Summary
With the second season ofThe Last of Uswrapped up, fans are left with a lot in the open and a lotmore to look forward to. The season is by no means a stopping point for the show, and it is very clear both from comments by the creators and how much of the story is still left, that Ellie’s tale won’t be concluding any time soon.
The show and games themselves are not exactly a typical horror experience, but they do include more than a few moments that demonstrate the terrors that lie in the apocalypse, both human and infected. There were plenty of chilling moments this season that pushed people to the edge of their seats, showing that a story can be both emotional, action-packed, and deeply horrifying.
Spoiler Alert: Major details for both the game and the show will be discussed in this article
7In The Pipes
Episode 1 - Future Days
One of the moreunique aspects of the infected inTLOUis the plant-like characteristics that go along with the virus. Tendrils and fungal spores give the infected a distinct look that is far more terrifying than just a brain-hungry zombie. In season two, this is taken a step further, as a large network of vine-like roots is seen growing through a pipe into Jackson, acting as a scout for the infected to search for more hosts.
The inclusion in the show is an example of a moment that doesn’t bring any action or death immediately, but it is a chilling reminder of the lack of safety that the town has and the ever present threat that lies just outside the walls. It’s a simple visual that represents the horrors in the world that will stop at nothing to spread and infect as many bodies as possible.
6Nora’s Death
Episode 5 - Feel Her Love
After hunting for Abby and her crew throughout Seattle, Ellie finally manages to find one of the group alone. Nora and her engage in an intense chase that results in Nora being cornered in a quarantined area and collapsing to the ground. At first, she smirks as she assumes Ellie will also succumb to the spores, but she soon loses the smile when she finds out who the immune girl was all along.
The lighting, the atmosphere, the stakes, everything put together paints Ellie in avery dark and villainous light, a stark contrast to the weakness and emotion seen before. She shows no remorse and no desire to give up, inflicting the same pain upon Nora as was given to Joel and leaving her to a fate perhaps worse than death.
5Isaac Dixon Torturing A Seraphite
Episode 4 - Day One
Isaac Dixon is known for being a ruthless leader that has little to no sympathy for groups other than his own. His introduction into the show, saw him murdering an entire platoon of FEDRA soldiers with a grenade and his quickness to kill for his cause knows little to no bounds, especially when it comes to dealing with Seraphites.
In episode 4, he is seen monologuing in a fairly nonchalant manner about pans and his desire to own a specific kind before the apocalypse. As the heat grows, the realization sets in on what he is about to do, and he proceeds to torture a naked Seraphite for answers. The visuals make the scene all the more chilling and it is hard to watch as he shows no hesitation when inflicting pain and torment on even an innocent soul.
4Jackson Attack
Episode 2 - Through The Valley
One of themost action-packed episodes in the whole showand a scene that demonstrates the unrelenting nature of the infected. The horde wakes up from the snow and their numbers are shown to be astronomically bigger than anyone could have imagined. 1000s of ravenous creatures all sprinting in unison towards Jackson, attacking the walls and tearing through the seemingly solid defenses in a matter of seconds.
Despite the preparations and the attempts to hold them off, the numbers are too large and the infected begin sweeping through the streets and massacring everything in their path. This is made all the more scary by the introduction to a Bloater, a large unstoppable infected that continues to march forward showing no pain and no signs of faltering one bit. Even though the town makes it out mostly alive, the damage done is significant and the moment remains a chilling reminder of the power of the horde.
3Spores
Up until the later stages of the second season, the infection was presumed to be transmitted purely by physical contact by a bite or by entering the bloodstream in some other way. Episode five flips the script on this idea in a big way, showing off a large quarantined zone full of spores and large fungal structures, with a few poor souls becoming fused with the walls themselves.
Even though Ellie is immune and has nothing to fear in the air, knowing that the threat has evolved into a new form, opens up the doors for more potential disasters down the line and demonstrates that, even in a short time period, the virus has been able to adapt and show off more than just a few mindless drones.
2Infected Subway
Episode four has a lot of action and a lot of infected that all come at once. A rundown subway full of debris and darkness, only lit by small flashlights and a red glow that illuminates the walls with a blood-like hue. It doesn’t take long before the FEDRA agents are overrun and Ellie and Dina are forced into a cramped compartment and given little to no time to think of an escape plan.
The intensity just doesn’t let up, as the horde continues their pursuit relentlessly and chases them out towards the exists where Ellie does the only thing she can to protect Dina: letting an infected bit her. It’s a nailbiting chase sequence that never lets up and shows in a perfect way the mindless dedication that the infected swarm has.
1Joel’s Death
In a zombie apocalypse where death can be as quick, it turns out that the scariest threat of all is mankind. After pursuing Joel across the country and encountering him by pure chance, Abby manages to lure him and Dina to a lodge in the mountains, where she reveals her true colors and gets to work inflicting as much torment and torture as it humanly possible.
A shotgun shot to the leg, blunt attacks from a golf club, and a bare-knuckle beating that never lets up, Abby is just as unforgiving as the infected that lie just beyond the trees. The scene is made all the worse when Ellie shows up and is made to watch but can do nothing but beg as Abby delivers the final blow. The scene isjust as torturous to watch as the action on-screenand the level of brutality makes it standout as one of the most awful moments in the whole show.
