The Last Of Us Season 2 Has A Great Spore Replacement To Solve A Big Ellie Dilemma

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part II.

HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us has done away with spores, which presents a huge problem for Ellie’s storyline in season 2, but season 1 already introduced the perfect spore replacement. Filming for The Last of Us season 2 is well underway, with showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann starting to tackle the gargantuan nonlinear narrative of The Last of Us Part II in TV form. The sequel sees Ellie embarking on a quest for revenge in Seattle with her love interest Dina in tow.

In adapting The Last of Us for television, Mazin and Druckmann made a lot of changes that will have ramifications for season 2. Moving the outbreak back to 2003 means that the TV show might not be able to use Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” (but they should probably just use it anyway). Maria’s pregnancy means that in the TV show, Tommy will be a father by the time he heads to Seattle. The erasure of spores in the TV series will pose a big obstacle for Ellie’s storyline, too.

The Last Of Us Season 2 Needs A New Way For Dina To Find Out About Ellie's Immunity

In The Last of Us Part II, towards the end of Ellie and Dina’s first day in Seattle, they encounter spores in an abandoned subway station. Ellie’s gas mask breaks and she stops Dina from taking off her own to give to her, insisting that she’s immune and can breathe in spores. When Ellie first told Dina about her immunity, she didn’t believe her. But after seeing her breathe in spores, she’s finally convinced. Since the TV show has no spores, they’ll have to come up with a new way for Dina to find out about Ellie’s immunity.

The Last Of Us Season 2 Can Use A Fresh Bite To Confirm Ellie's Immunity Again

There’s been a lot of speculation about how The Last of Us season 2 will deal with the spore dilemma, but the answer may already lie in season 1. In the first game, Joel is initially skeptical about Ellie’s claim that she’s immune, but is finally convinced when he sees her breathing in spores (also in an abandoned subway station). Since the TV show couldn’t copy this scene directly, the showrunners came up with a creative way to get around it.

In The Last of Us season 1, episode 2, “Infected,” the TV showrunners added confirmation of Ellie’s immunity to the museum sequence. During the clicker encounter in the museum, Ellie gets bitten, but shows no signs of turning. This finally confirms her immunity to the skeptical Joel. Season 2 can do the same thing and use a fresh bite to convince Dina of Ellie’s immunity.