The Final of Us Episode 2 recap: ‘An infection’
After a bombshell season premiere, HBO’s The Final of Us (on Crave at 9:00 p.m. ET Sundays in Canada) retains the heartache coming in Episode 2, titled “Contaminated.”
This is every part it’s essential know from Episode 2 of HBO’s The Final of Us (spoilers forward):
We ended the premiere episode with Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tess (Anna Torv) beginning their journey to get Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to a bunch of Fireflies outdoors Boston’s quarantine zone. Episode 2 begins by establishing the worldwide scope of this fungus.
The episode begins in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 24, 2003. Ibu Ratna (Christine Hakim), a professor of mycology on the College of Indonesia, is taken by native officers to a lab to look at a specimen.
She identifies the pattern as Ophiocordyceps, which is problematic as a result of it was taken from a human, and Cordyceps can’t survive in people. Till now.
The professor then goes right into a protected room, sporting a full hazmat swimsuit, the place she sees a girl’s physique, with what appears to be like like a gunshot wound in the midst of her brow. Analyzing the girl’s leg, Ratna sees a chew mark, much like what we noticed on Ellie’s arm in Episode 1. The professor cuts open her leg to see a white substance underneath her pores and skin.
Shifting as much as the girl’s mouth, the professor pulls out these white fibres, fungus tendrils, rising out of the mouths of the contaminated individual. Seeing this causes the professor to leap again in worry.
What’s found is that over the course of about 30 hours, a girl working in a flour and grain manufacturing unit grew to become violent and attacked 4 coworkers, bit three of them. The girl was shot by police.
The individuals this contaminated lady bit have been taken for statement, however have been executed just a few hours later. Officers don’t understand how the primary lady was bitten and contaminated, and so they confirmed that 14 staff from the manufacturing unit are lacking.
Ratna is requested what officers can do to cease this fungus from spreading to extra individuals, however she has a bleak advice.
“There is no such thing as a medication. There is no such thing as a vaccine,” she says. “Begin bombing. Bomb this metropolis and everybody in it.”
Story behind Ellie’s chew and why she’s so necessary to the Fireflies
After that grim introduction to the episode, we get again to Joel, Tess and Ellie.
As we noticed on the finish of Episode 1, the three of them are getting out of the quarantine zone. However after seeing the chew mark on Ellie’s arm, Tess and Joel have to determine what they signed up for, and how much hazard they might be in.
Ellie wakes up in a refuge cease with Tess and Joel watching her, gun in hand. Ellie maintains that she’s not contaminated and explains what Marlene (Merle Dandridge) was doing along with her.
What we uncover is that Marlene discovered Ellie when she had been bitten after sneaking into an outdated mall, however Ellie by no means changed into a monster. Marlene’s workforce had been testing her on a regular basis and whereas the mark on Ellie’s arm stays, that was the one change in her after being bitten.
Marlene’s plan has been to get Ellie to a Firefly basecamp with docs who’re engaged on a remedy. They consider no matter occurred to Ellie is the important thing to making a vaccine to save lots of what’s left of humanity.
Joel isn’t satisfied, saying that he’s heard about miracle cures earlier than, nevertheless it by no means works. He’s adamant that they want to return and depart Ellie within the quarantine zone, whereas Tess thinks they need to simply get her to the Fireflies as shortly as doable to get their automotive battery and provides.
They proceed their journey, with Ellie completely stunned from being within the open metropolis, notably through the daytime.
Joel, Tess and Ellie go into an deserted lodge, strolling by the flooded constructing with frogs and different animals now inhabiting the area (along with some floating useless our bodies).
That is the start of The Final of Us establishing the longer term bond between Joel and Ellie. In a single notably poignant scene, Ellie is alone with Joel and he or she asks how lengthy contaminated individuals dwell. He tells her some final a few month or two, however others have been strolling round for 20 years. She then asks if it was arduous for him to kill contaminated individuals, realizing that they have been as soon as actual individuals. He says “generally.”
Trying down from the balcony of this deserted lodge, there’s only a sea of contaminated individuals mendacity collectively, squirming on the bottom.
“The fungus additionally grows underground, lengthy fibres like wires, a few of them stretching over a mile,” Tess says to Ellie. “You step on a patch of Cordyceps in a single place and you’ll wake a dozen contaminated from some place else. Now they know the place you might be, now they arrive.”
“You’re not immune from being ripped aside.”
What occurs to Tess in ‘The Final of Us’?
The trio then journey to a constructing that was a museum. There’s fungus rising throughout the entrance door nevertheless it’s “bone dry.” Joel explains this implies any monsters may all be useless inside, so that they proceed.
However they arrive face-to-face with an contaminated creature. Whereas Joel tries to battle it off, Tess and Ellie run to a safer place on this deserted museum. Joel finally ends up with Ellie, crouching proper subsequent to creature, which Joel finally ends up capturing. Then Tess runs in with one other monster chasing her, which Joel kills as properly.
After making an attempt to battle them off, we discover out that Ellie has been bitten, with Joel now much more skeptical that she’ll survive a second chew with out turning right into a monster.
Ellie, Tess and Joel make it to the truck they have been set to take for the journey, however they’re met with useless our bodies. All of the Fireflies on the submit have been killed after certainly one of them acquired bit. Now Tess and Joel want to determine the place precisely Marlene wanted Ellie to go, however there is no such thing as a one alive to information them.
That’s once we get to the massive reveal. Tess has been bitten, she’s contaminated with an enormous chew mark on her shoulder, as much as her neck.
As Ellie takes the bandage off her arm, the brand new chew mark hasn’t gotten any worse.
“Joel she’s f-cking actual,” Tess says. “I would like you to get her to Invoice and Frank’s, they’ll take her off your arms. They’ll deal with it from right here.”
“I by no means ask you for something. … That is your likelihood to get her there and maintain her alive.”
As Joel runs out of the constructing, Ellie is proof against leaving Tess behind. Whereas the professor in Jakarta hoped to spare the remainder of the world by bombing the town in 2003, Tess is pushing Joel to “save who it can save you,” of their present circumstances.
Earlier than a swarm of contaminated creatures enter the constructing, Tess spreads a container of gasoline and hand grenades over the ground of the constructing. After they enter, one creature comes proper as much as Tess, placing its tendrils in her mouth. She takes a lighter and throws it on the bottom, setting the constructing, and every part in it, on fireplace.
With that heartbreak, Joel and Ellie proceed on their journey, to be continued in Episode 3. The episode the place we lastly discovered who Invoice and Frank are, and their connection to Tess and Joel.