A huge reason whyThe Last of Usis so thrilling is that its storytelling decisions are bold and authentic. That’s why, while a hypotheticalLast of Us Part 3could have the Fireflies find Ellie, produce a vaccine, and end the apocalypse, it’s likelier thatThe Last of Uswon’t have a happy ending. Still, by concretely concluding the story with a hopeful cure, the franchise’s title,The Last of Us, could then be referring explicitly to the people who’ve managed to survive during the infection’s two-and-a-half-decade reign and are emerging on the other side of it.
Ideally,The Last of Us’ Firefliesor whatever miscellaneous, well-meaning surgeons could actually manufacture a cure would do so and then distribute it to everybody. It seems impossible that no other singular person on the planet is immune besides Ellie, and by extension it is highly improbable that Dr. Jerry Anderson was the lone surgeon who’d be able to create a vaccine if given an immune individual’s mutated brain. But, even if all stars aligned and a cure was made that could prevent humans from turning into fungi-laden infected, remaining survivors would nonetheless need to deal with the monsters lurking beyond their homes—human or otherwise.
The Last of Us’ Infected May Take More Than a Vaccine to Beat
Actually taking the planet back from the infected would be another herculean feat of its own, as well as one that couldn’t be achieved unless a great deal of people were willing to work together to summarily clear every infected nest. As per the kinds of attacks portrayed in eitherThe Last of Us Part 1orThe Last of Us Part 2, an infected—runner, stalker, clicker, shambler, or bloater—merely biting someone is rare compared to how many people are mauled to death by a pack.
The Last of Us’ Elliecan breathe spores and survive bites, but she’s only narrowly fled and been rescued from countless infected encounters where she would’ve been slain; a bloater almost tears her jaws open before Joel saves her in aLast of Us Part 2flashback, for example, while Dina saves Ellie from infected on numerous occasions during Seattle Day 1.
Ellie was also only alive to learn that she was immune to the Cordyceps brain infection because she and Riley were able to save one another after they were bitten, allowing them to sit and patiently await their horrific mutations—one Riley would experience, but not Ellie. Many characters have met fates far worse than a swift death, and a cure probably wouldn’t do anything to immediately combat how many infected nests are lying dormant in every imaginable building interior.
The Last of Us’ Human Enemies are Often Worse Than the Infected
Beyond the insurmountably terrifying threat of infected creatures, there would also definitely be groups of people who are unwilling to reintegrate after the new ‘normal’ has become a struggle for survival and an opportunity to thrive in radical ways. FEDRA is proof that strict, militant supervision can be corrupt, and any backpedaling toward what many would see as an organized state of ‘normalcy’ may be subjected to even harsher oppression in a new world order.
Moreover, there are some factions, such asThe Last of Us Part 2’s Rattlers, who clearly enjoy their post-apocalyptic lifestyle indulging in mayhem and would protest the shackles of civilization’s rehabilitation.
Interestingly,Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophettaking place “2,000 years in an alternate future that deviates in the late-80s” is not too alien concerning howThe Last of Usdeviates from ordinary life in 2013 due to Outbreak Day. Either way, a cure for humanity’s sake could be the beacon of hope society needs to repair itself. Unfortunately, a vaccine on its own might not be enough to eradicate the infected or persuade others to abandon their preferred degeneracy.
