Spoilers for The Last of Us episode 5 below!
The Last of Us episode 5's brutal Bloater kill scene was originally planned to be even more graphic than it already was. Of course, the Last of Us has no shortage of graphically violent moments, but the Bloater kill in episode 5 is already up there with some of the most viscous scenes in the show. Even so, co-creator of The Last of Us, Craig Mazin, recently revealed that the episode 5 Bloater kill was almost way more graphic.
Bloaters in The Last of Us are capable of these extremely violent kills because of how long they have been infected. The Cordyceps fungal infection goes through several stages if the host lives long enough. By the time an Infected reaches Bloater status (it takes years), the fungus has grown throughout its limbs making it incredibly strong. This allows them to do things like rip off peoples' heads and makes them one of the most terrifying types of Infected in The Last of Us.
The Bloater Killing Perry In The Last Of Us Was Meant To Be More Graphic
In The Last of Us episode 5, Perry, Kathleen's main enforcer, has his head ripped off by a Bloater. However, the original plan was to have the Bloater rip him in half at the waist. This would have been even more violent and disturbing than watching his head get ripped off, which was already pretty brutal. Bloaters are one of the new types of Infected in episode 5, and the showrunners obviously wanted to introduce them dramatically. They are some of the most terrifying Infected in The Last of Us game, so they did need a properly violent introduction like this.
Ultimately, co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann decided to go with the head rip, mostly because they felt it would not be anatomically realistic to have someone ripped in half at the waist. Mazin says they attempted to set it up but realized as they were trying to make it work that it was just a bit too farfetched. The Last of Us does an outstanding job of making everything feel realistic and grounded (outside the Infected apocalypse of course), so it feels like the right decision to make the Bloater kill scene more lifelike.
How The Bloater's Appearance Compares To The Last Of Us Game
The Last of episode 5's bloater is a terrifying and accurate depiction of the original games' Bloaters. In terms of appearance, the Bloaters in the show bear a striking resemblance to the game's Bloaters, however, there is one major difference between the two. Bloaters in the games are known for throwing toxic sacks of Cordyceps spores at enemies to damage or infect them. In the show, the idea of airborne infection seems to have been removed, so there is no reason for them to include the spore-throwing side of Bloaters.
Otherwise, the appearance and behavior of Bloaters in The Last of Us show seem to be nearly identical to that of the games. They are massive hulking creatures, covered entirely in a hardened fungal exoskeleton. They typically kill their enemies by ripping their heads apart, much like the Bloater in The Last of Us episode 5 does to Perry. They are virtually bulletproof and terrifyingly strong, making them the most dangerous type of Infected.