Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us' season 2 premiere.

The Last of Us season 2, episode 1, features several new additions to the show, including a new infected form with increased intelligence that shows up during an intense sequence with Ellie in an abandoned grocery store.

During a recent episode of The Last of Us Podcast on the Max YouTube channel, Mazin and Druckmann break down the stalker's introduction in the season 2 premiere, explaining what makes this new infected form different from the standard clicker. Mazin highlights the dangers that stalkers pose with their increased brain function, but also reveals that these creatures have elements of "humanity" still inside them:

Mazin: “We talked a lot about how to create a world where our characters felt actually rather safe with the infected. Because when you go from Season 1 to Season 2, if your fear reaction to infected is the same, then you kind of haven’t learned anything in five years. You haven’t gotten better. […] These humans have gotten pretty good at solving the infected problem. They’re feeling good about themselves to the point where Ellie and Dina are fine to walk in a supermarket and go one-on-one. But this one is different.

“The stalker, of course, is an evolution character in the game, and we kind of wanted to spotlight the fact that they think, which is a huge problem. It is terrifying. Even the way they sound — that sadness — there’s a humanity in there still. There is more brain left in them.”

Druckmann then chimes in, pointing out that the silence with which these stalkers move makes them truly deadly:

Druckmann: “They’re quiet, they run away, which is like they’ve never seen anything like this…

Mazin: “Like she says, they plan. They stalk. It’s also very important to note here: it wins. In the sense that it bites Ellie and would infect her if she were anyone else on the planet. It’s that good. So this young woman who goes into a supermarket cocky as hell just got bit by this other thing that she did not see coming.

What This Means For The Last Of Us Season 2

The Infected Threat Just Grew

One thing that becomes clear fairly quickly in The Last of Us season 2 is that humans have gotten much better at controlling the infected threat over the past five years. In season 1, Ellie, Joel, and Tess (Anna Torv) have a great deal of difficulty with two clickers inside a museum, and Tess actually dies as a result of this encounter. In season 2, however, one or two infected are treated like more of a nuisance. This is especially true for Ellie, who is immune.

Trailers for The Last of Us season 2 have teased that the safe haven of Jackson, Wyoming, will eventually come under attack by a horde of infected. Though a horde of clickers would still pose a threat, this threat will be compounded by the inclusion of stalkers, who seemingly won't be mindless cannon fodder. Stalkers, especially if they operate as a group, could use their intelligence to deal major damage to Jackson and its inhabitants, and audiences could be saying farewell to some major characters if these new creatures breach the walls.

Our Take On The Stalker's Introduction In The Last Of Us Season 2

Ellie's Stalker Fight Was A Premiere Highlight

If there was one common complaint about the acclaimed The Last of Us season 1 from those who played the games, it's that there weren't enough infected. Season 2 is already remedying this in a major way, and the story seeds planted in the premiere, like the roots in the pipe, suggest that multiple forms of infected will be playing a big role in the episodes to come.

The Last of Us season 2 enjoys a stunning 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The stalker sequence in Greenplace Market was a standout in the show's season 2 premiere, with the entire encounter serving as a brilliant exercise in tension and suspense. Though Ellie may be immune to being bitten, she can still die in other ways, and the stalker form poses an even bigger threat to her than the standard infected. It remains to be seen how stalkers will be utilized in The Last of Us season 2 episodes to come, but they are certainly a welcome addition to the show.

Source: The Last of Us Podcast/ Max