In a recent interview with Variety, Gabrielle breaks down the introduction of the spores in The Last of Us season 2, episode 5, explaining that a great deal of thought went into how they affect the body. The star reveals that she had a lot of questions for showrunner Craig Mazin about how Nora's body being taken over by inhaled Cordyceps manifests itself, and it ended up being a challenge to bring to life as an actor. Check out Gabrielle's comment below:
"This was something that I really nerded out about with Craig [Mazin]. Craig want it to be over the top. He wants to make the science of it as real as possible. Have you ever seen when Cordyceps take over an insect or something? I asked Craig all the questions: 'She’s inhaling it. When you inhale something it goes straight to your brain. So that means it’s going to your nervous system first. But is she choking?' We would have very pointed back and forth conversations, because I wanted it to feel as real as possible.
"Her nervous system is being taken over by this thing. Her lungs are being filled with a substance that our lungs are not normally filled with. It’s not suffocation. That was something that Craig said. She can breathe, technically, but it’s just not as easy. There’s more tension in your body. The little twitches are because it’s a thing of the brain: she’s trying to fight through to maintain her mind enough to get out what she has to say to Ellie. You’re going insane against your own will, and rather rapidly.
"Any means of survival is clinging on to humanity, clinging on to oneself. It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do as an actor. It’s almost easier to die and say your final words while you’re dying. It’s much harder when you’re not actually dying at all. You’re just being consumed by something from the inside out."
What This Means For The Last Of Us
The Spores' Introduction Explained
The airborne spores are set up earlier in The Last of Us season 2, episode 5, with the reveal that a team of soldiers who went down the hospital basement to explore succumbed to them. Ellie's journey to the basement comes as she chases Nora through the building, with the pair ultimately ending up down there after an elevator shifts positions. Though Nora doesn't actually die in the episode, her fate is now sealed whether Ellie beats her to death or not, so she seemingly won't be returning in season 2, episode 6.
Ellie is immune, meaning she will emerge from her spore contact unscathed, but the introduction of this new form of infected could cause major issues for other survivors. The spores are a regular presence throughout both Last of Us video games, typically growing in damp and dark environments. Viewers, then, seemingly shouldn't expect the airborne spores to pose a major threat when survivors are out in the fresh air. Still, gas masks could become a more regular piece of equipment used on the show.
Our Take On This New Infected Form In The Last Of Us Season 2
Cordyceps Still Poses A Big Threat
With the introduction of stalkers in The Last of Us season 2, episode 1, the threat that the infected pose continues to evolve in the series. Dealing with runners and clickers in small numbers is now far easier for the survivors, but stalkers and the spores mean getting complacent in this world still means death. What makes the spores especially dangerous is that a survivor might not know they're in a toxic environment until it's too late.
It's not clear if the spores will show up in any other dark and damp environments as new episodes of The Last of Us season 2 continue to air, but characters like Dina (Isabela Merced), Jesse (Young Mazino), and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) will now need to be especially vigilant. Thankfully, due to Wyoming's relatively low humidity, Jackson could be safe from this new threat. It remains to be seen how the infected will continue to evolve on The Last of Us, but season 2, episode 5, is a reminder that Cordyceps is still very much a danger.
New episodes of The Last of Us season 2 release on Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO and Max.
