The Last of Us Season 2 Finally Introduces a Key Mechanic From the Game

Fungal spores are a common way for Cordyceps to spread in The Last of Us games, but haven't appeared in the series until now

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And that vector has certainly worked in upping the scare factor of those infected by Cordyceps. The tendril network has triggered more than a few terrifying encounters across both seasons thus far from the Boston horde that killed Tess to the attack on Jackson. But now it seems like Cordyceps is evolving in even more terrifying ways.

While promoting season 2 at SXSW 2025, Druckmann confirmed that there would be “an escalation of numbers and types of infected, but also, as you see in the trailer, an escalation of the vector of how this thing spreads.” Mazin chimed in soon after confirming that “spores are back” this season. Druckmann then went on to explain “The reason [we’re doing it now], I mean, we really wanted to figure it out, and again, everything has to be drama. There had to be a dramatic reason of introducing it now. And there is.”

So far this season, they’ve already introduced a new type of infected from the games – stalkers. We saw Ellie (Bella Ramsey) face off against one in an abandoned grocery store in Jackson, and now Ellie and Dina (Isabela Merced) almost succumbed to a group of them in Seattle. But that’s not the scariest part of episode 5.

Episode 5 begins with a conversation between W.L.F. officers Hanrahan (Alanna Ubach) and Park talking about an incident that occurred while clearing out infected from the hospital that the W.L.F. is trying to use as a base. In the basement levels, a squad of soldiers began to report back that there weren’t any infected to fight, but that they were having trouble breathing. One of the soldiers, Sergeant Park’s son, Leon, told her to seal them in and block off access to the area the best they could. The situation has clearly left both of these soldiers shaken about what could be lurking in the depths of the hospital.

Later on in the episode, Ellie inadvertently chases Nora (Tati Gabrielle) into the basement levels where we finally get to see for ourselves what the soldiers were so terrified of. The Cordyceps has grown into the walls, as we’ve seen before, but this time it’s done something different to its hosts. Instead of transforming these people into bloodthirsty drones, the Cordyceps has taken them into the walls, keeping them ‘alive’ just enough to use their respiratory system as a vector for spores. 

As Ellie walks through, we see Leon among the bodies exhaling spores into the air. Even though he hasn’t been down there for long, he already has a lot more fungal growths over his body than early-stage infected (runners) typically do. Thankfully, Ellie’s immunity carries over into this new delivery method, but Nora is not so lucky. It doesn’t take long for her to start coughing and twitching as the Cordyceps takes over. 

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