The first episode of The Last of Us started with a pretty shocking scene about a virus outbreak, but a new theory about what caused the outbreak is a big change from the games. Even though the first scene of episode 1 confirmed that the zombie virus has something to do with fungi, the show still hasn’t said what caused the virus to spread so quickly in 2003.
But the first episode of The Last of Us talks about a few seemingly small things that, when put together, paint a pretty clear picture of what caused the outbreak.
The Last of Us is based on the same-named video game. It follows Joel and Ellie as they try to get Ellie to a group that can help cure the virus by traveling across the United States. In the TV show, the outbreak of the fungal virus happened in September 2003, and it is still going strong twenty years later.
Even though a 1960s interview in-universe showed that the fungal virus had something to do with climate change, no one knows how it spread so quickly. The first episode of The Last of Us has given us all the pieces we need to figure out this puzzle. The mystery of the virus may finally be over.
Evidence Flour Was Responsible For The Outbreak In The Last Of Us!
A new The Last of Us theory from Reddit says that the fungal virus spread through flour, which is one of the most common ingredients in baking. Even though this isn’t how the game that caused the outbreak started, there are hints in the HBO show that this could be true.
The most important hint is that the outbreak in the show starts in Jakarta. Jakarta is a city in Indonesia, and one of PT Bogasari Flour Mills’ plants is there. The plant in Jakarta is the largest flour mill in the world. Aside from this, the episode also shows a number of other things.
(S1E1 spoiler) I wonder if the initial cordyceps outbreak in the show is spread by from thelastofus
People avoid flour a lot in the first episode of The Last of Us. Sarah says that she can’t make pancakes because they don’t have any flour left. Joel is on the Atkins diet, which says he shouldn’t eat things made with flour. In The Last of Us, Sarah and Joel turn down biscuits from their neighbors right before the outbreak.
Those same neighbors get sick afterward. Sarah also decides not to eat the raisin cookies from her neighbor because they have flour in them. In addition, Joel forgets to pick up a birthday cake after work, which is the latest in a series of flour-based blunders. Too many times for it to be a coincidence, Joel and Sarah avoid flour.
There are also hints outside of the show that the outbreak in The Last of Us has something to do with flour. In the official podcast for episode 1, showrunner Craig Mazin talks about how rewatching the episode will help those who pay attention. He says that there are a lot of “breadcrumbs” to follow.
Even though this may not seem like a big deal, all the other times’ flour is mentioned makes this seem like a wink. The fact that flour caused the virus outbreak in The Last of Us was a hard plot point to figure out, but the mystery has already been solved.
The Flour Theory in The Last of Us Would Change The Game’s Outbreak Origin!
Having the fungal outbreak start with flour is an interesting choice for HBO’s The Last of Us since it’s a big change from how the outbreak started in the game. Even though it’s not made very clear, the fungal virus outbreak in The Last of Us games started with a strain of infected crops from South America.
It seems likely that this change in the HBO show will be for a reason since it wouldn’t make sense to change it for no reason. Putting the center of the outbreak in Jakarta is a big change, and if the flour theory is right, it will be an even bigger one.
The Flour Theory in The Last of Us Would Actually Make Sense For The Show!
Even though some people might not like the change, having the virus in HBO’s The Last of Us be caused by flour is better for the show. For one, flour makes more sense. The game’s explanation for how the pandemic spread so quickly is that a certain set of South American crops were grown and eaten all over the world.
Since the infection came from the world’s biggest flour mill, the flour theory makes this more likely. By changing where the virus came from, the show can also go in its own story direction. This makes HBO’s The Last of Us stand out from the book it was based on.
HBO airs new episodes of The Last of Us every Sunday.
