The Last of Us has become a huge success on HBO and HBO Max, and we have already seen the first clashes between the beloved protagonists and the dangerous hordes of infected. At first glance, it may seem that they are all the same, but that is where you are wrong. The world of The Last of Us has four dangerous types of infected, each one more grotesque than the last.
We already know that the infected in The Last of Us have their origin in the Cordyceps fungus. The fungus is spread through a bite, scratch, a high inhalation of spores, and even a deadly kiss, as we already saw in the HBO Max series. Following this, the Cordyceps takes over its host’s brain, consuming its body as time passes.
This is why, as the months go by, those infected change their status and also their morphology. In this way, as the fungus consumes the human that serves as its host, it gives way to a deformed, terrifying and increasingly dangerous being.
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Runners – The first phase of Cordyceps infection
This is the first state after being infected by the Cordyceps fungus. As its name indicates, this is a phase in which the victim of the infection becomes agile and very fast, biting everyone they come across to continue spreading the fungus. This phase occurs when the infection has already taken control of the victim’s locomotor system, turning it into a living puppet.
If the corridors were already terrifying in the original game of The Last of Us, HBO Max series It has given them a new dimension. In the adaptation, these beings have a hive mind, communicating through a kind of mycelium that mushrooms possess in real life. So if one of them knows where you are, the rest of the runners will flock to catch up with you, so you better start running.
Stalkers – The second phase of the infection in The Last of Us
Once the infected is between two and 54 weeks after being infected, they begin to slow down and develop their intelligence. Thanks to the latter, they acquire abilities such as hiding and waiting for their victims to be close or unsuspecting to attack them.
From this phase, the infected person begins to present bumps on the skin due to the Cordyceps fungus. Otherwise, their physical characteristics are still very similar to those of runners. They feature pale skin, marked veins, strange eyes, and injuries caused by encounters with survivors from The Last of Us universe.
This stage lasts from the moment the infected person stops being a runner, until his first year of life. From here begins its most terrifying version.
Clickers – The third phase of the infection
Clicker in the HBO Max adaptation of The Last of Us
The infected person has been in contact with the virus for more than a year. Meanwhile, the Cordyceps fungus from The Last of Us has continued to spread throughout his body, totally blinding him with fungi that have replaced his entire face. The mouth is the only place that remains unsealed, to continue infecting and spreading the virus in survivors. In addition, they have highly developed strength and endurance.
Although clickers are totally blind, they use an echolocation ability to locate their prey and navigate through spaces. For this reason, they have very sensitive hearing, capable of detecting very faint sounds, and a mouth capable of producing clicks that bounce off the elements around them, almost like a bat. Of course, this is the reason for its name.
The adaptation of The Last of Us for HBO Max has perfectly recreated these terrible beings, giving us one of the most tense moments of the second episode.
Fatties – The fourth part of the infection of The Last of Us
This is the last phase of the infected in The Last of Us, and it’s also the rarest to see. There are not many fatties in the universe of The Last of Us, and it is that the process requires such time that the host can develop the fungus around his entire body.
Porcupines have been blinded by the fungus on their face, so like clickers, they use their ears to locate their victims. In addition to possessing biological armor generated by the fungus, they are also capable of launching spores. Thus, they suffocate anyone, also turning them into another infected person.
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They are very slow, but also very aggressive and difficult to kill. If a survivor finds themselves in an enclosed area with a fatty, the chances of them getting out of the situation alive are very low.