SPOILER ALERT: This feature contains spoilers for Episode 2 of The Last of Us
HBO’sThe Last of Usaired its second episode last night. After a premiere with 4.7 million viewers and heaps of high praise, episode two had a lot to live up to. So far, the show has remained very faithful to the game. When it has deviated from the original telling, it has often done so boldly and cleverly. Episode 2 continued that trend… with the exception of one moment…
RELATED:Joel’s Search For Tommy In The Last Of Us Show Is A Clever Shift From The GameEpisode 2 begins with Ellie waking up to a nervous Joel, with Tess staring at her. The two smugglers, who reluctantly agreed to transport the mysterious Ellie, now know that she has been bitten. Ellie is forced to share her greatest secret, that she is immune to infection.
Joel is convinced her transformation into a Clicker is inevitable. Tess is willing to buy into the idea that Ellie is immune. Nobody is comfortable with the situation, but Tess convinces Joel that Ellie is their ticket to a vehicle, supplies, and whatever else they want. If the Fireflies (the people who hired Joel and Tess) believe Ellie is valuable, then that’s all that matters.
At this point in the story, things make perfect sense. Ellie has a three-week-old bite that has healed over. As far as she knows, she’s completely immune to infection. Joel is mistrustful of both Ellie and her supposed immunity, though he doesn’t seem to doubt that Ellie was actually bitten.
Fast-forward to later in the episode, and the trio find themselves in a museum infested with Clickers. All three of them are attacked by the vicious creatures, but manage to overcome them. When checking to see if everyone is okay, Ellie shows off a bite mark near the original one.
This is where things go off the rails for me. Ellie doesn’t seem all that hurt or concerned by the bite. In fact, she acknowledges that it was better for it to happen to her than anyone else. It all just feels a little bit convenient and, well, casual. Even if she’s immune to the infection, being bitten by a ravenous fungal humanhasto hurt, right? I’m willing to buy that Ellie is no longer concerned about turning, but not that being bitten is a minor inconvenience.
Joel also makes the point that she survived one bite, but would her immunity carry her through two bites? Again, Joel is doubtful. This new bite doesn’t seem to reassure him, but maybe that’s coming later. Tess is also completely unfazed by the new bite, but she is also hiding a bite of her own at this point.
There’s a moment in the game where Joel becomes convinced of Ellie’s immunity. It happens when they’re together in an area with spores and Ellie can breathe just fine. Joel, on the other hand, has to wear a gas mask. The show is clearly trying to give us a doubtful Joel and then provide him with that “this is for real” moment. But a second bite just doesn’t quite feel right. She has already been bitten! Does Ellie really need to become a Clicker’s chew-toy to prove her immunity?
At the end of the episode, Tess asks that Ellie take off her bandage. Tess shows her bite next to Ellie’s. While Ellie’s bite looks clean, Tess is clearly infected. She begs Joel to get the girl to safety. More specifically, Tess wants Joel to go to Bill and Frank’s with Ellie. Ultimately, Joel runs off with Ellie and Tess sacrifices herself to save them from an oncoming horde of Clickers.
This was the first moment wherethe show seemed to be sorely missing the spores. Without the spores as an obstacle, Ellie has no other way to show off her immunity than being bitten again and again. I think the show could’ve done without the second bite, trusting audiences and characters to believe Ellie over time. It’s a bit of a gimmick, and makes Ellie’s immunity feel like a bit of a cheap trick.
The casual way Ellie treats the wound makes Clickers feel less dangerous, which is at odds with the scene the audience just watched. This is the first real moment where it felt like the show slipped, and it ties into another creative decision - to drop the Spores as the main means of infection.
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