The Last of Us Fan Theory May Explain Infection's Origins

By Cade Onder

A new fan theory for HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us may explain exactly how the infection was spread. The Last of Us is one of the most acclaimed games out there and now, it's one of the most acclaimed TV shows airing right now. The HBO series was met with nearly unanimous praise when it aired on Sunday and was praised for not only how well it adapted the game, but also how well it injected new content into it. We got to see an entire day in the lives of the Miller family before the outbreak, learn a bit more about the fungus that caused it all, and much more.

However, many have been trying to figure out why Joel and Sarah's neighbors got the infection, but not them. Of course, there is a chance that Sarah was infected and just hadn't turned yet, but we'd never know. However, some fans have come up with a theory of how the infection spread before the clickers and such were actually present. Reddit user anagnost started connecting the dots and believes it came from contaminated flour. Thorough out the first half of the first episode, there are a lot of foods mentioned or seen that would contain flour. Sarah and Joel are unable to make pancakes because they don't have any flour, Joel is on an Atkins diet, they don't eat their neighbors' biscuits, Sarah doesn't eat her neighbors' cookies, and Joel forgets to pick up his birthday cake. It was also noted that Jakarta, the country mentioned on the radio at the start of the episode, is home to the world's largest flour mill.

Given the infection is caused by the cordyceps fungus, it makes sense for that fungus to also contaminate something like flour which is in so much of our food. Of course, this is nothing more than a theory at the moment. We'll have to wait and see if the series even addresses it, because it could very well be something that gets glossed over and never acknowledged.

What do you think of this theory? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.

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