Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us' season 2 premiere.
The Last Of Usco-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann address the season 2 premiere’s introduction of the new stalker form of infected. Serving as an adaptation of the Naughty Video game franchise, which Druckmann wrote, the HBO series returned for its sophomore outing on Sunday night, catching up with Bella Ramsey’s Ellie and Pedro Pascal’s Joel after a five-year time jump.The Last of Usseason 2, episode 1, features several new additions to the show, including a new infected form with increased intelligence that shows up during an intense sequence with Ellie in an abandoned grocery store.
During a recent episode ofThe Last of Us Podcaston the Max YouTube channel, Mazin and Druckmann break down the stalker’s introduction in the season 2 premiere, explaining what makes this new infected form different from the standard clicker. Mazin highlights the dangers that stalkers pose with their increased brain function, but also reveals that these creatures have elements of “humanity” still inside them:
Mazin: “We talked a lot about how to create a world where our characters felt actually rather safe with the infected. Because when you go from Season 1 to Season 2, if your fear reaction to infected is the same, then you kind of haven’t learned anything in five years. You haven’t gotten better. […] These humans have gotten pretty good at solving the infected problem. They’re feeling good about themselves to the point where Ellie and Dina are fine to walk in a supermarket and go one-on-one. But this one is different.
“The stalker, of course, is an evolution character in the game, and we kind of wanted to spotlight the fact that they think, which is a huge problem. It is terrifying. Even the way they sound — that sadness — there’s a humanity in there still.There is more brain left in them.”
Druckmann then chimes in, pointing out that the silence with which these stalkers move makes them truly deadly:
Druckmann: “They’re quiet, they run away, which is like they’ve never seen anything like this…
Mazin: “Like she says, they plan. They stalk. It’s also very important to note here: it wins. In the sense that it bites Ellie and would infect her if she were anyone else on the planet. It’s that good. So this young woman who goes into a supermarket cocky as hell just got bit by this other thing that she did not see coming.
The Infected Threat Just Grew
Image via Max
One thing that becomes clear fairly quickly inThe Last of Usseason 2 is thathumans have gotten much better at controlling the infected threat over the past five years. In season 1, Ellie, Joel, and Tess (Anna Torv) have a great deal of difficulty with two clickers inside a museum, and Tess actually dies as a result of this encounter. In season 2, however, one or two infected are treated like more of a nuisance. This is especially true for Ellie, who is immune.
Trailers forThe Last of Usseason 2have teased that the safe haven of Jackson, Wyoming, will eventually come under attack by a horde of infected. Though a horde of clickers would still pose a threat, this threat will be compounded by the inclusion of stalkers, who seemingly won’t be mindless cannon fodder.Stalkers, especially if they operate as a group, could use their intelligence to deal major damage to Jackson and its inhabitants, and audiences could be saying farewell to some major characters if these new creatures breach the walls.
Ellie’s Stalker Fight Was A Premiere Highlight
If there was one common complaint about the acclaimedThe Last of Usseason 1from those who played the games, it’s that there weren’t enough infected. Season 2 is already remedying this in a major way, and the story seeds planted in the premiere, like the roots in the pipe, suggest thatmultiple forms of infected will be playing a big role in the episodes to come.
The Last of Usseason 2 enjoys a stunning 97% score onRotten Tomatoes.
The stalker sequence in Greenplace Market was a standout in the show’s season 2 premiere, with the entire encounter serving as a brilliant exercise in tension and suspense.Though Ellie may be immune to being bitten, she can still die in other ways, and the stalker form poses an even bigger threat to her than the standard infected. It remains to be seen how stalkers will be utilized inThe Last of Usseason 2 episodes to come, but they are certainly a welcome addition to the show.
