HBO’s The Last Of Us TV adaption is nearly upon us. And it’s probably the most anticipated show of the year. However, its creators have stressed that the show differs from the popular games in a number of ways – including the swapping of infectious spores for tendrils. But what are tendrils in The Last Of Us TV show?
After years of waiting, the new series debuts in just a few days. Reviews have started to roll in and the video game adaption is proving to be a hit with critics.
As of writing, The Last Of Us stands at a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. This makes it one of the highest rated video game adaptions of all time. But fans aren’t convinced the show will do the legendary PlayStation games justice.
The Last Of Us games tell the story of Joel and Ellie, two survivors of a worldwide pandemic caused by the contagious Cordyceps fungus.
They pick up a number of years after the onset of the pandemic and the world has been devastated. Millions are dead and millions more have been transformed into zombie-like creatures named “Clickers”.
The PlayStation games, which are considered among the best of all time, portray the virus as spreading via spores. As a result, there are numerous sections where Joel, Ellie, and others must wear gas masks to protect themselves from infection.
However, video game and TV show creator Neil Druckmann has explained that spores have been replaced with tendrils in the show. And that’s led fans of the games to express their disappointment online.
But what are tendrils in The Last Of Us TV show? And why did they remove spores?
Why Did They Remove Spores in The Last Of Us TV Show?
As mentioned, the apocalypse portrayed in The Last Of Us is caused by the parasitic Cordyceps fungus.
In real life, the fungus only infects insects. However, it adapts to infect humans in The Last Of Us universe. It does this by way of infectious airborne spores. But it won’t work like that in the TV adaption.
It goes without saying that gamers are among the most hard to please people in the world. And any change to beloved source material will be highly scrutinised as a result. The recent Netflix series The Witcher: Blood Origin was negatively received for that very reason.
However, The Last Of Us TV show co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin feel the swapping of spores for tendrils was necessary for the TV adaption to make sense.
Why did they remove spores in The Last Of Us TV Show? Druckmann explained, “The game had spores in the air and people had to wear gas masks, and we decided, early on, that we didn’t wanna do that for the show… Eventually, those conversations led us to these tendrils.”
Craig Mazin said, “In the world that we’re creating [with the show], 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.”
What Are Tendrils in The Last Of Us TV Show?
So, what are tendrils in The Last Of Us TV show?
Tendrils are the vector through which the Cordyceps fungus will spread in the TV show. They function by spreading out from the infected and pulling individuals in.
A reddit user pointed out that tendrils actually make an appearance in early concept art for The Last Of Us games. This means they were always something being considered for the game’s universe.
The tendrils will also function as a way for the Cordyceps parasite to communicate as one entity.
“Just thinking about how there’s a passage that happens from one infected to another, and like fungus does, it could become a network that is interconnected. It became very scary to think that they’re all working against us in this unified way, which was a concept that I really liked, that got developed in the show,” Druckmann explained.
What do you think of the change from spores to tendrils? Do you think The Last Of Us TV adaption will be good? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other Film & TV articles…
