HBO’s ‘The Final of Us’ Episode 2 Makes Main Modifications to the Recreation’s Story

The Final of Us episode 2 landed on HBO Max on Sunday, and it noticed Ellie, Tess and Joel taking the primary steps of their darkish journey throughout the US. Followers of the basic online game will undoubtedly be happy at how intently it mirrors the supply materials.

There have been a couple of main deviations from the sport, although, so let’s dive into these.

Cordyceps origin

For the reason that recreation limits its focus to Joel and Ellie’s views, references to the pandemic’s origins are restricted to notes and previous newspapers scattered across the atmosphere. 

In distinction, episode 2’s opening flashback reveals how the Cordyceps fungus introduced the world to spoil in 2003. After being bitten by an unknown particular person, a lady working at a flour and grain manufacturing facility in Jakarta, Indonesia, chomped on her coworkers earlier than being gunned down.

A number of of those folks had been executed to cease the issue from rising, however it was too late. After being consulted by safety forces and discovering that the lifeless girl’s physique had been colonized by the fungus, mycology skilled Ibu Ratna (Christine Hakim) gives some terrifying recommendation: Bomb town to cease it from spreading additional. 

Apparently accepting that this was the top, Ratna asks to be taken house so she will be able to spend no matter time she has left together with her household. Collection author Craig Mazin informed CNET that is scariest second within the present for him.

“That is terrifying to me,” he mentioned. “It grounds the whole lot, and the extra we are able to make the peripheral really feel actual, the extra the middle will really feel actual.”

So, yeah, cheery stuff. In his deep-dive into the science behind the present’s fungal pandemic, CNET’s Jackson Ryan famous that we’re massively depending on rice, wheat and maize as meals sources. If any of those had been contaminated with a fungal pathogen, it might be devastating. 

Within the recreation, Cordyceps spreads through spores — Mazin informed ComicBook.com that they modified it for the present to keep away from having characters sporting gasoline masks on a regular basis.

A darkish destiny

Mysterious teen Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is proof against the fungal mind an infection that has lowered a lot of the populace to savage cannibals, so smuggler companions Tess and Joel (Anna Torv and Pedro Pascal) have been tasked with delivering her to the insurgent group referred to as the Fireflies. They hope to copy Ellie’s resistance and restore the world.

The episode’s 2023 story sticks intently to the sport, proper right down to Tess hiding the truth that she’d been bitten by one of many contaminated within the Bostonian Museum. They attain the Capitol Constructing and discover the corpses of the Fireflies they had been meant to convey Ellie to.

Tess reveals her wound, accepts that she’s doomed and calls for {that a} reluctant Joel convey Ellie to their buddies Invoice and Frank, to allow them to assist get Ellie to the Fireflies.

“You get her there. You retain her alive. And also you set the whole lot proper,” she says. “All of the shit we did. Please say sure, Joel, please.”

Within the recreation, troopers of the authoritarian remnants of the US navy arrive on the constructing and Tess stays behind to delay their adversaries. She’s rapidly gunned down, however her sacrifice provides Joel and Ellie the possibility to flee.

The present, nevertheless, sees a horde of contaminated descend on the Capitol Constructing, and Tess stays behind to cowl Joel and Ellie’s escape. She dumps gasoline and grenades everywhere in the ground.

“Joel, save who it can save you,” she says, prompting him to drag a struggling Ellie to security.

Because the contaminated rush in, Tess struggles to ignite the lighter and blow all of them up. A very horribly mutated contaminated notices her and tendrils lengthen from its mouth into hers — by no means have I wished a flame to ignite extra.

A lot to our reduction, she manages mild the fireplace and closes her eyes earlier than the explosion kills her and a bunch of contaminated. Ellie and Joel witness the blast from outdoors, and a quietly devastated Joel walks away.

We do not know why the present’s creators opted to make use of contaminated for this second as an alternative of troopers, however it appears probably they wished to strengthen the hazard of the Cordyceps fungus simply because it was revealed that Ellie might be the supply of a remedy. 

The awful story continues on HBO Max subsequent Sunday, Jan. 29.