How the zombie infection in HBO’s The Last of Us is different from the games

Television giant HBO has been churning out hits-after-hits every year ever since its establishment. While 2022 belonged to the Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon, the year 2023 is off to a great start with The Last of Us. The video game adaptation’s pilot episode raked in a record number of viewers, sitting just behind House of the Dragon’s first episode in ratings. However, adapting a video game or a novel isn’t always an easy task, as The Last of Us also made some subtle changes while being converted for TV.

In Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us video game series, the way the zombie inspection spread was via spores i.e. fungal reproductive parts similar to seeds in plants. The TV adaptation chose to go a different path, showcasing the mode of spread as lively tendrils emanating from the fungus as well as the clickers (zombies) possessing a hive mind.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Craig Mazin revealed why the choice was made to change the mode of transmission. He said, “Part of the issue with the spores is that you run into them quite a bit in the game, although not as much as people think, and if there were that many spores and they were airborne, that infection’s gonna go even faster. It’s hard to imagine how anyone escapes it, and people would probably be wearing masks all the time. In the game, the second you leave a spore space, you’re like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Get a mile away.’”

Do you think the TV show should have adapted the video game’s way? Tell us in the comments below!

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