, in a flashback sequence that depicted how the girl was born. Johnson voiced Ellie in the 2013 video game, as well as its sequel, giving the actress that first brought the character to life an opportunity to appear on-screen in HBO's adaptation. The character she played, Anna, opens the season finale by running into the house she lived in within an open field, clearly escaping from an infected. When she gets to the second floor, she sits down on the wooden floor, ready to give birth to her baby. Unfortunately, nothing could stop the infected from reaching her while Ellie was being born.
Joel and Ellie Can Find a New Life
Before reaching the Firefly Hospital, Joel and Ellie discuss what options they might have when it comes to places to go to after Ellie visits the medical facility. Their safest bet is going back to Jackson, Wyoming, where Joel's brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna), has been living for the past few years. The town has been separated from the rest of the world, allowing its community to create a city thar resembles normalcy in the middle of an apocalypse. Surrounded by other healthy people, good rations of food and even a movie theater might sound inviting for anyone within the contrast of abandoned buildings full of raiders and infected. It remains to be seen how the town plays a role in the show's second season.