What are the Cordyceps vines in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1 teasing? Explained in depth

Future Days, the first episode in The Last of Us Season 2, became accessible across the world on April 13, 2025. The episode involved very little action and shooting, and focused more on Joel and Ellie's peaceful life in Jackson, the quaint and idyllic settlement that was introduced in the first season's sixth episode, Kin.

However, the peace and security we see in the episode might be the quiet before the storm. That's because this episode shows infected people in the nearby areas, who are shot by Ellie. Then, there is Abby and her crew, who are coming close to their goal of making Joel pay for massacring the Fireflies in the Season 1 finale of The Last of Us.

But the most dangerous threat to Jackson might be the Cordyceps vines that are seen growing inside the dry roots that choked the pipelines. They are a threat on two fronts. Firstly, they might infect the residents of Jackson. Secondly, the second episode of The Last of Us Season 1 revealed that the Cordyceps tendrils or vines control the mind of the infected and might draw such people towards them.

The Cordyceps vines or tendrils might result in invasion and might even infect the residents in The Last of Us

We don't know how the Cordyceps infect humans in HBO's The Last of Us for now. We just know that they share a link with the infected people, making them a hive mind. There is a theory that the Cordyceps vines that supposedly grow underground beckon the infected. Considering that the Cordyceps tendrils have started growing in the underground pipes, Jackson might soon be invaded by the infected, as suggested in a recent trailer.

Other than that, these tendrils might also infect a human even without an infected. Hence, Jackson might be under threat not on one but two fronts in this season when it comes to the invasion of the infected. This storyline might be suggesting that despite the best efforts from the humans, the horrors of the outside world can't always keep the horrors of a dystopian world at bay.

Moreover, this growth of Cordyceps vines is something very different from The Last of Us Part II game. Changing storyline as compared to the games is nothing new for the show, though. The showrunners have addressed the changes in numerous interviews over the past few months as Season 2 geared up for release.

What did The Last of Us showrunners say?

Co-showrunner Neil Druckmann, who also worked on The Last of Us game, had this to say regarding the changes observed in the HBO series in a Variety interview dated March 5, 2025:

“I love the changes that we’ve made. It’s a different version of that story, but its DNA is in there. Maybe more than excited, I’m really curious what their reaction will be.”

Other than the interview from a month ago, TVLine interviewed the showrunners about the changes from the second game, after the release of Season 2's first episode. Co-showrunner Craig Mazin said:

“Anything that you see in that episode that you didn’t see in the game is original to the show, and it was just part of the adaptive process that Neil [Druckmann] and I go through where we’re looking for things to do. Some of the things were maybe things that you did in the game that we transformed a little bit. Another example: Ellie learning to shoot with Tommy. That’s part of the fun of adapting a game like that, is that you have so much great material. Now the question is how to best portray it in this medium.”

The second episode of The Last of Us Season 2 will be accessible on HBO next Sunday. Simultaneously, the episode will also be available on Max.

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Edited by Vinayak Chakravorty