The upcoming second season of HBO's The Last of Us will fix one key complaint fans had about the show's first set of episodes.
As well-received as The Last of Us' first season was, there were still complaints. Key among them was the amount of infected the show's protagonists came up against.
Many thought there was far too little of them, making it feel as if the fungus-infested zombies weren't really all too much of a threat to the people in that world.
According to the creator of the original games and series, that is set to change in The Last of Us' sophomore run.
The Last of Us Season 2 Getting More Zombies
While speaking with Kinda Funny's The Last of Us (TLOU) spoilercast showrunner and director of the first two TLOU games Neil Druckmann commented on one of the key changes that Season 2 of the HBO series will bring with it.
Druckmann was quick to point out how "the success of the first season... affords [them] a bigger budget, and more time:"
“Look, the second game from set piece, from the number of characters, from how complex the story is… [it] is more ambitious than the first game. And the success of the first season absolutely affords us bigger budget, more time. Those are the things that are important to do it properly, right?"
He went on to note how those "people that wanted more infected" should get ready because that's exactly what they'll get:
"So, we can consider the scripts, consider the people we’re bringing to be part of our team, consider the pre-production. I am very, very excited for the stuff we have planned for the for the second season that, especially for people that wanted more infected, well, just get ready.”
Twitter user @Raccoon_mp4 was among those fans who would "have liked to see more infected," even with how good the final product ended up being:
"I know I'm late but, 'The Last of Us' the show, 9/10!! Would only have liked to see more infected but overall everything was so good."
@theRazbuten seemed to think that the series "blew their infected budget on one episode:"
"I have been enjoying the 'Last of Us' on HBO but there are not nearly enough infected in the show. they blew their infected budget on one episode lol."
@jcastlemanmc felt that "the threat of [the infected] is not felt enough:"
"There are not nearly enough infected in the Last of Us show. To the point that most of the threat of them is not felt enough to have the impact of the main story felt."
More Clickers in The Last of Us Season 2
With how the first season of The Last of Us was brought to life, not much time was afforded to see the main characters struggle against the infected. Which was a real shame, seeing how well-received the handful of clicker scenes was.
In the game, they are a constant nuisance and are always a thorn in the player's side throughout the entire run of the original game. In the streaming series, however, they did end up feeling more absent than a constant threat.
Those who have played Part II will know that the story affords plenty of opportunities to throw more infected into the mix. A key scene in the first two hours even involves a horde of infected larger than anything seen in Season 1—yes, more than even the cul-de-sac sequence.
While more infected will be great, there's another big element of the second game that Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin will have to figure out: Abby Anderson.
The character, who is introduced in The Last of Us Part II, is nothing short of controversial. She'll likely make up a majority of the conversation surrounding the series when it does come back for another round.
Audiences may think that the infected are a big threat, but just wait to see what happens when Abby arrives on the scene.
The Last of Us season 2 does not yet have a release window, but fans should expect it to drop no earlier than 2024.
