The Last Of Us viewers complain about overall lack of infected in series

HBO’s The Last of Us has almost drawn to a close and as GAMINGbible’s resident stan, it’s something I’m very sad about. Just yesterday, one of my colleagues said, ‘Who will you become when it ends?’ and it’s a very valid question. Luckily for me, the 10th anniversary of the franchise is just three short months away. I’m sure Naughty Dog is planning something.

The latest episode of The Last of Us was undeniably one of the season’s strongest. Fans are in agreement that Bella Ramsey deserves an Emmy for their incredible performance, plus viewers enjoyed seeing Troy Baker (Part I and Part II’s Joel) portray James. Let’s take a moment to appreciate Pedro Pascal too because he nailed that interrogation scene. As great as this week’s episode was though, fans aren’t entirely pleased.

Take a look at the promo for the season finale, ‘Look for the Light,’ below.

Some viewers believe that HBO’s The Last of Us doesn’t feature enough infected scenes. Reddit user satanaepueri wrote, “I’m really disappointed that I’m one episode from the end and I’ve experienced hardly any of the infected.” Many supported the show, saying the number of infected suited the TV format. User 28secondslater replied, “The people that can’t handle this part of criticism don’t realise that in nine episodes, the ‘zombies’ barely make a presence in less than half of them.”

Bruninfa added, “I feel they are missing in a couple spots. It’s not a deal breaker, but they are ridiculously sporadic.” Some users have suggested that it might’ve been good if Joel and Ellie had heard distant clicker screeches, or spotted fungus and said something along the lines of ‘Let’s avoid this,’ just to remind viewers that this is a more pervasive threat than the show sometimes lets on.

It’s true that infected have only featured sporadically. We had runners in episode one, clickers and runners in episode two, the horde in episode five, and the single runner in episode seven. I do think the show’s sparing use of infected helps emphasise what immense danger they pose - they’re not simply canon fodder. That being said, I do back the viewer sentiment. An extra scene or two could’ve really helped underpin the importance of finding a cure and all that Ellie and Joel are willing to do to achieve that.