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Comment and Life

Is the fungal science in The Last of Us going off the rails?

With season 2 unfolding, the science of the fungal horror drama is becoming shakier. It is a pity that the creators haven’t thought about terrifying scenarios of real-life infection, says Corrado Nai

By Corrado Nai

9 May 2025

The Last of Us S2 E2 The Last of Us Season 2 - Episode 2

“Have you ever seen a fungus move in real life?” Episode 2 of the new season of The Last of Us

HBO

There was something I loved and something I hated in the first season of The Last of Us, the post-apocalyptic TV show based on the hit video game of the same name, in which humanity fights against fungus-infected monsters. On the pro side, the scenography is incredible: from creatures infected with a mutated Cordyceps (the “zombie-ant fungus” now turning humans into ravaging cannibals) to the eerie overgrowth dominating everything, the imagery presents a hostile world cunningly reclaimed…

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