The Last of Us Fans Are Divided Over That Clicker Moment in Episode 2 of HBO Series

This article contains major spoilers for Episode 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us and for The Last of Us video game.

The second episode of The Last of Us aired on HBO on Sunday and some fans have been left a bit confused by its closing scene.

Creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann always claimed to stay largely loyal to the original PlayStation 3 game’s story but also said they’d mix it up when necessary, and the first of these major shifts arrived at the end of episode two.

It may have come as a particular surprise to some, however, as the scene was set up almost exactly the same as the game. Here’s one final spoiler warning before we discuss the ending of HBO’s The Last of Us episode two.

The show sees Tess go out in gruesome fashion after getting infected, with a Clicker laying a disgusting kiss on her with his mouth tendrils. Some fans liked the change, some hated it, and others were just… grossed out.

god i have so many questions did it recognize her as infected was it just hoping to spread it to her faster why wasn’t it violent why’d it go through her mouth are they going to be connected now how long does it take to transfer how did she stay lucid that long h #TheLastOfUsHBO pic.twitter.com/DGZHtItstD

— ? loverboy ? (@bitchboyblues) January 23, 2023

That Last of Us episode was so damn good, but can anyone give me one solid reason as to why that infected had to shove its tongue down Tess’ throat and deliver the one of the most disgusting looking kisses I’ve ever seen on live TV?? ?? #TheLastofUs #HBO pic.twitter.com/SwnwYcvDxO

— Jordy (@JordyD127) January 23, 2023

killing zombies bc they were once ppl and he was never able to answer the question bc Tess interrupted him. It was like a full circle moment of showing some sort of humanity in the zombie, almost like this kiss was this instinctive human action even tho the purpose was to infect

— ♡ auntie gay ♡ (@ASVPxBocky) January 23, 2023

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i will 100% percent say it was unnecessary having the infected kiss tess for some stupid ass reason. like sure it was gross and creepy but like…. what was the reason lol

— ? hidy ? (@hidytxt) January 23, 2023

I don’t get the hate over the kiss scene in last of us, Tess was nearing the end the infection would have been covering her brain at that point and that’s why most infected ran past her it’s obvious they can sense and not attack other infected, the one that kissed

— Maher (@UhAhhhmm) January 23, 2023

Mazin, however, said the kiss actually makes more sense then Tess getting torn apart.

“We were already talking about tendrils coming out [of the infected’s mouths] and we were asking these philosophical questions: ‘Why are infected people violent? If the point is to spread the fungus, why do they need to be violent?,'” he said. “We landed on that they don’t. They’re violent because we resist, but what if you don’t? What does it look like if you just stand perfectly still and let them do this to you?

“Then we landed on this nightmare fuel. It’s disturbing and it’s violative. I think it’s very primal in the way it invades your own body.”

Druckmann added that the departure from the game – where Tess is killed in the same scene, in the same building, but by soldiers – was also to fit in with the episode’s theme, which is blatantly titled Infected.

“Because we’re cruel to the characters we love so much, it felt like she knows she’s done for, and then the lighter doesn’t work, and we take her all the way to the edge of horror before we finally give her an out,” he added.”

Even still, Mazin acknowledges that it’s “all right” that fans are upset. “I don’t blame them,” he told Variety. “Everybody dreams of working on something where the fan engagement is to this level, where people will argue about these things or feel passionate about them. I do feel sometimes, if you just see how it goes, I think you’ll be OK.”

Episode two also introduced clickers and brought one of the game’s scariest scenes to life, and despite the departure at the end, also shared a ton of other similarities.

In our 9/10 review of the episode, IGN said: “A fantastic blend of edge-of-your-seat tension, memorable character moments, and engaging backstory, episode two of The Last of Us opens up the horrors of its world for all to see.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.