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The second episode of The Last Of Us has introduced a completely new, more dangerous, and terrifying zombie species.
The second episode of The Last Of Us series, aired on January 23rd, has brought forth an entirely new and menacing zombie species – the Clicker. These creatures have lost their sight but their hearing has become remarkably acute, allowing them to swiftly pinpoint the location of their prey solely based on the slightest sounds.
What Exactly is a Clicker?
Essentially, a Clicker represents a stage in the infection process caused by the parasitic fungus Cordyceps in The Last Of Us universe. Typically, newly infected individuals are referred to as Runners. At this point, they haven't undergone significant physical changes but have largely lost consciousness and bodily control, transforming into soulless killing machines. The term 'Runner' stems from their relentless pursuit of victims.
The Clicker signifies the third stage of infection, akin to the 'evolution' of the Runner, as these victims have been parasitized by Cordyceps for at least a year. This duration allows the enigmatic fungus to almost entirely engulf their bodies, particularly the head, resulting in loss of sight and reliance on echolocation to determine prey locations. This mechanism, known as echolocation, is why Clickers emit their distinctive spaced-out sounds.
Physical Characteristics and Strength of Clicker
Compared to the two previous stages of infection, Runner and Stalker, Clicker no longer resembles a normal human, with their faces becoming distorted, asymmetrical, and scarred due to the fungus protruding from their brains. By this point, the victim's clothing has become torn or completely destroyed, making way for fungal tissue, large fungal scales, marking the initial stage of the fungus growing out of the host's body to infect others.
As mentioned, Clicker has lost its sight but possesses remarkably acute hearing and can use echolocation to determine the opponent's position. In the original game series, Clicker can also enter a passive state like Runner, meaning they sometimes stand still and do not attack humans.
However, most of the time, Clicker appears quite ferocious, and notably more dangerous than Runner and Stalker. At this point, victims are no longer alert enough to resist Cordyceps control. Additionally, the fungal scales growing outside the body make them faster, stronger, with more powerful attacks that can easily overwhelm and even kill players if not handled skillfully. This level of danger was somewhat portrayed in the latest episode of The Last Of Us, where Joel struggled to defeat a Clicker.
Not only enhanced physically, Clicker also possesses impressive intelligence. They will never leave the hunting area once they have identified the victim's existence, constantly checking every nook and cranny with their echolocation system. However, this system is still relatively primitive compared to other creatures like bats, and Clicker cannot sense prey when they are too far away.
Episode 2 of The Last Of Us demonstrates that when provoked, Clicker immediately switches to a 'hunting' mode regardless, continuously swinging their strong arms to attack and constantly growling, roaring to intimidate their opponent. Even bullets cannot quickly bring down this type of zombie, even if they hit the head.
Deciphering Clicker's Echolocation Ability
As mentioned earlier, echolocation is Clicker's most distinctive ability, which is why they are named as such. These clicking sounds, reminiscent of computer mouse clicks, help them perceive the surrounding environment and determine the prey's location.
Echolocation is a capability utilized by many animal species in reality. Essentially, they produce sound waves capable of bouncing back when they collide with obstacles, thereby creating echoes to help them visualize the distance, size, and most importantly, the location of those obstacles.
Clicker's echolocation allows this zombie species to effectively use sound as a replacement for their impaired vision, although there are still many limitations. In the latest episode of The Last Of Us, even when very close to Joel, Tess, and Ellie, Clicker couldn't pinpoint their exact location. It wasn't until Ellie accidentally breathed heavily and more rapidly that they could resume their hunting process.
Besides prey identification, echolocation also helps Clicker navigate and maneuver in the surrounding environment. Without this ability, they would fall into unconscious wandering, easily bumping into obstacles along the way, or even getting stuck in corners.
Will The Last Of Us Introduce Other Types of Zombies?
As mentioned earlier, there are several stages in the Cordyceps infection process, each identified by specific time frames. Among them, Runners are newly infected victims. After about 2 weeks to 1 year, they will 'evolve' into Stalkers - individuals who frequently stalk their prey in a passive stance, mainly clinging to walls with fungal tendrils. After 1 year, the victims will officially become Clickers as analyzed above.
However, Clicker is not the final stage of the infection process. After about a decade, when the fungal cells have fully developed outside the body, the victim will become a Bloater. At this point, they still lose their sight and have become much slower.
However, the outer fungal scales make Bloater extremely robust with formidable health. When necessary, they can peel off those scales and throw them towards enemies like fungal grenade bombs to increase the infection range. Nevertheless, the fully developed fungal layer outside the body makes Bloater have a critical weakness: fire.
In the second episode of The Last Of Us, Ellie hinted at Bloater when mentioning 'super-infectious creatures capable of launching fungal spores onto others'. Furthermore, in the original game series, Bloater first appeared in Bill's town - where Joel and Ellie are heading in the HBO series. Therefore, unless there are any changes, we are likely to witness this dreadful zombie type in the third episode of The Last Of Us, airing on January 30th.
Sources: HBO, ScreenRant
