Anna Torv as Tess. Image: HBO
After just two weeks, it should be pretty clear that HBO’s The Last of Us is resonating with audiences. From its pinpoint adaptation of elements of the video game, to its dark extensions of that lore, to the terrifying reality of its world, fans and non-fans of the game alike seem to be gorging on it. And in the last episode, there seemed to be less food and more… kissing, which some might have found odd.
As discussed in our in-depth recap, episode two of The Last of Us ended with Tess (Anna Torv) sacrificing herself to save Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). She kind of had to because she was bitten and will soon turn into a mindless killer. But when the infected storms their location and one of them notices them, instead of running towards her in a fit of rage, he slowly approaches and gives her an open-mouthed zombie kiss, his living, writhing tendrils moving into her mouth.
It’s a moment that’s odd for a number of reasons. First, it’s not in the game, so a decision was made to do so explicitly. Second, we’re used to the infected being incredibly violent towards their victims, and this one is just the opposite. And third, if Tess was already infected, did that make any real sense?
That third point can’t really be answered (maybe the kiss sped up the transformation or just looked cool), but the first two can, and in a new interview, co-showrunner Neil Druckmann talks about it. “These things don’t need to get violent unless you’re fighting their spread [the infection] keep going,” Druckmann told Entertainment Weekly. “Anna does that in such a beautiful yet terrifying way.”
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Because she has resigned herself to becoming a zombie, she is brought into the mix in a non-violent way. Sure, we can buy that. But what about the vines themselves, which are also new additions?
“Craig [Mazin] said wisely, “What can we do to further separate our infected from zombies?” It’s more than just a bite. There’s something else going on there,” added Druckmann. “I wish we had that aha moment right away, but we came up with so many different things that they could do. Some of them were pretty fancy.”
And if you thought this act of violence/romance was something, you haven’t seen it. Check out the moment in the latest episode of The Last of Us.
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