Episode 2 of The Last people HBO was a strong follower to the premiere episode, giving viewers the first in-depth consider the infamously terrifying Clickers, an explanation on the Cordyceps network, in addition to some important backstory into the origin from the virus.
In this recap of HBO's The Last of Us Podcast Episode 2, we'll dive into a few of the behind the curtain insights provided by Showrunners Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), Neil Druckmann (Creative Director on The Last people Part I & II), and host Troy Baker (Joel's original voice and motion capture actor on The Last of Us Part I & II), in addition to assess the HBO adaptation towards the base games.
For further analysis and reading on the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, you should check out the following articles:
- A spoiler-free overview of the whole first season of The Last of Us HBO TV series
- The Last of Us HBO Tv show: Cast and Character Guide
- The Last of Us interview: Henry and Perry actors examine their work
Episode recaps and analysis:
- The Last of Us – Episode 1 Recap – ‘When You’re Lost in the Darkness’
- The Last of Us – Episode 2 Recap – ‘Infected’
- The Last people – Episode 3 Recap – ‘Long, Long Time’
- The Last of Us – Episode 4 Recap – ‘Please Hold to My Hand’
- The Last of Us – Episode 5 Recap – 'Endure and Survive'
Behind-the-scenes podcast recaps:
- HBO’s All of the Us Podcast – Episode 1 Recap – ‘When You’re Lost in the Darkness’
- HBO’s All of the Us Podcast – Episode 2 Recap – ‘Infected’
- HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast – Episode 3 Recap – ‘Long, Long Time’
- HBO’s All of the Us Podcast – Episode 4 Recap – ‘Please Hold to My Hand’
The Last of Us has become streaming on HBO Max in america, and Binge in Australia.
HBO's The Last of Us Podcast – Episode 2 Recap – 'Infected'
- Druckmann’s time behind the camera
- The casting of Joel and Ellie
- The Jakarta scene
- Changes in Tess’ backstory
- The behaviour from the Cordyceps virus
- The changes in the Capitol Building
Druckmann's time behind the camera
Episode 2 of The Last people HBO was directed by series Showrunner and Creative Director on The Last of Us game titles Neil Druckmann. This is actually the first episode he's directed for that series following Craig Mazin's direction on the premiere episode.
Druckmann described the experience as 'one from the highlights' of his life, noting the comradery and collaboration he felt inside the cast and crew, and spoke to the difference of directing on a practical tv when compared to motion capture stage each of the games were recorded in.
He immediately noted there was a much more freedom to alter elements like camera placement, costume, set, and character when filming on the motion capture stage, which all this can be done after recording a scene. When working on the variation, a lot more needed to be planned ahead of time, and he emphasised that 'the final shot is exactly what you're working with'.
Mazin also stated: 'The only bit of practical directing advice I gave him was to wait a bit longer before saying cut'.
The casting of Joel and Ellie
Mazin and Druckmann spoke towards the casting of both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay, with Mazin saying:
'You write a movie 4 times – whenever you write it, when you cast it, when you shoot it, so when you edit it', adding that casting is really as essential to the procedure just like any other aspect in pre-production.
The team noted Pedro Pascal brought a certain vulnerability towards the character of Joel, that was key point in undercutting his heroism, and the man added things to the variation that weren't explored as much in the video games – drawing on the illustration of Joel flinching after Tess first reveals her bite mark throughout their encounter with the infected in the Capitol Building.
Druckmann also commented on the idea of 'trusting actors to sometimes deviate from what's on the page' and spoke to the reactions he'd noticed online that asked why the actors had been instructed to not play the games during filming, saying:
'It's with this moment [Troy Baker is] describing right now- that flinch doesn't appear in the sport. If he only agreed to be trying to copy [Baker's] performance, the very best he could do is a poor imitation of [Baker's] performance. Instead we wanted Pedro, and Bella, and everybody who had been area of the cast to really make it their own'.
The Jakarta scene
Episode 2 opens having a scene happening in Jakarta, Indonesia where a mycologist continues to be called in to talk with a Military Officer for advice on how you can quell the imminent effects of the fungal outbreak. The mycologist responds quite matter-of-factly having a word that translates in English to 'bombs', indicating the severity of the situation and what little humanity can do to slow down this disaster.
Mazin took inspiration from creator and producer Vince Gilligan (noted for his focus on Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and The X-Files), noting he'd watched Gilligan 'disorient' the viewer previously and was 'particularly fond' of delving into that concept using the cold open of the episode.
This scene also gave they an opportunity to expand on scenarios that will occured outside of the United States which alluded to the origin of the virus, as the games never explicitly show a perspective outside of America.
Mazin added: 'We knew we wanted to give a little bit more of an origin story. We wanted to see what it really would actually end up like in the very, very beginning'.
'We wanted to show also that it was global, that this wasn't just something which was happening in the usa. It was the world'.
Changes in Tess' backstory
The adaptation also gave the team leeway to expand on characters that those who had played the game were already familiar with, creating space for richer backstories and relationship dynamics.
Mazin mentioned a really interesting tidbit regarding Tess's backstory, saying he and Druckmann wrote, but never shot, exposition which says before Tess became knowledgeable about Joel, she'd a husband and a child who both became infected.
It was asserted Tess had to shoot her husband, but was unable to bring herself to shoot her child and instead made a decision to lock him within the basement of the home, where theoretically he was still being a Clicker.
In the finish, the arc didn't squeeze into the filming of the series, but Druckmann and Mazin did note this could have discussed why Tess appeared to take on a far more 'maternal' role when it found Ellie within the HBO adaptation.
The behaviour from the Cordyceps virus
The behaviour from the Cordyceps virus was also explained in more detail in Episode 2.
Druckmann noted that in the original games the infection has two vectors, with one type of infection being fluid transmission or a bite, and the other being inhalation of spores and fungal growth. As spores were removed entirely for the series, most likely in part due to logistical factors, this gave the team an opportunity to have fun with the thought of including tendrils which linked to a wider network the infected were a part of.
This ended up working in favour from the adaptation, and also the audience sees a scene where Tess explains that stepping on the stray tendril beyond a building may potentially wake up countless infected miles away.
Mazin added: 'As we create new material that does not exist in the sport, for this to feel that it had always been there or that it integrates seamlessly, that's the whole point'.
Mazin and Druckmann also discussed how they approached the visual aspects of the Clickers, mentioning they desired to avoid the utilization of an excessive amount of CGI and instead wanted to make the most of prosthetics and discover performers who could fully embody these creatures to speak the terror they first evoked within the base games.
Creative partner around the series Carolyn Strauss (Executive Producer on Chernobyl and Game of Thrones), who hadn’t played the games, also gave some important feedback during filming. She didn't realise why the Clickers couldn't see or what the issue was with one of these people in the infected in the scenes they'd initially shot. This resulted in a reshoot in which Joel explains to Ellie that the Clickers can't see, but they canhear.
Druckmann explained they'd 'the curse of knowledge' when approaching these moments, which the removal of spores made them rethink how they could show an audience evidence of Ellie's immunity. In the show, she gets bitten by among the clickers. In the game, seeing her inhale spores without her having to equip a gas mask would have been enough to validate this for Joel.
The changes in the Capitol Building
The team also spoke towards the replacement of the threat at The Capitol Building. Hanging around, Tess, Joel, and Ellie are contending with FEDRA agents as opposed to members of the infected.
Mazin said that it ultimately didn't seem sensible in order for there to become a FEDRA presence in this region, because there really was nothing for them to police beyond Quarantine Zones and buffer areas. Mazin also added that by replacing this threat using the infected, it gave them an opportunity to show a different consequence of being infected, by which they detected Tess as one of their own in this 'sick kind of community'.
This led to conversations around 'the kiss' scene, where Tess, in her last moments, is still fighting by repeatedly trying to ignite her lighter to save Joel and Ellie. She comes in close connection with a Clicker who begins to overtake her as a member of their own prior to the building is successfully destroyed.
Druckmann mentioned they had captured two versions of the moment, one where the infected were clearly in focus and something where they weren't, which by ultimately treating this scene being an 'intimate moment' and shooting it inside a more 'beautiful' way, it made for a creepier outcome.
The team also spoke to the nature of affection within the The Last of Us, with Mazin stating that the scene underscored 'the theme of love and the way love functions', which even though the nature of the reproduction is 'horrifying', in that moment it had been 'tender' and non violent.
Mazin also added that: 'The fungus loves too, it can make much more of itself, that's what we do whenever we love one another. A lot of us make much more of ourselves, that's the way the species is propagated'.
Additional analysis and notable quotes
- This is less of an analysis and much more blind hope – It's mentioned within this episode that Tess were built with a husband along with a child who became infected, despite the fact that scenes delving into this were unable to fit in the series, I personally think there's possibility of this to become explored in a comic adaptation similar to The Last of Us: American Dreams.
- Troy Baker – 'Whenever you leave a crowd wondering what's going to happen next, that's exactly where you wish to leave them'.
- Neil Druckmann – '[The cast and crew] all love this material a lot, plus they wish to accomplish right because of it and they want to do right by me'.
- Craig Mazin – 'You write a film four times – whenever you write it, when you cast it, whenever you shoot it, so when you edit it'.
- Craig Mazin – (Referencing 'the kiss' with Tess and the infected) 'There's something so creepy and gross and primal about this, but also weirdly- beautiful'.
- Craig Mazin – 'As we create new material that doesn't appear in the sport, for this to feel that it had always been there or it integrates seamlessly, that's the whole point'.
- Craig Mazin – 'So a lot of who Joel is, is a man who would like to save his daughter, despite the fact that she's been dead for twenty years- There's this dark nature of his saviour hood'.
