The Last of Us Season 2’s Scariest Scene Reveals More Details About the Infected

HBO’s acclaimed adaptation of The Last of Us is back with its second season, taking fans five years beyond where we left Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in Season 1. The narrative now centers on a 19-year-old Ellie, who has established herself as a vital member of the Jackson community’s defense network. No longer the protected cargo from Season 1, Ellie has developed into a skilled combatant who regularly participates in patrols that monitor the surrounding wilderness for potential infected threats. This significant time jump provides the perfect backdrop for the season premiere’s most chilling sequence, which reveals a disturbing evolution in infected behavior that promises to reshape the series’ established mythology. As the cordyceps pandemic enters its third decade, the premiere suggests that the relationship between surviving humans and infected hosts is entering a frightening new phase, with the fungal antagonists displaying capabilities that defy everything we thought we knew about their limitations.

WARNING: Spoilers below for The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 1

The Last of Us Season 2 premiere effectively establishes Jackson’s transformation into a functional community with established security protocols, agricultural systems, and social structures that have allowed its residents to create something resembling normalcy amid the apocalypse. Inside this structure, the constant surveillance of the infected activity is essential for the humans’ survival. The episode also underlines the lingering effects of Ellie’s immunity secret, which remains known to only a select few individuals. Unfortunately, Ellie’s protected status has emboldened her to take risks that concern the settlement’s leadership, particularly Tommy (Gabriel Luna), who still feels responsible for her welfare. 

The episode also introduces us to Dina (Isabella Merced), whose developing relationship with Ellie serves as a catalyst for the dangerous situation they often find themselves facing together. Their flirtatious dynamic establishes a competitive edge to their interactions, with each pushing the other toward increasingly reckless behavior.

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In the episode, Ellie is allowed to join a scouting party after giving Tommy her word that she will follow the designated team leader. However, what begins as a standard recon mission takes a dramatic turn when the patrol discovers alarming blood trails cutting across their route. Rather than following orders to report back to Jackson immediately, Ellie and Dina break from the group to investigate the source of the blood. Their unauthorized detour leads them to a gruesome scene where they discover the aftermath of a deadly confrontation between a bear and a pack of infected, with casualties on both sides littering the area near an abandoned supermarket. 

Ignoring repeated commands from their patrol leader to withdraw, the pair continues their investigation, following the blood trail to the supermarket’s second floor by precariously climbing over an abandoned truck that provides access to the building. Inside, they encounter and successfully eliminate two Clickers, momentarily celebrating their victory. As they prepare to rejoin their team, the deteriorated floor beneath Ellie suddenly gives way, sending her crashing down to the level below and separating her from Dina. 

While Dina searches for stairs to reach her, Ellie finds herself alone in the dimly lit space, unaware that she’s not alone. What follows is a masterclass in tension building as the camera reveals an infected silently stalking Ellie from the shadows, moving with an uncharacteristic stealth that immediately signals something is different about this encounter. When Ellie finally detects its presence, she deliberately creates noise to draw it out, expecting the typical mindless charge that characterizes infected attacks. Instead, the infected defies all established patterns by retreating deeper into the darkness, strategically positioning itself for a more effective ambush. 

The sequence culminates in a genuinely shocking moment when the infected launches itself at Ellie from an unexpected angle, having calculated the perfect moment to strike. This encounter fundamentally alters our understanding of the infected threat, suggesting an evolutionary leap in their cognitive capabilities that will have far-reaching consequences for the world of The Last of Us.

The Infected Are Getting Smarter in The Last of Us Season 2

When Ellie and Dina return to Jackson and report their encounter to the community council, they describe an infected capable of strategic thinking. The creature retreated when at a disadvantage, concealed itself, and timed its attack for maximum effectiveness. The council meeting serves as an effective vehicle for contextualizing this new threat within the established world of The Last of Us, highlighting how fundamentally it contradicts everything survivors have come to understand about infected behavior patterns.

Throughout Season 1 of The Last of Us, the infected functioned primarily as environmental hazards whose danger stemmed from their strength, numbers, and relentlessness rather than their intelligence. Experienced survivors like Joel could navigate infected-heavy areas by understanding and exploiting these predictable behavior patterns. Surprisingly, the stalker that confronts Ellie in the supermarket represents something fundamentally different: an opponent capable of adaptation and rudimentary strategy. The cordyceps fungus appears to be developing more sophisticated connections with its hosts’ neural pathways, potentially accessing higher cognitive functions that have remained dormant in previous stages of infection. This development forces viewers to reconsider their understanding of the infected, raising disturbing questions about what other capabilities might be emerging as the fungal network continues to adapt to its human hosts.

New episodes of The Last of Us Season 2 hit Max and HBO every Sunday.

How do you think the infected will keep evolving in The Last of Us? Join the discussion in the comments!