Episode 2 of The Last of Us opens with another flashback – this time to ground zero of the cordyceps infection. Armed soldiers collect Ibu Ratna, a renowned mycology expert at the University of Indonesia, and bring her to a secret government lab. Professor Ratna examines slides and is bewildered, saying there must be a mistake because “cordyceps can’t live in humans.” To which the infected say: bet.
Professor Ratna puts on a hazmat suit and autopsies a factory worker who turned suddenly violent, finds fungus under the woman’s skin. And while the colleagues this woman bit were executed, 14 factory workers are missing.
A soldier asks Professor Ratna for answers; if she can develop a cure. “There is no medicine,” says Professor Ratna. “There is no cure.” She makes a tearful request to spend what time remains with her family, advising the soldier to bomb the city – the attack Sarah heard reported on the news. But it’s too little, too late.
In the present day Ellie sleeps in a sunlit patch of grass. But this pastoral scene is cut short when she wakes to find Joel and Tess holding her at gunpoint, waiting for her to turn.
Tess interrogates Ellie, asking why she’s so important to Marlene. And Ellie reveals that her immunity is the key to a cure. Joel has doubts, but Tess insists they see the mission through and get Ellie to the Fireflies.
They hike through the abandoned city, and Ellie reveals that she was bitten sneaking into an old mall. Tess is impressed by her courage, and asks if anyone will come after Ellie. “Mom, dad, boyfriend?” Ellie’s response is a resounding no.
As they travel along a highway, Ellie asks about the infected, revealing the virus has different stages. Older infected have their heads split open by the fungus, and see with echolocation – like bats. The oldest and deadliest infected throw spores like grenades.
Joel and Tess lead Ellie through a waterlogged hotel, where she pretends to check in. A bemused Joel asks where she learned about hotels, and Ellie – with her trademark snark – reveals she’s read books from before the outbreak. She also admits that she can’t swim.
Tess goes to find another way round, and Joel resists Ellie’s attempts to get to know him. But Tess teaches Ellie more about the infected – how the fungus connects them, and stepping on a patch of it can lead a hoard to your location.
They cut through a Civil War museum to reach the meeting point, but a fresh corpse shows the infected are near. Joel tells Tess and Ellie to be silent. But the building is a ruin, and a falling beam alerts the infected. The clickers are as horrifying as they are deadly.
But Joel and Tess are lethal too. After a tense shootout, they escape into the sunlight. Tess has injured her ankle, and Ellie was bitten again.
Despite her injury, Tess leads the way to the Capitol Building. The Fireflies are already inside – killed by infected. Tess is frantic, searching for clues about where they were meant to take Ellie. Joel wants to give up and return to the QZ. But Ellie realizes Tess won’t go back because she’s infected.
Tess shows Joel that her wound is already thick with fungus – but Ellie, who was bitten at the same time, is still clear. Tess can’t control her shaking.
The Fireflies begin to turn, and Joel puts them down with brutal efficiency. Though the infected are dead, the fungus continues to grow. And when Joel steps on it, he summons a fresh hoard. Ellie doesn’t want to leave Tess, but Joel drags her out of the building, determined to fulfill Tess’s last wish.
Tess spills the Fireflies’ gas and grenades across the floor. As the hoard storm the Capitol Building, she tries and tries to flick her lighter into life. An infected gets close to Tess, leaning in to kiss her, and the fungus spreads from its mouth to hers. As she loses consciousness, Tess lights a flame and drops it. The infected die screaming – fire is deadly to the fungus. But also to Tess. RIP Queen.
