Nobody wears masks in The Last of Us show, which is a big change from the original video game. In the Last of Us video game, characters periodically have to wear gas masks to avoid breathing in spores. Spores are a reproductive unit found in many plants, including fungi, that can be spread through the air like pollen to create more of a species. In the game, spores are like a cloud of bacteria that indicate when the infected might be near. Players aren't in control of the gas masks. Instead, characters just automatically put them on.
In The Last of Us episode 3, Bill briefly wears a gas mask, but this seems to only be to protect himself from potential gaseous weapons the military could use against him. He takes it off as soon as he knows there are no soldiers around. Besides this, there have been no gas masks in sight and no mention of spores in HBO's The Last of Us. So what happened to this element from the game?
The Last of Us Show Doesn't Use Spores Like The Games
The creators of the Last of Us show decided spores and gas masks didn't make sense for their version of the story. Co-creator Craig Mazin said of the decision to remove spores from The Last of Us, "In the world that we're creating, if we put spores in the air, it would be pretty clear that they would spread around everywhere and everybody would have to wear a mask all the time and probably everybody would be completely infected by that point." (via ComicBook.com) Realistically, spores would have wiped out humanity faster. And for modern viewers who have lived through the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of masks might have been more relatable but also might have hit too close to home.
This The Last of Us change also has a practical reason behind it. TV shows usually avoid blocking an actor's face. Although Pedro Pascal is used to covering his face for The Mandalorian, the Star Wars show is an exception to the rule. Leaving an actor's face visible allows them to show a full range of emotions even when their dialogue is minimal. And while the spores are a great atmospheric touch in The Last of Us game, creating them in real life would have been more difficult and costly.
The Last of Us Finds Other Ways to Build Tension
HBO's The Last of Us did find another, less visual way to build tension with the infected: a network of fungi underground connecting the zombies. As seen at the end of The Last of Us episode 2, when Joel shoots one infected, he wakes a horde of hundreds far away. So the fungi network is just as dangerous as spores in the air. The video game didn't have this element, but it helps balance the loss of spores in the show, making sure the infected remain a constant threat. It's also grounded in science as fungus can create underground networks in real life.
Will The Last Of Us Season 2 Have Spores?
Although Mazin implied spores were completely gone from The Last of Us show, he later indicated they could still come into play. "I don't necessarily think we've eliminated spores from the universe of our show," Mazin said. "We just haven't gotten there yet. It's possible that they may come back. We may have a plan, is my point." (via Entertainment Weekly) Spores could appear in the show as the Cordyceps continue evolving and the characters encounter more infected zombies. The Last of Us has already been renewed for season 2, so the spores could be an elevated threat for the second season, presumably covering the events of The Last of Us Part II, the 2020 video game sequel to the original.
It's not clear what the future of HBO's The Last of Us may look like once it runs out of games to adapt. However, adding spores back into The Last of Us could help continue to build tension over the years and keep the zombie story from going stale. It also adds a layer of tension to Ellie's immunity. In the game, she can breathe the spores fine, unlike everybody else, but still wears a gas mask to blend in. If she was caught without the mask, her immunity could be exposed to dangerous people, with long-lasting effects on the story of The Last of Us.