It’s only been two episodes, but you can already tell that each episode of The Last of Us is masterfully crafted. I sat in awe, watching “Infected,” which began with yet another prologue that gave the story more depth and ended with a shocking, sorrowful loss.
So what exactly happened in The Last of Us Ep 2? How did it go down?
In The Last of Us Ep 2, Tess reveals she has been infected and sacrifices herself to save Joel and Ellie from the monsters. They also find out that the Fireflies members who were supposed to transport Ellie to safety were killed as well.
Although we had Tess for only two episodes, we couldn’t help but feel that her demise came all too soon. Let’s look more deeply into this episode and see how it will carry the story forward.
Is Tess infected? How?
Yes, Tess is infected as revealed in The Last of Us Ep 2. In the end, she sacrifices herself by baiting herself as a distraction for the infected, while Joel and Ellie escape.
Towards the end of the episode, the trio realize that they’re in an even worse situation than before. Even after evading the zombies and making it to the meet-up point, they find the bodies of the Fireflies members slaughtered by zombies.
This means two things: Fire, there’s no Fireflies member left in the area to collect Ellie and take her to safety. Second, there are more zombies on the prowl. To make matters even worse, Tess finally reveals she had been bitten as well.
We don’t find out when she was bitten, but it does seem like the wound is at least a few days old — which means that Tess could turn into a zombie at any given moment. In such a situation, the best solution she can think of is to lure the infected toward her as a distraction, which would allow Joel and Ellie to escape.
While Ellie hasn’t had too much time to bond with Tess, she protests against these decisions. But of course, she doesn’t get her way as she is dragged away by Joel.
As the infected approach Tess, they seem to recognize that she too is infected and so they don’t attack her. Instead, one of the infected shares a kiss with her — which is equally baffling and captivating to watch. Tess finally takes this as an opportunity to set the whole place on fire, killing herself and the infected with her.
Does Ellie get bitten again? Do the Fireflies collect her?
Episode 2 proved that all roads lead to the infected. Joel and Tess had two routes to the Fireflies’ meet-up point: The short one swarming with zombies or the longer way with fewer zombies. Despite choosing the latter, they faced many more problems.
One such was having to take a detour through the museum where they fought off blind zombies. During this scuffle, Ellie got bitten again! As frustrating as this ordeal is, it did prove again to Tess and Joel that Ellie is the real deal — she could help make the vaccine because the bites don’t seem to affect her.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the Fireflies never come to collect Ellie as they get killed by the zombies themselves. In light of this situation (and as explained above) Tess too finally reveals her secret that she has been infected.
As a dying wish, she asks Joel to get Ellie to safety, especially somewhere where she can help bring a vaccine to life. Tess died truly believing in Ellie’s capacities, and while Joel’s a little skeptical at the moment, it’s this very conviction that will drive Joel to keep protecting Ellie at all costs.
About The Last Of Us
The Last of Us is an HBO TV series adaptation of the award-winning video game of the same name originally developed by Naughty Dog.
It is set in 2033, as a fungal infestation plagues humans, turning them feral and blind before finally finishing them off. The series follows Joel’s journey to escort an immune 14-year-old Ellie to the Fireflies, who hope to study her to procure a vaccine.
The cast comprises Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, both famed for their roles in Games of Thrones, along with Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, and Nico Parker. The show was renewed for season 2.
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