The Last of Us zombie types

Every zombie story has a different way that people get infected. On The Last of Us, it’s through a fungus called cordyceps. One a person is infected with cordyceps, they go through several stages of mutation, most of which we see in HBO’s The Last of Us TV show. Let’s walk through the different stages:

• Stage 1: Runners: These are people who have become infected in the last 24-48 hours. As the name implies, they can still run. They don’t yet have cordyceps growing out of the bodies, and look more or less like crazed human beings.
• Stage 2: Stalkers: A week or so after getting infected, a runner becomes a stalker. They start to look less human at this stage, with fungus coming out of their bodies and face. They can still see, though, which is more than can be said for…
• Stage 3: Clickers: Probably the most iconic zombies from The Last of Us, infected become clicks about a year after exposure. The fungus has completely taken over the person’s face, rendering them unable to see. They’re dependent on hearing at this point, which is why they make those creepy clicking noises; it’s a kind of echolocation. They are extremely deadly.
• Stage 4: Bloaters: But they’ve got nothing on bloaters. After years of being infected, a person’s body can be overcome by the fungus. Bloaters are huge, strong, durable and slow. There’s also an alternative form called shamblers; these are made when infected on their way to becoming bloaters are exposed to excess water. They can fling pus-like toxic spores at people.

And there’s at least one kind of zombie we haven’t seen on the show yet (beware SPOILERS)…

All the different kinds of zombies in The Last of Us

The Last of Us HBO show is based on Naughty Dog’s video game of the same name. The Last of Us Part II came out in 2020. That will form the basis for the second and third seasons of the show.

And there’s one kind of zombie from that game that doesn’t feature in the first, known only as the Rat King. That refers to what happens when the tails of many rats become intertwined.

Basically, the Rat King is a huge zombie who seems to have other kinds of zombies attached to it. It’s thought to be made up of some of the first people who were ever infected, so it’s had a long time to grow. We’ll definitely meet it in a future season of The Last of Us, and when that happens, may luck be on our side.

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