The Last of Us Season 2: Three Reasons Spores Need to Return

Warning: This portion contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part II game.

The 2nd play of The Last of Us is premiering connected April 13, 2025, and we conscionable got different look astatine the bid successful a caller trailer implicit the weekend. But amidst each the excitement for the acclaimed crippled adaptation’s adjacent entry, thing stood retired to america successful the latest trailer: the confirmation that spores volition beryllium included. This mightiness look similar a tiny item to the uninitiated, but it was really 1 of the show’s biggest deviations from the root material. Instead of spores, the archetypal play chiefly utilized tendrils emerging from infected individuals arsenic the mode the cordyceps corruption spreads. When asked by Variety (during Season 1’s run) astir the displacement to tendrils, bid creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said they wanted to effort caller things with the show’s mentation of events. So wherefore the alteration of heart?

Well, determination are respective important scenes successful The Last of Us Part II crippled that hinge connected the spores, and possibly the penning squad didn’t expect however overmuch they’d request that communicative constituent yet earlier making the alteration for the archetypal season. Let’s instrumentality a look astatine wherefore the spores are truthful important to Part II and however this speaks to the attraction creators request to instrumentality erstwhile making sweeping changes successful adaptations.

What Are Spores successful The Last of Us?

If you’ve lone seen the amusement and not played the games, a speedy refresher: the cordyceps corruption successful the games is chiefly transmitted done bites oregon scratches from infected, but tin besides beryllium transmitted via fungal spores, typically successful underground areas wherever the fungus tin fester unabated. Many sections of the games diagnostic the characters moving done specified areas portion wearing state masks to forestall breathing successful the deadly spores. This was purely for communicative and not gameplay (you can’t suffer your state disguise and die, for example), but the spores were an important atmospheric element, serving arsenic a ocular metaphor for however the fungus was changing and taking implicit the satellite close from the root, if you’ll pardon the pun.

In The Last of Us Season 1, the spores were omitted, with the creators recycling the tendril thought from conception creation for the archetypal game. Not that there’s thing incorrect with making changes successful adaptations (we’ve antecedently made the lawsuit for that astir The Last of Us present astatine IGN), but specified changes should beryllium purposeful. Getting escaped of the spores felt similar an arbitrary choice, particularly since it raises aggregate questions astir the world-building present that they’re being included successful Season 2. To beryllium fair, Mazin said successful the Variety interrogation that “to accidental that our satellite is devoid of them would not beryllium accurate. We don’t rather cognize yet.” But that doesn’t alteration that the satellite arsenic presented successful Season 1 doesn’t person them, truthful Season 2 including them feels odd.

So overmuch of regular beingness arsenic a subsister successful the satellite of the Last of Us games revolves astir doing everything imaginable to debar infection, including being alert of however to observe and debar spores, that their ne'er coming up successful the past play is simply a spot jarring. The lawsuit could beryllium made that the show’s fungus precocious evolved the spores, but that’s hard to warrant erstwhile we’re dealing with specified a abbreviated play of clip (a tiny fistful of years astatine most) passing betwixt seasons. Regarding the inclusion of spores successful Season 2, Druckmann claimed astatine SXSW that determination is simply a “dramatic reason” wherefore the spores are returning. We won’t cognize precisely what helium means until we spot the caller season, but looking astatine the 2nd game, determination are aggregate large scenes wherever not having the spores would beryllium a superior obstacle to effort to constitute around.

The Biggest Spore Scenes That Could Appear successful The Last of Us Season 2

With Season 2 jumping close into adapting The Last of Us Part II, it’s worthy examining the ways the spores are apt to beryllium utilized successful telling that game’s story. We already cognize Part II volition instrumentality aggregate seasons to adapt, truthful we mightiness not spot each of these scenes successful the upcoming season, but they’re bully to support successful caput either way.

Ellie and Dina’s Subway System Attack

The earliest is erstwhile Dina, Ellie’s companion and emotion involvement successful Part II who volition beryllium played by Isabela Merced successful the show, learns that Ellie is immune to infection. While being attacked by infected successful the remains of the spore-filled Seattle subway system, Ellie’s disguise is damaged, starring her to instrumentality it disconnected successful beforehand of a shocked Dina. Once they’re retired of danger, Ellie tells Dina that she is immune, which is simply a monolithic crook successful their relationship. This would not beryllium casual to regenerate with a wound oregon tendril country due to the fact that a immense portion of it is Dina saying she tin stock her disguise with Ellie (proving however overmuch she cares for Ellie), which is what prompts Ellie to instrumentality her ain disguise disconnected and prevention Dina’s life.

Nora’s Infection and Ellie’s Quest for Vengeance for Joel

Later on, Ellie confronts Nora, 1 of Abby’s friends and a people connected Ellie’s deed list. While holding Nora astatine gunpoint successful a confrontation with Washington Liberation Front soldiers, Ellie purposefully tosses herself and Nora into the spore-filled basement, knowing that it volition marque it hard for the WLF to pursuit her. With Nora infected by spores, Ellie corners her successful the basement and demands to cognize Abby’s location. When Nora asks wherefore she should springiness Abby up erstwhile she’s efficaciously already dead, Ellie says she tin marque Nora’s decease speedy oregon marque her last moments arsenic tortuous arsenic possible. Again, the spores are what makes the country relation connected an in-universe level, but this is besides a important infinitesimal dramatically due to the fact that it cements however hardened Ellie has go from Joel’s decease and however acheronian she’s consenting to spell successful her quest to avenge him.

Abby, Lev, and the WLF vs. the Seraphites

There’s besides a spore-related country that’s captious to Abby’s arc. While traveling with caller quality Lev connected a hunt for surgical supplies, Abby (who volition beryllium played by Kaitlyn Dever successful Season 2) has to find an other disguise for Lev truthful they tin question done a spore-filled conception of a hotel. The information that Lev doesn’t person a disguise is simply a peek into the mentality of the island-dwelling Seraphite federation helium comes from, wherever they person nary request to interest astir corruption from “demons” (as they notation to the infected), but it’s besides a infinitesimal wherever Abby takes important hazard to assistance some Lev with the disguise and Lev’s sister Yara with the aesculapian supplies. Abby softening towards Lev and Yara contempt them coming from an force faction (Abby is simply a subordinate of the WLF, which is astatine warfare with the Seraphites) gives her caller magnitude aft the crippled initially establishes her arsenic Joel’s cold-blooded killer.

Now, we don’t cognize for definite if the originative squad connected the bid looked astatine Part II and thought “what person we done?” for not including spores. But the information that they’re walking backmost a not-insignificant originative prime from the archetypal play indicates that they realized the spores are a captious portion of the game’s lore and narrative. Again, there’s thing inherently incorrect with making changes successful adaptation; antithetic mediums person antithetic priorities. But it’s besides important to see the semipermanent ramifications of making large changes to in-universe lore successful lawsuit they go roadblocks down the line. At slightest for now, it looks similar The Last of Us has folded connected the spore front, but hopefully its creators and those of different adaptations deliberation doubly earlier throwing distant specified important world-building elements of the root material.

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You tin travel his fixations connected Bluesky.