The Last of Us Episode 2 is finally here and it was truly worth the wait. The second episode offered a terrifying look at Day One of the Cordyceps zombie pandemic and it pretty much confirmed that a theory about how it all started was spot on.
In The Last of Us Episode 2, we are brought back to 2003 in Jakarta, Indonesia where a mycology professor Ibu Ratna is brought across town by the military. The professor is brought to a facility where she is asked to inspect the corpse of a woman who had bitten her co-workers. When Ratna checks the woman, she discovers a human bite on her leg and fungi tendrils in her mouth.
The soldier who escorted Ibu Ratna reveals that it is unknown who had bitten the woman but 14 of her co-workers at the flour mill have gone missing. He then begs the professor to help them find a cure before the infection spreads. The terrified Ratna tells him there is no cure and that the only way to prevent the pandemic is to bomb the city. She then tearfully asks to be brought home so she could be with her family.
The idea that it all started in Indonesia was previously suggested by some fans who theorized that the cordyceps were spread through flour. Since Jakarta has the world's largest flour mill, it only made sense that the spread happened quickly even if the city was bombed as Ratna had suggested.
It's an interesting new take on the cordyceps pandemic and The Last of Us Episode 2 made sure that Day One was still terrifying despite the lack of onscreen blood and gore.
The Last of Us Episode 2 is titled Infected and directed by video game co-creator Neil Druckmann. It featured Indonesian actor Christine Hakim as Ibu Ratna. The episode is now streaming on HBO Max.
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