Trouble in Jakarta
Let’s kick off with one word: Jakarta. That’s where the second episode of The Last of Us—titled “Infected”—takes us first. A flashback to 2003 sets the tone. We meet Dr. Ratna, a calm, composed mycology professor pulled out of her lecture by Indonesian military officers.
Why her? She’s the best at understanding fungi.
And what they show her is horrifying—a corpse with Cordyceps in its mouth. This fungus has jumped to humans, and it’s already spreading. Dr. Ratna, disturbed and honest, doesn’t sugarcoat it. Her advice? Bomb the city. There’s no cure. No vaccine. Just destruction. It’s the only way.
That quiet dread? Yeah, it’s back, and it hits hard.
20 Years Later: Ellie, Joel, and Tess
Back in 2023, our trio—Joel, Tess, and Ellie—trudge through a destroyed Boston. They’re fresh off the reveal that Ellie might be immune. Tess seems cautiously optimistic. Joel? Not so much. He’s still skeptical and cold, but he follows Tess’s lead. For now.
We get some downtime here. Ellie cracks jokes, asks questions, and wonders what the world was like before everything went fungal. She’s a kid, after all—curious, quick, and occasionally annoying, in a charming kind of way.
Their goal is clear: get Ellie to the Massachusetts State House. That’s where the Fireflies are waiting. But as always in The Last of Us, nothing is ever simple.
The Museum: Welcome to Clicker Country
After discovering their usual path blocked by a flooded route filled with infected, Joel suggests a backup plan. Enter: the museum. Outside, it looks crumbled. Inside? Worse.
They step into a dusty, creaking nightmare. And then, we hear them—clickers. For newcomers, clickers are infected humans in the later stages. They’re blind, but their hearing? Razor sharp.
The encounter turns into a nail-biting game of hide-and-seek. Tess and Joel move carefully, silently. Ellie tries her best to follow. But it doesn’t go smoothly. There’s noise. There’s chaos. There’s blood. And it’s terrifying.
What’s brilliant here is the sound design. Every click, footstep, and breath matters. You feel like you’re there, holding your own breath.
When the dust settles, they survive. Barely. But something’s off with Tess.
The State House: Fireflies and Fire
They finally reach the Massachusetts State House—only to find everyone dead. The Fireflies? Gone. The meeting point? Compromised. Joel immediately wants to bail. This is a disaster.
But Tess drops a bomb: she was bitten.
Now things shift. Tess gets serious. She begs Joel to finish the mission. Ellie is the only hope they’ve got. Maybe the only one the world has.
A horde of infected is on its way. So Tess does the unthinkable. She stays behind. She covers everything in fuel and grenades. And when the infected rush in, she lights it up.
Boom.
Her sacrifice is gut-wrenching and heroic. Joel and Ellie escape. But they’ve lost someone. Again.
Digging into the Layers
Now that we’ve seen two full episodes, the show’s tone is clear. It’s not about monsters. It’s about people trying not to become them.
So let’s talk themes, beats, and why this episode hits so hard:
- Moral ambiguity: Joel isn’t a hero. He’s tired, jaded, and stubborn. But he’s not heartless. You can feel that conflict brewing.
- Ellie’s spark: Her humor cuts through the tension. She’s growing on us, and on Joel—even if he won’t admit it yet.
- Tess’s arc: She stole the show. From quiet resilience to fiery sacrifice, she gave it all. Her goodbye? Pure grit.
- The world-building: From Jakarta to Boston, every detail matters. Signs of struggle are everywhere—bullet holes, abandoned luggage, silent streets.
New Path, Same Brutal World
With Tess gone, it’s just Joel and Ellie now. That silence after her death? It says everything. Joel shuts down. Ellie walks quietly. But their fates are tied now, whether they like it or not.
Where do they go from here?
Somewhere west, toward hope, danger, and everything in between. We don’t know what they’ll find. But if these first two episodes are any sign, it won’t be easy. And it definitely won’t be safe.
The story’s just starting to unfold. And honestly? We can’t look away.
