The Last of Us: A Guide to All the Infected Runners, Stalkers, Clickers, and Bloaters
The Last of Us is the evolved phase of zombie entertainment. HBO really said zombies are so 2010. At this point, we have enough zombie movies and shows that another zombie show would just be redundant. While we love All of Us Are Dead and The Walking Dead, there isn’t much room left for anything unique anymore. Enter The Last of Us, a show that’s non-zombie zombie entertainment. They might look similar, but the show’s Infected are ten times creepier than zombies as we know them. We know what to expect with zombies, but the Infected? Not so much.
The Last of Us crew was so dedicated to delivering a new caliber of entertainment that they even banned the word “zombie” from being used on set and the co-showrunner Neil Druckmann, to this day, refuses to call the Infected zombies.
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Unlike zombies, the Infected in The Last of Us have their own unique social structure, which can be a little confusing if you haven’t played the games. If you’ve watched World War Z or I Am Legend, then you’ll know that zombies are pretty much the same in every movie. But that’s where The Last of Us distinguishes itself from others. Here’s a quick guide to all the Infected “groups” in The Last of Us.
Runners
All the Infected in The Last of Us are former humans who’ve fallen to the Cordyceps brain infection, the plague that caused the end of the world. The first stage of the infection are the Runners, the weakest (in strength) but fastest monsters among the Infected. Runners are made when the person has been infected for two days or more. For the most part, Runners are the most human-like group, which is equally terrifying and tragic. The video game hints that Runners still have some humanity left in them and the Infected person’s mind is still conscious enough to resist the fungus’ mind control. In the game and the show, the most notable identifier of Runners is that they moan, as if the humans inside are struggling to get out.
Stalkers
The second stage of the Infected is where things get gross as hell. If zombies and their undead gore were gross, wait till you get a load of the monstrous mutations of Stalkers. They’re just as fast as Runners but with the added zeal of Clickers. As their name suggests, Stalkers are smart enough to stalk their prey, unlike Runners who chase prey mindlessly. The Stalker stage sets in about a week after infection. The identifiers of Stalkers are their mutated fungus-like facial features and the distinct croaking noises they make.
Clickers
Clickers are the next stage of creepy in The Last of Us world. They’re easy enough to spot: they lack human heads. If Stalkers have survived until their first year, they’ll evolve (or devolve?) into Clickers. The fungus will completely eradicate their brains, leaving just an open fungus-infected mouth in its place. Without their eyes, Clickers are blind and rely on echolocation. They’re faster, stronger, and smarter than Runner and Stalkers, and are identified by their clicking sounds.
Bloaters
Bloaters are the bodybuilders of the Infected. They’re big and mean with disgusting, impenetrable fungus for skin. Bloaters are the last stage of the Infected, and they only occur when a person (barely a person at this point) survives the Cordyceps brain infection for years. Their size makes them slow, but their strength makes them move like a tank. If their appearance wasn’t enough to gross you out, just know that their giant pustules also contain toxins as an added defense mechanism. Mother Nature is a cruel bitch in The Last of Us. Bloaters also make clicking sounds, but with a deeper, more ominous tone.
Shamblers
Shamblers are considered another version of the fourth stage. If a Clicker is located near the water and survives for years, it could develop into a Shambler instead of a Bloater. Shamblers might not be as deadly as Bloaters, but they’re way more grotesque. They’re covered in giant pimples that spray acid when popped. So, they’re essentially Bloaters, but poisonous. SMH.
The poor characters of The Last of Us can’t catch a goddamn break.
Catch The Last of Us in the Philippines only on HBO GO.
