“Infected”, the second episode of The Last of Us, solidifies the main difference between the show and the video game that its based on. That difference is the primary threat , which in the series is the infected rather than the FEDRA forces like in the video game. That change is shown in several ways. The major way is the interconnected nature of the infected and the fungus, and how far both of them have spread in the years since the outbreak started. We also see how the outbreak started in Jakarta.
The opening is anchored by Christine Hakim’s performance. She really makes the revelations in the opening feel extra heavy. Anna Torv’s performance is great. She makes her last appearance as Tess something to remember. Torv makes the info dump about the infected feel terrifying. The increasing bond between Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s Joel and Ellie is also a highlight for a throughline of the episode.
The introduction of the clickers in the episode is done so incredibly well. They are immediately made to be a threat. They also look amazing, almost like they were able to bring it straight from the video game. I wonder how the other advanced stages of infection will be handled, if at all. We’ll see in the latter episodes of the season about those, but how the clickers were done gives me high hopes for the other advanced infected.
“Infected” is a strong follow up episode. I know the next episode will deal with Bill and Frank, which offers another change from the source material. In the video game Frank is already dead by the time the duo gets there. I think the changes that have been made so far work much better for the medium that it was adapted to. I give “Infected” 8 lighters out of 10.