Understand the different stages of Cordyceps fungal infection in The Last of Us, HBO’s adaptation of the famous video games.
In the universe of The Last of Us, an infection by the Cordyceps fungus led to this postapocalyptic context in which we find the protagonists Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in the adaptation of the games shown by HBO and HBO Max. In the story there are different types of infected, which are differentiated according to the stage of infection.
The events of The Last of Us take place twenty years after modern civilization was destroyed by infection by the parasitic Cordyceps fungus. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a badass survivor who makes a living off smuggling, is hired to rescue 14yearold Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from a oppressive quarantine zone in hopes she’ll help mend the cause. your immunity to infections. What begins as a small job soon turns into a brutal and painful journey as both must traverse the United States and rely on each other for survival.
What are the different stages of infection in The Last of Us?
In The Last of Us, a fungus named Cordyceps is an organism that lives inside the human body and has the ability to reproduce through various stages of infection that deprive the human agent of complete independence. Each of them occurs over time, with the infected behaving differently depending on the stage they are in: runners, pursuers, clickers, and puffers.
runner
HBO
In the first stage of infection in The Last of Us we have the runners who are newly infected humans, so they still look human. They attack in hordes or alone to devour living beings and excel at great speed. Since this is still an early stage of infection, a shot to the head is enough to kill them.
stalker
HBO
Another type of infection are the pursuers, people who carry the virus for a maximum of one year. Their attack form can be read from their name, they first lie in wait for their prey and then secretly attack at the most opportune moment that is why they like to hide in the dark or in corners to surprise the victim .
clicker
HBO
Clickers are one step away from transformation and are in the third stage of infection by one year. Because of this, the Cordyceps fungus has spread throughout the host’s body, leaving a minimal percentage of the human body behind, causing blindness. His form of hunting is through echolocation, and one of his greatest abilities is strength in melee combat, as he is resistant to damage from fungal growth. One of The Last of Us’ main threats, they are resistant to simple firearms and can only be killed with large caliber weapons like shotguns.
blowfish
HBO
Completely swollen from infection, puffers have become slow (but extremely resilient) over the years, and their bodies project infectious spore bombs that they can launch at their enemies, making them bulletproof and also vulnerable to fire. In this way, only Molotov cocktails, nails and flamethrowers are effective in eliminating puffer fish in The Last of Us storyline.