The Last of Us Episode 2 Recap: Joel, Tess and Ellie fight for their lives in Neil Druckmann’s Fright At The Museum

DEVASTATION WARNING: This article provides details of Episode 2 of HBO’s The last of us.

After Joel (Pedro Pascal), Tess (Anna Torv) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) narrowly escape from Boston’s strict quarantine zone in the first episode, the dangerous adventures of Joel (Pedro Pascal), Tess (Anna Torv) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) continues in the second episode of HBO’s live-action adaptation The last of us. Directed by video game creator and series co-writer Neil Druckmann, “Infected” approaches the source material almost beat-for-beat in its debut, while creating compelling suspense for the general public and eagle-eyed gamers alike. Druckmann’s use of fun camera techniques, such as the manipulation of depth of field and the use of close-ups with shaky camera movements, make the audience feel like they are standing alongside the characters on their terrifying journey.

Speaking of which… what will the gang start with? let’s discuss

Oh no, just when we think the time jumps are over, we are already transported back to 2003. This time, however, we arrive in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Ibu Ratna (Christine Hakim), a distinguished professor of mycology at the University of Indonesia, is examining a mysterious specimen of Ophiocordyceps under a microscope. It’s just another member of the larger Cordyceps fungus family, but what has it been doing here and why is everyone so scared of it? When Ratna learns the sample was taken from a human, she quickly dismisses the idea; it is simply impossible for Cordyceps to thrive in humans.

And yet… when a team of government officials take her to an observation room where the body of an infected dead woman is on display, Ratna is jolted awake. When Ratna pierces the woman’s bite wound with a scalpel, she is greeted not with a stream of blood, but with a piece of mossy cordyceps. Super nasty. Still confused by what she sees, Ratna then examines the woman’s neck with her tweezers and is horrified to see another piece of filamentous fungal cord squirming in search of a new host. She immediately drops her tools and leaves the room, urging officers to “bomb the city and everyone in it.” No vaccine or drug can help combat this sudden, unprecedented outbreak.

Now we jump back to the current timeline in 2023, where we last left Tess, Joel and Ellie on their way to the Massachusetts State House. Ellie wakes up with Joel and Tess watching, pointing their guns at her. Again, Ellie declares that she is not infected and shows her old scar as a reminder. See? It is three weeks old and has not mutated. Tess is fascinated by the phenomenon. As for Joel? Well, he’s ready to pull the trigger if she even flinches.

Under duress, Ellie reveals the rest of Marlene’s top secret plan. Allegedly, a medical base camp in the west was trying to make a vaccine and she thought Ellie’s immunity would greatly aid her efforts. Joel is still shouting nonsense, but Tess convinces him to go ahead with the mission because if they don’t get Ellie from the State House Fireflies, they won’t get the supplies they need to track down Tommy – which Joel’s original plan was without Ellie.

As they rummaged through the unkempt foliage of the abandoned city, they came to a fork in the road. They can reach the State House via collapsed highways and buildings, or they can follow what Tess calls the “our bloody dead” route by taking a shortcut through the center of town. , leaving them vulnerable to vagrant infections. Joel decides to take the girls on a tour of the city museum. (We love a cultured man.)

Before going inside, Tess explains to Ellie that mold grows underground, so it’s important to be careful where you step. Because if they step on a piece of Cordyceps in one place, they can wake up hordes of infected from elsewhere, and alerting the hive mind of their exact location will make them almost impossible to avoid.

The trio soon learned that entering the museum was a mistake. The building is infested with clickers, a specialized race of infected who have lost their sight but use echolocation to find their victims. Joel warns Ellie as they enter the museum: “From now on we will be quiet. Don’t keep quiet. Take it easy.” Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan. Separated and cornered in the museum, each trio member has a terrifying encounter with a clicker before being reunited. Relief!

Eventually, the group makes it to the State House. But when they get there, something is terribly wrong: all the remaining fireflies have just died from an infection. Who can you give Ellie to now? Disappointed with the failed mission, Joel suggests they all return to the Boston QZ. Tess then reveals that she cannot go back; She was bitten during her fight at the museum. Frantically, Joel forgets the first rule of Zombie Fight Club: never disturb the hive mind of Cordyceps. Joel shoots down a nearby infected firefly, whose death prompts a rabid horde of other infected to run towards the State House. Joel and Ellie must act fast or they are dead. Using the fireflies’ supplies, Tess creates a trap by spilling gasoline all over the floor of the building. In her last words to Joel, she asks him to protect Ellie and take her to her friends Bill and Frank. Joel and Ellie make it out of the building, as does a gang of infected Tess. The building is successfully blown up and a saddened Ellie looks back at the rubble.

What a damn episode! Will Joel keep his promise to Tess? And if so, will Bill and Frank be able to help Joel and Ellie with the next part of their mission?

What did you all think?