‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Will Have ‘A Lot More Infected,’ Creators Address Complaints About Lack of Action

variety.com:

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from the Season 1 finale of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max.

For a show about a post-apocalyptic world torn apart by a deadly fungus that creates zombie-like creatures, there weren’t a whole lot of zombies in the final episodes of “The Last of Us.” Series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have seen the complaints about the infrequent zombie mayhem in the HBO drama series, but fans can rest assured that Season 2 will have “a lot more infected.” “Ultimately, we generally stressed the power of relationships and trying to find significance within moments of action,” Mazin told reporters during a virtual press conference for “The Last of Us” last week. “And so there may be less action than some people wanted because we couldn’t necessarily find significance for quite a bit of it, or [there was] concern that it would be repetitive.

After all, you’re not playing it, you’re watching it. And although a lot of people do like to watch gameplay, it needs to be a little more focused and purposeful when we’re putting it on TV.” The Season 1 finale featured some shocking moments of violence from Joel (Pedro Pascal), as he and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) arrive at the hospital in Salt Lake City and are captured by Fireflies.

Their leader Marlene (Merle Dandridge) explains that it’s possible to synthesize a cordyceps cure from Ellie’s immunity, except it requires fatal brain surgery.