Doctor Reacts to THE LAST OF US // Episode 5

[@Camo_Steve]

I think for Ellie with the blood scene it was 3 fold. 1. She's naive and thinks it might work. 2. She wants to save this new friend of hers so badly. 3. Partially, comfort for Sam, because clearly he's upset, and she wants to help him feel better

[@fallingstar9643]

Also, as Dr Hope sorta mentioned, you can't imagine a much worse state to be in... so, like, what do you have to lose by trying? It works, but then Sam dies a few weeks later from a blood clot as a result of a messy transfusion?

[@trashcaninc.292]

Riley...

[@Christiansstillstruggle]

Right on the nail

[@incantrix1337]

Imagine how silly you'd feel if that was how it worked and you never tried. :) (the fungus are basically space magic, so who knows how immune blood works!)

[@fnvfan0145]

True, she's essentially a naive(or sheltered) girl who wants the first person around her age she's met in a while to live... Especially after Riley's factored into this situation.

[@canisfabico]

Sam did not attack Ellie during her sleep because he was deaf and was looking to the window for the sunrise.

[@josefinelagerstrom2643]

Didn't think about that!

[@Da3mic]

Terrible to be turned into a creature that depends on hearing so much being deaf

[@olgabahirkina1286]

To be fair...I do believe fungus might have eventually restored his hearing. I mean, it turned a paralytic grandma into an olympic champion. But we don't know the rules, and it was too early.

[@PetalwingStudio]

@@olgabahirkina1286 Being infected doesn't heal anything, it's more that the fungus pushed the grandma's body far past its limits without any regard for pain or further self-preservation. I'm sure looking at the grandma's body afterward would show many muscular and ligament injuries. The fungus doesn't receive the pain signals that the host's body is giving and will just fling itself towards its target any way it can.

[@canisfabico]

@@olgabahirkina1286 It didn't, in the podcast the writers said it was this way.

[@Naskuji]

In the game the Big Boy is called a bloater, they are super old infected so the assumption is that they just survived and kept growing for a long time and all the fungus has formed a hard shell around the original human. They also launch spore bombs to infect other people but the spores have been cut out for the show so they are just beefy boys but that's plenty enough 😅 A thing I really liked in this episode is that Kathleen's pathological obsession for revenge led to their doom she kept making short sighted decisions, killing a doctor who I suppose would be a very very precious asset in this context for a community, and postponing the infected issue to focus on Henry, making bad decisions all around because of this compulsion, it's a very human character even if she end up being the "villain" from our point of view

[@naynay2217]

Then saying all kids die. Not too long after she gets killed by a child clicker.

[@trashcaninc.292]

Side note, in the game during the school section you find several logs detailing several people were locked in a closet as they were infected. So the bloater canonically is no more than 3 individuals feeding into one single body. There's an enemy in the 2nd game that is a culmination of MULTIPLE (at least 7) individuals known as "the rat king" the mutations might not even be done evolving, bloats and the king are the oldest known infected, but they are 20 years and under, what could happen to a community, or even several dozen people in a building. What could happen to the thousands of military aircraft carriers with 1,000+ people. Imagine in the last of us 3 we come across a full city converted to bio-mass.

[@InsertName159]

@@trashcaninc.292 it's gonna be quite a nightmare

[@sadee4175]

Yeah they are bloated because of just how extensive their infection is. Their bodies are covered in extra hard peices of the fungal growths and I imagine that inside their bodies are also full of of the fungi thus causing them to swell. In game lore they were probably some of the first people to be infected and were not destroyed. Fun easter egg for the show... when he rips that guys head in half thats exactly how the player dies in the game if he is caught by bloater.

[@MeeshT]

I remember reading somewhere that infected like the bloater are rare and few in between because it requires an initially strong person - think a football coach at the school maybe? - that the fungus can keep alive and protect for far longer than an average person. It would explain their insane strength and height they were beefy, tall guys to begin with.

[@Novur]

That final scene was a real punch to the gut. Bella's acting in the moment was incredibly impacting, much more so than simply showing it would have been.

[@cartoonkeeper]

Yeah there's also the fact that the actions of the guy who fired the shot makes sense he did just kill his little brother I think that was supposed to be his little brother

[@martinmillar7137]

That whimper... is a moment in tv i feel... one to rewind later

[@dungeonguy88]

@@cartoonkeeper Yep. You see a bit more of Henry's breakdown in the show itself, but...yeah. All the more heartbreaking considering everything Henry had done to keep Sam alive.

[@cartoonkeeper]

@@dungeonguy88 yeah so it makes sense he would resort to shooting himself after having to do that to his own brother

[@Puckett.]

Theres a few explanations for the Ellie blood scene. Most important one she's a child and probably doesn't know how the human body or medicine works. This seems like a reasonable idea to someone with very limited understanding and is desperate for any ideas given the situation. Also Sam is a child and could easily be convinced this would work making his last few hours more calm. Sam would've been scared all night if he knew he was going to turn in the morning. I'm glad he was able to have hope for his survival in his final moments.

[@tylercharles4587]

The Bloater's actually an aged variant of the infection.... Like 10 years.

[@BarstucksCoffee]

I don't think they specifically gave a timeframe of how long the infected develop from Clicker to Bloater, at least not when I played through the games iirc. But yeah, a lot of things can happen in that 20 year jump from the outbreak to the start of TLoU

[@hellfish2309]

Peak Performance Portabello

[@fnvfan0145]

​@@BarstucksCoffeeit would've taken a long time regardless, if the high school bloater is anything to go by.

[@Mctrrt1]

@@hellfish2309 i shouldnt have laughed at this

[@birdienator7377]

Bit of lore here This is based on the game, could be different in the show.. Ellie isn't technically immune, she is infected (this is why she tests positive on the scanner in game and show), but she's infected with a mutated variant of the infection that has no bad symptoms, she is effectively immune to the bad variant because there is no 'room' for it to spread if she gets bit because she is already full of 'good fungus' There's a line "the cordyceps inside her, the growth, it somehow mutated, its why she's immune" from an audio log in the game or something

[@vin2164]

yeah it's either in the recording jerry leaves or marlene tells joel, can't remember

[@birdienator7377]

@@vin2164 pretty sure it's actually Marlene yeah, but Jerry says similar things that puts across the same idea

[@DeadAutumnHorrorStories]

Its more accurately probably that the varient in her is artificially bolstering her immune system along side not leaving space for alternative growth.

[@birdienator7377]

@@DeadAutumnHorrorStories it could be like that yeah, I just like to think of it like her inventory is full so she doesn't have room to pick up any more items (fungus). Because it is said that her mutated variant has grown in her to some degree, you see it in her arm and said to be on brain etc, just no external growth or hallucinations from the mind control part that normal cordyceps does

[@LuciMorgonstjaerna]

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE GAME, POSSIBLY THE SHOW* wasn't her mother bitten while Ellie was still in the womb? I remember that being the reason for her immunity. But it was a long time ago I played these games.

[@jp4951]

NO! Don't make me suffer through ep5's ending again! I just got over my depression.

[@BarstucksCoffee]

I kinda wished it played out a little more akin to the scene from the game because I really felt Henry's internal conflict, desperation and resulting torment after having to kill Sam. But dang, the emotions after watching this scene again still hit pretty dang hard.

[@bibs1310]

I think it was said in the The Last of Us official podcast that the big boy (bloater) situation happened to people who were already very big and could "endure" the fungus for a very long time, hence why they look a lot like a giant walking mushroom. Smaller infected people stick to the walls when the fungus "notices" they are no longer viable (like how we've seen on episode 1 with Tess and Joel), so basically people had to have a predisposition prior to the outbreak to become bloaters

[@kujasan]

"kid you better be dying, for the sake of science" =P jokes aside, stellar and humorous as always!

[@kagekun1198]

Well, it's not quite decapitation... but for all intents and purposes it's the same. The Bloater rips the man's head open by pulling his mouth apart. The eye sockets are used for better gripping. A grisly way to go for sure.

[@CelestialDraconis]

It's the same animation you get in the game if you get too close and caught by a bloater. Was really cool to see in the show as well.

[@brettturnage533]

You’re reaction at the end scenes made me love this channel.

[@vhs3760]

7:27 "you can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half!" - Bart Simpson

[@SohiHien]

Can't wait to see your thoughts on episode 6. Joel's injury at the end. Would love to hear your thoughts on how he is injured in the game too (much more intense and pretty much impossible to survive from hence why it was changed)

[@cattomint4313]

yo i used to watch ur vids when i was younger and it inspired me to study medicine ‼️ keep it up fr‼️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Juggtacula]

Ellie's only 12-13 in the game and show, so it makes sense that knowing she's immune to cordyceps, she'd *think* that rubbing her blood on a wound could potentially work.

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

The Bloater is just an infected that’s been active for a very long time, we’re talking decades. This Bloater has probably been infected for maybe 15-20 years and so the fungus that grew all over his body and through his musculature made him stronger and essentially armored.

[@btackett2]

Somehow this show finds new ways to break my heart every week. Such a well done emotional roller coaster of a show

[@Jeetaruey]

A bit disappointed you didn't talk about the leukemia part when Henry tells Joel about Sam being sick and what medicine that it would have been that Sam needed. Also it would be interesting to talk about what if they had known Sam was bitten in the ankle, would he have been able to survive if they had cut off his leg or would it not have been even possible without a skilled surgeon?

[@Herexton]

Cutting off the leg would probably not have worked as they hyphae would have already spread inside his body, even if you cannot see it. This is why you are supposed to throw away the entire loaf of bread when it is moldy instead of just the moldy part, because the hyphae will have already spread throughout the entire loaf. The mold you see is just the fruiting body of the mold. I would assume it is the same thing for the cordiceps too. It still might be worth a shot to at least try instead of what happened to him though :(

[@serenapenner3581]

I think even with the risk of dying from shock, or infection from a bad wound, I would have wanted to try to live without a foot/ lower limb.

[@kingcobra2858]

Just when I thought dr. Hope has nerves of steal, seeing him react to Sam and his brother was priceless.

[@joelengblom8967]

That is one of the best episodes so far in my opinion, and Ellies reaction to Henry killing himself was just heartbreaking and perfect acting.

[@MirIsAwesome]

nooooo i was especially excited to see your comments on this weeks episode 6 😭 five weeks is gonna be a long time but at least we will have more of your reactions to look forward to after the show ends :) i hope you enjoy your trip!

[@tyrionstrongjaw7729]

I just stumbled onto this channel with the 1st episode of Last of Us and I gotta say it's an absolute blast to look at this show through another lens. Enjoy your trip, but absolutely looking forward to when you can cover the last 3 episodes of this season!

[@HarrisonMartin]

Safe travels Dr. Hope! We hope to see some of you while you are traveling! Thanks for another banger of an episode

[@heykariseuma]

in the game the infected have various stages. Warning, spoilers! runners: recently infected stalkers: about a few months clickers: a year to a few years bloaters: over 10-20+ years shamblers: i think they're in-between bloaters/clickers but near water there's another one called the rat king but it's not a stage but more of an amalgamation of all stages of infection.

[@ShadowofFenrir]

Cant wait for more medical breakdowns. I hope you have a great time in south America.

[@smeg4brainsukaya]

"[If] Sam somehow survives, I ain't gonna be happy here" is the sound bite we all need :D Great reaction, enjoy your travels to South America!

[@MariaMilenovasArt]

Wow! This was filled with great notes and information!! Thankyou. I always watch your commentary after watching an episode

[@tomaspetruz7774]

Damn I can see the teary eyes in your face towards the end. A fantastic roller-coaster of an episode.

[@IonIsFalling7217]

Enjoy your travels, Dr. Hope! We'll miss you.

[@jembawls]

Awww bummer you won't be around for the next 5 weeks but I hope you have safe travels in South America! I really really hope you do continue the series when you get back - even if it is delayed - because your commentary adds so much to the show for me, personally, and I'm sure it does for others too! Take care doc!

[@Ulyssestnt]

Hey Doc,been following you since COVID..keep up the good content man:) It's great.

[@ste887]

On the ketosis front leaving you feeling awful, yup. can confirm that, managed to develop a stomach ulcer and been unable to keep down food for nearly 2 weeks now, the pain from my stomach combined with being really shaky due to not having enough calories is a really unpleasant situation to be in. and im just lying down at home, not on the run from the infected, could very easily see someone starving stumbling and getting either a nasty fall injury or a infection from a clicker. so if youre ever in a post apocalypse situation, remember to keep eating.

[@NerdSnipingBatman]

Ketogenic diet doesn't work "because fat is less efficient of an energy source" it's actually a really efficient energy source at 9 calories per gram. (Protein is 4 calories per gram but the conversion of proteins to glucose uses up some energy, so more likely 3 calories per gram). Carbohydrates are efficient...but too efficient. They move through you body more quickly, especially simple sugars. Fats take longer to digest, thus keeping you feeling fuller for longer, and they don't block leptin signalling when eaten without fast carbohydrates, so you get the "I'm full" signal faster. Fast carbs will spike your insulin levels and block leptin signalling: that's why a plate of pasta take a lot to fill you up. Anyways, the ketogenic diet mostly works by making it easier for most of us to come to balance with our leptin response. We get hungry less often. Ketoacidosis is not the same thing as ketogenic. Ketoacidosis is a medical emergency. Merely producing ketones and relying on mostly fats for energy is not a bad thing and it DOES NOT make your blood more acidic. Blood PH is carefully balanced by the body, even in "survival" mode. Ketoacidosis is when that careful tuning goes wrong. This only really happens for diabetics who forget to take their insulin. But as long as you have a normal pancreas and are otherwise healthy there is nothing wrong with the ketogenic diet as a way to lose weight. I am not a medical professional, but I am a nerd on subjects that interest me. So if I got anything wrong take it with a grain of salt. Anyhow, as a doctor please try to properly inform people of ketogenic diet and not mislead them. Fast carbohydrates are the real enemy, not fat.

[@MrMrBenford]

Thank you for all of your hard work and content Dr. Hope! Have a lovely time on your trip!

[@josephBo]

I love watching a reaction channel that begins a series just to sort of give their reaction for their fans, but then grow to love the show just as any of us viewers. Seems like you genuinely love this show now, which is awesome

[@JonatanE]

if the decapitation is anything like in the videogames, then the head was actually ripped off at the jaw (leaving lower jaw and neck attached to the body)

[@lovejonas95]

Thanks for your reactions! Safe travels!!

[@purpleiguana208]

Note for Dr. Hope: the different varieties of infected have to do with how long they've been infected. Runners are freshly infected, stalkers (like the one that was crushed under the wreckage and got its head cut open by Ellie) are a little older, then clickers, bloaters (your head ripping big boy)... the second game also had shamblers, but they looked a lot like bloaters to me. But the game logic has to do with the length of duration of infection.

[@DizRupTnz]

Shamblers were explained as a variant 'Stage 4' infected, they developed differently to Bloaters due to the wetter climate.

[@purpleiguana208]

@@DizRupTnz so they're a regional variation of bloaters. And I forget, do they throw acid bombs instead of spore bombs?

[@abhijeet2628]

Waited very long for episode

[@thecartoonrobot]

The difference between the infected is length of time. The basic infected, are fairly early on in the stages, clickers are about a midway point, and bloaters have been infected for years, allowing for more and more fungal growth.

[@jenleigh4212]

Have a good time travelling! I'll be excited to watch when you get the chance to make another video after your travels!

[@wearblackclothes]

I never played the game but i can't believe that you somehow explained boss enimies in zombie games in a realistic way.

[@rosexesquivel]

These videos are fantastic! Please keep them coming!

[@benm431]

Episode 5 was incredible, loved this one! Episode 6 is great as well for development, but 5 so far has been my favourite. Enjoy your travels!

[@SRFriso94]

Without wishing to spoil the story of the game for you, this episode really marks the start of Ellie's descent into disillusion. It goes out of its way to remind us that she is very much a child, still playing tag and getting invested in comics for 10 year olds. She confesses to Sam that her biggest fear is ending up alone, which makes sense. From Ellie's perspective, death follows her wherever she goes. She's an orphan, Tess was far kinder to her than Joel was and she died too, a couple of others, and now Sam. And the fact that she thinks curing Sam with her blood, well, child logic, but really, it's there to serve the story purpose of turbocharging Ellie's fear of ending up alone.

[@Zilchdragonfly0MDDD]

Enjoy your trip! Love your videos cheers mate!

[@klloydplata4098]

I really loved and liked Episode 5: "Endure & Survive". I like how the word & the number rhymes (5 or five & Survive)

[@KittysInu]

The bloater (big boy) is from longer infection and a high nutrient source for the fungus in the body. It starts from larger bodied people, but it also usually requires bodies in the area to feed off of

[@katieheys3007]

The little side smirk when all the infected pour from the hole was hilarious! :D

[@gabrielleperson4794]

Bloaters (big boy) would rip your face in half if you failed in the game, pulling the jaws apart. I think they gave homage to that in the show. You can't see it well, but it could be how Perry's head came off

[@stormcrowlu]

Could you in one of the next episodes also talk about psychological trauma? I think it's a big part of the show. In this episode, I felt Ellie getting sort of closed off similar to how Joel usually behaves while he was sort of opening up a little because of his bond with her. What do you think?

[@martinmillar7137]

Sorry last message..am so glad you played that scene.... so glad.. thanks..

[@VivaNica999]

In the game there isn’t much knowledge on the variants of infected other than time. The infection grows and grows until it spreads out of the host, the fungus hardens on the outside creating a sort of armour. The bloaters are said to be the oldest infected so 10 yrs or more thus, no real tests could be run on them.

[@TamDNB]

Hope you end up reacting to the last few episodes! I was wondering whether amputation of a bitten limb would be a potential prevention technique and how that might go in a post apocalyptic world?

[@demetrius1942]

I enjoy this channel and te community. Thanks for your reviews. This is great.

[@clancybundy4887]

Have a great trip! Excited to watch you catch up Upon your return.

[@shaleendass]

That'll be hell of a twist ? 😏

[@bookofthesun]

8:26 haha just wait until season 2 😅

[@cannonfodder6543]

In the game, the different types of infected are the different stages of the cordyceps infection, the “regular” ones being the early stage, clickers have been infected for so long that the fungal growths have burst through the eyes and the big boy as you put it, has been infected for over a decade with the fungus functioning as armor. I really like this aspect of infected in TLOU, it’s a very elegant way of having different types of infected imo.

[@jenniferwhite7854]

I was just thinking I hadn't seen you in my feed for a while, wondered what you were up to, and there you are. ...I guess I should have turned on all notifications.

[@AlphaGamer1981]

One thing everyone seems to overlook when Henry shoots sam is he stares at him looking confused for a second and even says "Sam?" As if he temporarily switched off and went into survival mode and his brain hadn't processed what he had done or even remembered shooting him those seconds before

[@ronanpatrickomalley]

The creators said that bloaters are as a result of a large host. So that the fungus has more body mass to 'consume'. And therefore stays 'alive' longer.

[@serenapenner3581]

It truly is brutal, emotionally to have seen that played out and to contemplate what you would do, feel in that situation.

[@chrisigoeb]

Your reactions are awesome and soo funny xD Also of course there is much to learn

[@DravenxEyeless]

Try to pack light for your trip, since you'll be getting some 30ºC temperatures down here, and a sweater will not be of any use to you, probably. Enjoy your trip to South America! Greetings from Chile!

[@bunnerkins]

I LOVE THIS SERIES! Can't wait for the next one. Travel safe.

[@mykecontrol314]

In the game it's explained as a matter of the length of infection. Runners are the first stage, the clicker is more advanced, the bloater here has been infected from the beginning.

[@rowanbrown5541]

Something I was hoping you'd mention is the child clicker. The way she was uncontrollably flipping was (in my headcanon) the fungus impeding her underdeveloped sense of balance.

[@shkotayd9749]

Love these, doc! You are doing every show the justice they deserve! Still, this show had plot issues in the way they handled the marauders. But medical science isnt about those. Cool note about the final invasion of the infected: The producers made every effort to stay away from CGI. Those are costumed actors wearing makeup and effects done in person slamming out of that hole! The Bloater big boi IS a real dude lol. I thought he was CGI but thats actual costume. Poor Sam and his brother at at the end. They stayed close-ish to the game and in many respects took right from it as well and kept this close too, and it was probably even MORE wrenching than the game to go through. That brought tears to my eyes. It was a tormenting choice to be made. And Henry doing what he did after? Could anyone judge him? FANTASTIC acting. And thank you for the medical info doc!

[@kayday1996]

Your super serious reasoning behind why someone cant survive their head getting ripped off made me laugh 😂

[@batterychris]

I was waiting for this!

[@Iden_Elihio_1999]

I always look forward to you reactions doctor 🔥🔥🔥

[@MariePascaleGirard]

That episode was brutal. Have a nice trip!

[@JL-cn1qi]

Guess you're busy but.... Am looking forward to the next couple of ones tho. Hope this finds you well.

[@frankmahovlich5099]

The "big boy" is called a bloater and is exactly how I feel after Thanksgiving and other holiday meals. No fitted pants or belts during those days.

[@ollie395]

The big guy is called a bloater, they'be just been infected for a longer time.

[@Solutad]

I have never been ready for any explanation more than I am ready for "actually head somewhat necessary for medical survival"

[@tss3393]

Safe travels to South America, m'dude! Sounds like a huge opportunity!

[@lafregaste]

Happy traveling, good video like always

[@hibye2420]

In the first game there are 3 types of infected, the runners: the most human looking ones, the clicker: we saw them, and the bloaters: the big we saw it this episode but in the game it can throw spore at you to infect you.

[@Insertnamesz]

Best wishes on your travels and work.

[@AlanJames]

I swear this show show is aiming to make us cry every week.

[@lazyidiotofthemonth]

The "big Boy" is a Bloater, and the difference between the stages of infected from Runner(newly infected), Stalker( has visible fungus growing) Clicker( you already know it) and Bloater(big boy) is basically the life progression of an infected. because the infected do freeze and potentially die from the cold, in the Northern Cities(Last of us doesn't go south of the Frost Line) its presumed that some portion of the infected die during winter. Bloaters tend to take 2 years to reach that form of infected, and explode when they die as a final method of infection.

[@ether4211]

The episode actually explained why the 'big boy' got so big in a tiny detail - he was the only infected that wasn't super skinny! So going back to refeeding syndrome the infected are 'dead' in that they stop eating once the fungus hijacks their system. So they must be using catabolic processes of metabolism which is why the infected are generally super thin as they will die once they run out of energy. The bloater has visible fat after 10 years so likely was a former athlete or soldier who became morbidly obese in retirement as having large stores of fat means lots of ketones! We were taught that a obese person could survive a year without food, so if the fungus slows the host metabolism it makes sense that the majority of clickers are stick thin, weak and 'desperate' to reproduce as the host is slowly dying! Wheras the big-boy had so much free energy that the fungus was able to grow far denser giving him the tough/woody appearance...and he'd easily outlast all the other infected. He had to be 'fit' prior to obesity to provide the strong bones needed to carry the extra weight. Plus because he's not starving he was able to defend himself vs rushing at the nearest person in a last ditch effort to reproduce.

[@theadventurer2628]

You should play the game. The last scene they got almost 1 for 1, but it was also twice as impactful as well. The soundtrack from the game really sold it for me.

[@Reelix]

"That piece at the end blew me away!" ... Well.

[@vbarreiro]

Pretty sure the conditions to become a bloater are A) Be infected for a long time and B) Be resilient enough in the first place for your body to withstand that much cordyceps.

[@detectivemittons9020]

Hope you have a good rest, looking forward to your return

[@tammyhines1585]

Another great episode.

[@偉享林]

Thank you doc, safe trip!

[@TheBestPirateDrake]

I seaw a video about the cordicep fungus. It actually doesn’t use mind control but rather muscle control the ant. The spores take around one week to grow and spread inside the ant limbs and muscles. Without touching the brain. It will then control the ant like a puppeteer to go at specific location, on a specific plant, at a specific height, on a specific side, the exact environment the fungus is the most confortable to develop, with the ant biting ether on the side or the veins of the leaf. Then the ant dies after the fungus reach the brain and sprout out the head, to finally spread the spores onto ants walking below them. All that to say the ant is a prisoner in its own body. That might be the only inaccuracy about this fungus in the show. Still love it.

[@iwatchwithnoads7480]

"Where would you even doing rescue breaths?" Yes doctor, that's the most important concern 😆

[@DinosaurNick]

The stages are Runner (initial), Stalker (The one Ellie cut and the one that kissed Tess), Clicker, and Bloater (the big boy)

[@szariq7338]

If you're interested in it, DayZ (another zombie game, however this time it's set in a fictional ex-Soviet country of Chernarus based on Czech Republic) is being adapted by 2 British companies. Production was set to be as early as this year, so remember about it and maybe in a couple of years you'll get a MASHTERPEES game in movie form.

[@ArmorAnt1]

I don't think the show covers this, but the types of infected is tied to how long they've been infected. The more time they've been infected, the more likely they will go through these transformations. The big ones called bloaters in the game are late stage infected.

[@djmicrowave6073]

the reason for the different types of infected is because over the years the cordyceps (in game/show) develops from stage 1: runner, stage 2: stalker, stage 3: clicker, stage 4: bloater/shamber ("big boy" as you called it) i guess you could call the rat king stage 5🤷‍♂

[@GamingNewsSummary]

You should see the Game Theorist video that discusses the idea that Ellie is not immune but how she can fight off the disease. Video: Game Theory: Ellie Is NOT Immune! (The Last of Us Part 2) - would be interesting to hear your thoughts on it!

[@enjoyerofstuff]

The different infected are different stages of infection, not who it infects. Stage 1 Runners are the ones that are very human looking and have been infected for about 1 day. Stalkers are the ones with more fungal growth on their heads like the one Ellie tortures in Ep. and have been infected for 2 to 4 weeks. Clickers are the 3rd stage and everyone knows which one those are and those happen after a year of infection. Lastly are bloaters or big boys, and whey are the stage after clickers which take form a decade after infection with a variant we'll probably see in S2 called shamblers which form the same as bloaters but in more damp and wet areas.

[@xenoooze988]

im not sure if you know but the different versions of the infected is because of how long the infected has had the fungi. the first version is a runner which is shown in the first episode, the second version is a stalker which i think has not been shown yet, the third is a clicker and the forth is a bloater (the big infected in this ep). in the second game there are two more infected, a shamble which is a bloater which evolved near water (i think) and a rat king which is the ever first person to be infected

[@Rayne2221]

The rat king wasn't the first person to be infected, it was several different kinds of infected that were locked up with each other in a small place and ended up fusing together into a single entity.