Not only does the cordyceps growing in flour make sense and explains how it could've spread so fast across the world, but it's also mindblowing when you remember how many meals with flour were in the first episode: Joel didn't want pancakes on his birthday Granny Adler ate biscuits which Joel and Sarah neglected and Joel forgot to bring home a cake. If they ate any of that they might have gotten infected. Joel unknowingly dodged the bullet on three occasions. That's so crazy and great storytelling.
Also the fact that the largest grain/flour mill is in Jakarta, and Indonesia is one of the largest flour grain exporter in the world, it does make sense and realistic tho
Yeah that is what I also said in other videos regarding the flour factory. But where did they get the grain? Brazil got soybean wheat so this might be prime suspect because the professor outright said cordyceps which Brazil is good location for one particular reason: Deforestation to make room for farming, Brazil and Indonesia also have good relations.
@@Frostwolf_103 Ah now I understand, I think its connected to the contaminated yeast farms in South America the game mention it before, that possible if the factory import some of it and cause outbreak in Jakarta
the first outbreak was in Jakarta, but the source of infected flour was not from there. If it from Jakarta, it would takes weeks for the flour from the factory floor in to the neighbor's pantry. There are only 2-3 days gap between the outbreaks in Jakarta and US.
For a small fact, the actress who take role as Professor Ratna is Christine Hakim. Put it simply, she is Indonesian equivalent of Dame Judi Dench, or Dame Hellen Mirren. Truly a legend
There was a comment someone made that I really liked on another video about how it was an interesting twist how it’s the military man asking for a medicine or vaccine and the scientific woman goes straight to a wanting the city destroyed. The man of war wants a scientific answer but the woman of science knew a violent response was needed. A bit of a change from the usual trope of the gung ho general not listening to reason and scientist saving the day with their scientific answer.
It was here, I believe the comment is not too far up from yours, but yes it was nice change of pace to see the "Scientist" go for the "Military" solution instead of the "General" disregarding the "Scientific" solution. Also, dont know if that comment said it but the actor who played the General or Colonel (i dont remember his rank or if is stated) really sold the part that he sincerely wants to help and look for a solution for this mess but as soon as the Professor says "bomb the city" his eyes both light up and feel empty; is almost as if he is "did i hear that right?" shortly after with a "shit shit shit, theres nothing left to do" and understands the same as the professor that being with the family is the thing to do.
@D.M L.G that's a 3-star general btw. Most people don't know military ranks by sight anymore, but it's another indication how hard the s*** has hit the fan, when a 3-star personally hunts down the expert and escorts her to the lab.
I know this is fiction so it doesn't matter, but bombing the whole Jakarta might be a hard ask. Even if we were to assume the military collected enough resources to do that, any slip up on this operation will be disastrous, not just because it's bombing a whole city, but also the situation. A month before the first shot a bomb has been exploded on Marriott. And while this may not scar some people (I remember at the time police said that the culprit targeted Western buildings, so middle upper class people might had bigger concerns), it's also barely five years after Indonesian people overthrown a president now infamous for body counts from his secret police. And now officials have to consider bombing a city. What I am saying is that there's much more chaos outside the movie text and I hope there's an Indonesian fanfic writer somewhere that expand on this setting.
@@d.ml.g9902 gotcha. Didn’t know where it was but glad to know! And I agree that he really sold it! He oozed emotion and his eyes told us a lot so much. He really sold the idea of a frightened and disturbed man looking for a solution.
That moment when she learns how many workers are still missing, and she starts shaking. Because it hits her that fast, it's too late, far far too late. The absolute fear conveyed in that moment and the entire opening is absolutely incredible.
I didn’t know anything about the game so everything was new information to me. That scene you’re talking about told me everything I needed to know about how horrific this fungus was and what destruction it would bring to the world. Beautiful storytelling and beautiful acting.
It’s the fact that the characters know in the story that it’s the end. The only thing that isn’t plausible is that the flour could be transported around the world in 2 days. The fact is it’d take 3-4 weeks to ship that around the world.
Sometimes it is necessary to take drastic action, from a scientific point of view. That's why plague victims were shut up in their house. Cruel for them and their family, but necessary to try and protect the rest of the city
@@nicholasdickens2801 It's likely that the flour had been contaminated for weeks and only at that point was it beginning to manifest visibly in the infected.
It's because this shit can actually happen and this is how our zombie apocalypse will probably happen BrainPilot do better and let people know this information
Cause we’ve been through a pandemic and remember how that felt at first. That’s why all this plague end of society shit hits different now more than ever.
It's the way the show showed us how Sarah and Joel avoided getting infected 4 times. The birthday pancakes Sarah was going to make for Joel, the biscuits the neighbors were offering, the cookies the old lady was making for Sarah, and the cake Joel was suppose to get.
It really shows how helpless it is when she recommends bombing the city because there is no cure. and she knows there is no hope because she wants to be with her family
What got me was that it wasn't even the general's idea to bomb, as would be more typical TV. He brought in an expert and was clearly willing to act on her advice, whatever it may be. That one of their nation's brightest minds is telling him the situation is that hopeless, that they must bomb their own CAPITAL CITY just for a fighting chance...oh those are some CHILLS.
@@sagelemmers7009 Thats realistic decision came out from the experts that theyre knows, there is no any choice left to stop it, no medicine and no vaccine just bcause its a fungus that we dealing with, spread faster like a fire, killing everyone is the best option we can do to slow down the spread, and thats why the armies hunts for them and kill sarah in the first episode
The directors explained they wanted the opening to be in Indonesia bc they wanted this show to make the audience see that it was in fact on a global scale and not just an American, as it was felt in the game. They also said that they wanted to do scenes of majors cities during the outbreak but didn’t have enough money 😢
And the fact that Indonesia is not wheat exporter country, means when the outbreak happened in Jakarta and US in same week, the infected flour/wheat can be already in every other country.
Somehow I pictured the same three runners cheaply green screened in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, and Tenochitlan and honestly I’d have supported such a directorial choice
Ya, when her demeanor changes after telling them to bomb when she realizes her personal situation vs her as a scientist knowing what must be done.. was chilling.
@@INGORPG I loved seeing people gush about her from that part of the world, the raw emotion had me mourn for the character, the casting was done so well
@@GroundbreakGames This... you can pratically see all what she represents as a well known scientist, an authority in her field of study, slowly evaporates and leave only a humble , helpless senior lady who only wants to be taken home to stay with her family. Being stripped of our titles, achievements in life, we all are really just helpless human beings, that was a powerful message
So I watched the interview of this actress. This was one of those scenes shot during CoVid (obviously), and her 13 year old relative really begged her to take the casting for this show, but she was very worried because her husband is comorbid and she worried that things would happen to her family if she got sick on the shooting process. So we have a senior actress shooting a scene in which a professor asking to be sent home to meet her family in the last days before a zombie pandemic about to happen, WHILE also really worried for her family on a global pandemic.
As soon as the Indonesian policeman said 14 workers were missing and the whereabouts of the person who bit the woman were unknown, I knew it was over. By the time you start investigating an outbreak, the damage has already been done. 30 hours is enough time for an infection to travel far. through ppl.
@Firepower Craig Maizin wrote a pretty bleak, yet carthartic ending. And the ending of the game itself had the same tone. I don’t think it’ll be bad at all.
@BlackholeTtson452 If the show follows a similar path, I believe E3 will either open with the start of the bombing, or the start of the major outbreak back in the US, likely one of the major cities in Texas as Joel and his brother begin to escape. Since we know they eventually find their way to Boston, I could see Dallas being the city in question. That is, if they follow a similar direction in the opening scenes of the past.
Props to the actor that played the General for showing the absolute horror at being told by his expert that the only way to possibly give *the rest of the world* a fighting chance is to *immediately raze Jakarta to the ground*
General Millay, head of the Joint Chiefs of the military in the U.S., said in a speech this year that the purpose of a strong military is to prevent war. I found that very reassuring. He is also the guy who spent HOURS on phones talking to his opposites in China and Russia that then President Trump was not going to launch nuclear missiles to start a war, so he could declare a national emergency and stay in power. The terrifying thing is, this was actually discussed during Trump's desperate last days. China was so sure Trump was going to do this that they were considering launching a pre-emptive strike. Millay talked them away from the ignition switch. Millay was accused by extreme right wing of going behind the President's back / over his head: Millay held a meeting with all the significant military officers and reminded them that before nukes are launched the Chief of the Joint Chiefs (him, at the moment) must be told. This has been policy for a long time. He was just making sure everyone damned well remembered it.
This episode that shows you the problem is infected flour makes you look back at episode one. They couldn't make pancakes, they forgot the birthday cake, she didn't eat the cookies because they had raisins, he's on atkins so no bread and the family next to them that got infected were feeding biscuits to granma. So much attention to detail.
She has the same age, body size and aura as my grandma who passed away in 2021 which makes it hit a lot harder for me. The way she says “please listen carefully” and “start bombing” gives me chills. No other language could’ve delivered those words like that. Incredible acting from Christine Hakim!
After Jakarta was bombed, many other cities ere as well, and we can still see the traces of bombs in Boston later in the episode. That's the point of the scene.
Yup and same with Austin, Texas. Sarah while at the watch repair store, the jets zoom by to the city center and start bombing. They knew right away Even in 2003 they had satellites and could see everything, not to mention being post 9/11 they had high alert contingencies in place.
small comment, her name would be Professor Ratna. The name "Ibu Ratna" translates to "Mother Ratna" but in Indonesia, the word "Ibu" (meaning mother) is also used as a respectful way to call a lady older than you, sort of like the equivalent of calling someone Ms/Mrs. A lil cultural lesson for everyone :)
Omg yes 😂 The policeman/military explaining to her the situation and I’m wondering well they need to find patient zero. Then he says they have no idea who bite her. I’m like omfg, you have to burn out the infection at that point because it can’t be contained. Bombing was the only logical choice… scary chills.
@@mrnozchalazt7199n a densely populated place like the Jakarta area, it would be quite easy for Patient Zero to get lost in the crowd (especially once the infection started spreading)...
I think it is worth noting that the fact that the Cordyceps was spreading through flour shows that the fungus is effectively unkillable: Breads, cakes, pancakes, just about anything containing flour bakes at over 300-350 degrees F. That means that the Cordyceps can withstand extended exposure to those temperatures. So, even if you burn it, it won't die, at least not right away. In fact, burning it could cause the spores to rise on the wind and spread through the air. This heat tolerance is extremely important, since most fungus don't find human body temperature (98.6 F) to be tolerable. This has long been our greatest defense against fungal infections. So, this fungus hasn't just adapted to human hosts, but to be able to survive at extremes of temperature so severe that it would kill most living things. So, even a human being with a high fever is still able to be infected. After all, if it can survive the inside of an oven baking bread, it can survive almost anywhere. It really is an apocalyptic scenario, since not only is it spreading through arguably the most commonly eaten grain on planet Earth. With that massive an initial foothold and any news about the source having been too slow to limit the initial spread, there was no way of stopping the disaster before it was too late. Even in a world where the concept of "Zombies" is well known and the military actually has strategies in place to fight a "Zombie Apocalypse" scenario (With mutated rabies being an example), these are based on an idea that the infection would behave, well, like a standard infection, passing from person to person. Zombie apocalypse scenarios, however, are based on the idea that there would *time* between the initial outbreaks and a worldwide spread. There would be chances to slow, halt, and contain the infection. The infection becoming widespread all across a country, or the nation, is essentially a failed state for the scenario. There's no real answer for what to do if suddenly every other human being just suddenly becomes a "zombie" with little to no warning. This scenario starts with the failed state, and escalates immediately.
Imagine HIV would have spread by air. Until the first one noticed, all of mankind could already have been infected. The same for nvCJD in Britain in the 1990s. The whole country could have been infected by eating prion contaminated meat. When the neurological signs appear it is only months to death and here too there would be no cure. At least we have some cures for viral and fungal diseases, but nothing for prions. We should care more about infections with very long incubation times.
Even if global warming made the fungi adapt to warmer (human body temperature) conditions I think it would still be destroyed at the heat it takes to burn the bodies which is what they were doing in the show
As an Indonesian based in Jakarta, i honestly shit my pants when she said “bomb the city”. This show really knows how to immerse viewers (My apologies if mentioning my nationality bothers any one of you. I only used it to state the fact that I was petrified of such an outbreak occurring right beside of my house and since this is the case in the show, it amplified the fear to a whole new level. Once again, I am deeply sorry if any of you felt like this was yet another patriotic overly-proud useless comment about being indonesian)
@@alahsiaboi8909 there is nothing wrong for being that lol, thats mean he/she nationalistic and love his country so much, also I didn't find his/her comment overproud
Bringing a zombie apocolypse down to earth and slightly plausible is what makes this story strong and this show is making sure we are all in on the possibility of this really happening even if it is not actually possible in reality. I love what they are adding to this.
That’s why I love this game, because this seems the most realistic approach to it all. Fungus adapted, it spread through one of the most used ingredients in the world, and it took a couple days before everything went to hell.
In reality it’s not that realistic if you look at the details, an insects’s anatomy is vastly different from a human’s anatomy. The fungi evolved for millions of years just to be able to control ants so to make such as drastic switch to humans is nearly impossible cause of how complicated our nervous system is. Second, even if that was possible, Fungi spread through spores, so realistically we would become “zombies” in a sense that we would wander around mindlessly until we find a high place where we die and the fungi grows to spread it’s spores to other humans. Other than that most of the other stuff is pretty realistic. The WHO released a list of fungi that are becoming an increasing threat to humans as well as being resistant to Anti fungal medicine because of climate change.
@@kiranbabu5403 That is why I said "slightly plausible" Another leap they make is the incubation period. In the show and game it is like 15min which is also a big leap as it would be more like a day or two at the fastest. But the point most of us are making is that for the first time we have a more believable zombie franchise becouse it does not have zombies. Infected and uninfected both have permanent deaths and it is even scarier becouse we know the infected never died and we could imagine for a time at least they wander unable to control thier actions but may be thinking.
The opening was amazing, having the scene and actors speak Indonesian with subtitles made it all seem so real. It was truly a haunting scene and they could easily make a short season about ground zero in Indonesia with all the actors and actress speaking indonesians with subtitles! it would truly be a different perspective of the zombie genre, considering most zombie films takes place in western society.
I'm trying to think what other flashbacks would be effective. I know that Neil and Craig said they scrapped the idea of flashing back to Tess having to kill her husband and lock up her son - but I think episode 3 we'll get the flashback of Bill and Frank trying to survive.
Not only was Christine Hakim an absolute powerhouse in this scene but was so was the general... displaying the mannerisms of a military man right up until Ibu Ratna lets him know there is no way out. Another piece of amazing writing/attention to detail was the small scene where Ibu Ratna has to slightly walk-jog to keep up with the pace of the military men. This the kind of attention to detail which sets great shows apart from good shows,
In episode three when Joel is explaining to Ellie about how the outbreak started and he talked about "Flour" or "Sugar" was the food stuff, and even dropped "Pancake mix" into the list, throwing back to Sarah wanting to make him pancakes on the day of the outbreak, and the eggshell breakfast is what probably saved him.
Little pet peeve of mine in this episode: HBO messed up on the translation of the professor's name. Her name's Ratna. "Ibu" actually means ma'am/Mrs., so people calling her Professor Ibu Ratna is basically calling her Professor Mrs. Ratna, which is weird.
Happened once in a game I think it was fable, where an npc was named señora doña xy (can't remember the actual name) Señora and doña meaning both Mrs. One being more polite than other.
I dont speak the language, but I know people in English who use multiple professional suffixes when trying to be more formal and courteous. "Mrs. Professor Ratna" instead of Professor Mrs. Ratna. It could also be because she's a woman and some people give women the extra title to distinguish them from men. However I've heard men be called "Mr. Professor Last Name" so I'm not sure. Again, still not sure if it's the same in her language.
Agreed. Her first name is Ratna, Ratna Pertiwi is the character. But she was never addressed as Doctor Ratna in the 10 mins throughout the cold opening.
This is why I feel a fungus is such a great instrument for a zombie outbreak. There is no cure for the cordyceps because a fungus isn't a virus, it's an animal. The only way you can remove it is to ensure that it goes extinct. This is why Ellie being "immune" is such a big deal. The fungus can't survive within her. Such a great way to adapt the original material!
It should've died in the cooking process if it was in the flour. If you toast moldy bread, you won't get sick from eating it, although it might taste bad, but heat will kill the fungus. So, maybe this was a resillient type of fungus?
Well I mean if it's in the body, you should be able to introduce something else into the body that would kill the fungus since there would have to be something we can survive it cannot survive interacting with being the more durable organisms. Hard part would either be finding said something, or not killing the person with the virus. Or it could be as simple as heating up the body a bit.
The only thing bothered me was the yellow haze effect which all the western media sets whenever they portray Asian countries, Mexico or Middle Eastern countries. Like omg believe it or not, we actually have blue skies. Not everything is a sickly yellow.
I feel like this time it’s just to emphasize the severity and sickliness of the country, because of the cordyceps taking over. I think it matches pretty well for this specific scenario.
Usually it's just to emphasize how hot it is in there. Also sometimes yellowish filter used for flashbacks. In a lot of sci-fi movies they do same thing, yellowish filter for deserts or hot planets.
but their neighborhood in texas also look slightly yellow in some scene... it just a simple language of videography to pictured a hot humid place.. but yeah sometime its cliche
Some info : Christine Hakim is considered a Grand Dame of Indonesian film industry, won 8 times for the best actress category since 1973. The producer and director of this $100 million project knew what they are doing for choosing her for this particular role. Just can't get enough of her, hoping for more of her in the future of this series. Example the US government in collaboration with Indonesian military bring her to Stateside at the beginning of the pandemic for more research and what she knew.
Problem is she prolly already died within a few hours or days of that meeting with the Indonesian General - either cuz of the bombs and bullets, or succumbing to infection or getting killed by another infected...
I dont think thats possible for her to continue in this series, because i think she is already contracted the cordycep. The 1st scene when she had breakfast, she alreadt had something with flour on her plate. Shes Doomed.
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Jakarta is also the perfect place for it to start since it is supposedly the worlds largest supplier of flour. So for Craig & Neil to set Jakarta as the epicenter for the outbreak was genius.
Not only that, Jakarta is one of the most populated city on earth. As of now, it's only second to Tokyo (No.1). The Cordyceps outbreak would be so terrifying.
Just saw this opening scene in episode 2 and I must say that it's the best opening scene I have seen. The Indonesian actress and the male officer talking to her capture that grim moment so freaking good, got my hairs standing up right.
I just realized; In episode one Joel and Sarah skip eating pancakes for breakfast, Sarah turns down her neighbor's cookies and Joel forgets to bring home a birthday cake. If the cordyceps were in the flour than every one of those missed meals was them dodging a bullet.
Same, that jakarta scene was so good, hearing the language with the subtitle and their top acting and bold decision to bomb the city, dang it gimme the chill runs on my veins
Just a note: Most cordyceps fungi species are in Asia, but you can find it also in the Amazon. ( I actually once travelled in the Amazon forest with a mycologist who studies this fungi). Thus, both the game and the serie have an origen of the disease that is possible.. Another note, it is unlikely that the mycologist of the serie has ever looked for a cure. Why looking for a cure if the fungi only attacks insects like ants, or other arthopods like spiders. As long if the fungi do not attack an insect considered to be economically important, like bees, it will be difficult to find funding. On the other hand, studies could be done to see it the cordyceps can be used as an insecticide, or even as a biological weapon. But it is a fact that looking for a cure would be difficult. Our best weapon against viruses are vaccines, our best weapon against bacteria are the antibiotics (antibiotics are produced by fungi to combat bacteria, routing out competition). So, scientist would need to start from scratch, and can not rely on the conventional remedies of vaccine and antibiotics.
Rewatched the episode so many times and still get chills on how real it felt. The look on the General's face when Ibu Ratna said to start bombing after realizing the gravity of the situation and that there was no hope. The acting was incredible
I'm liking the series so far. But they cut out some key parts, such as Joel dying 18 times in the first Clicker room because you didn't make enough shivs.
The fact that TLOU opening shows the country of Indonesia is pretty much impressive considering that more zombie films often take place in the Western world or in the East Asian world
i was caught off guard with the intro to episode 2 i really like that we are getting more of a background on the spread of the virus, and not only that the fact the zombies can interact with eachother with those vines running thru their hands was insanely awesome
Agreed. I'm also glad they did away with using the spores as a way to spread the virus. In several instances in the game, Joel was clearly in an environment where he was inhaling spores, but he wasn't wearing his gas mask, and he was fine. Spores are pretty much microscopic when floating in the air, in reality, so in a live adaptation, Joel would need to either wear a gas mask half of the time or the audience would have to really suspend their disbelief.
Brilliant opening scenes. Flashbacks are often overused and done incorrectly, but this was done right. The actors in the opening sequence performed perfectly. Masterpiece. The fear and confusion of the professor when she was taken from the restaurant was so on point…and her change to astonishment and then sheer terror and sadness…wow. I felt every ounce of the emotion those scenes gave. I cried with Grandma professor…her reluctant and pained acceptance of the gravity of the outbreak hit hard with me. Bomb. Bomb the city. So far, so good. I can’t wait for next week’s episode.
There's a theory in the game theorists that propose that Ellie isn't actually immune, but instead "infected" by another species of cordyceps, the Tolypocladium inflatum, this one which doesn't infect the nervous system, acts like an immunosuppressant and ,as an added bonus,, is made into cyclosporine: antifungal medicine, thus explainin why she doesn't wear a mask (in the game) and the whole bite thing.
The part that gave me chills was when she just said she wanted to go home to her family. As a lifelong student of the fungal world, she knew what the conclusion would be before it even started.
fun fact, at the beginning of the scene we can hear music background plays ari lasso's song , and the lyric , "kini kau menghilang, bagaikan ditelan bumi" , or translated , "now you're gone ,like swallowed by earth" , i dont know why they put this song, but i think , it really perfectly fit the show
As someone who was oddly fascinated with studying Fungi in middle school, it really is almost like an alien organism, and closer in biology to animals than any from of plant life... I loved the game partially because of the biological accuracy, and I'm really excited that the show is doing the same... Someone had said they are happy this is science fiction... I just replied "Tell that to insects..." 👁👄👁
It can’t happen, our immune system basically has hundreds of ways of dealing with Fungi, not to mention the fact that our nerves are wayyyy more complicated and harder to control than insects. And even if those impossibilities happen there are many many medications. And if even THAT passes we will still win through outlasting it, infecting and killing hosts like cordeceps does is not efficient for any organism. TLDR: while it’s cool that it’s based in reality, it ain’t ever happening.
@@tahaymvids1631 Oh I agree fully since I know how they work in nature (naturally)... It's our Frankenstein scientist governments that keep crazily playing god with reckless abandonment that scares the crap out of me... Certain agencies specifically work on Fungi, and their cross species work is horrific and could super easily backfire... If Fungi ever gained ability to attack mamals, it will be because WE did it...
real life Fungi are still pretty relevant and important to study today. It's important to keep an eye on any changes that fungi may react upon the environment. We still don't know much about Fungi completely which is why The Last of Us is so eerie and disturbing and almost hits home. Because what are the odds of similar fate we humans could face like in the series. Fungi really do feel like Aliens from another place. Just look at how it infect its host aka ants and small insects and gradually kills them once drained. Really brutal and merciless.
And the fact that the fungus in the show actually physically spreads throughout the surface, makes it looks like an alien organism wreaking havoc in an ecosystem. They actually have grown massively in size compared to real life cordyceps
Wonderful scene, excellent acting. Also note that in one of the earliest trailers for the series, there is a brief section which shows bombers and fighters jets flying over rural areas as citizens look upwards. So I have a feeling we will see a flashback of one/many cities being bombed. Edit: Also, did anyone else notice the ever so slight theme song in the background the moment she said "bomb"? What a great touch.
The opening scene is such a flip on what other pandemic/zombie movies do with the trope of scientists being pulled aside by the state to address the newly discovered virus or whatever. In most shows/movies the doctor or specialist is pulled away from their day to day life like we see in the opening moments, but instead of the specialist appealing to reason and hope to a gung-ho general it’s the complete opposite! The general is the one appealing to reason, holding out on hope for a cure and it’s the doctor that tells him that there is no reason for hope and that he should start bombing immediately instead. The gravity of the moment during their sit down over tea is immense! It definitely fits the vibe of the devs of the game that were trying to make a new but different “zombie” game. Can’t wait to see the rest of the series.
*SPOILERS* i’m not sure if i’m late to this conclusion already, and i might be wrong, but since there’s no cure no matter what, then trying to make a cure out of Ellie really would be useless even if shes immune. I feel like Ellie, and anyone else who is immune, are just the next step in human evolution, and need to survive to procreate a new generation of humans who can survive against the fungus. This would make Joel’s decision to rescue Ellie appear as less selfish. Let me know if the was the whole point from the beginning tho.
I think it's more like the scientists were not aware of the possibility of immunity or a cure yet. The professor didn't even believe Cordyceps could survive in humans until she saw it for herself. She couldn't have predicted Ellie's immunity and cure potential twenty years in the future. However, whether Ellie's condition would actually provide a cure is not certain in the game, this is a somewhat open question as of now. I don't know how the show will handle it. About the human evolution thing, it would make sense if the reason for Ellie's or any other person's immunity has to do with their own genetics. This is also not made clear in the game, in fact, Marlene states that it was the fungus that mutated inside of Ellie, and not that it's Ellie who carries a beneficial mutation that could start an evolutionary step. This is also a point which can be further explored in the show. But even if Ellie has a mutation, well, we know she's not into boys so she won't be passing those genes forward 😂 I guess humanity will have to wait a little longer to develop immunity.
I don’t think Joel’s decision was selfish at all considering in the logs you find in the game that Ellie was not the only one immune. It’s just that the Fireflies found other people but all died in the trials. Plus the fireflies were pretty dumb, if the harvesting failed they would have essentially killed humanity them selves.
One thing I really loved about this episode was that they kept the original voice actor/ motion capture actors of the Clikers( The zombie if anyone is wondering ) from the game. I felt like I was playing the game all along
how accurate everything is in this scene, the uniform used in that era, the ministry of health logo from that era, the formality of the language used.. i can even say the guy is a lieutenant general from kostrad (strategic command of indonesian army).
The more that guy in the military talked to her...the more afraid she got because she knew it was too late. They didn't know who or what bit the initial carrier, 14 employees where the first outbreak was missing...it just got worse and worse the more he talked.
Here's my theory It does not originate from Indonesia because 2 days isn't enough time for the products to be shipped out worldwide,p ut on supermarket shelves and then immediately used in cooking/baking to be consumed. Shipping the product itself to the US would take a month by containers. Plus nobody exports flour because pricing wise doesn't make sense and i'll explain why. I believe the grain itself is the source of contamination. Flour mills worldwide use the same grain to produce flour. The number 1 exporter of grain is the US, canada being number 2 (we're talking worldwide supply) Hence it was already in the US before it even happened in Jakarta and also why it happened instantaneously across the globe.
jakarta actually have biggest flour factory in the world named bogasari. just theory, bogasari already export flour over the world before the first outbreak happened
@@mamaubear nope. Bogasari doesnt export their flour. They dont even export it in asia because it's impossible to compete with the local products. Like i said, bogasari and any other flour mills use the same grain to produce the flour, same supplier (mostly from US/canada, some from black sea and australia)
2 days before was the first time anyone in the factory went violent. 14 employees were already missing from the factory and it was already in the flour that gets shipped all over the world ...
The perfect environment for cordycept mutation mentioned on tropical country, and the flour has the major part, not the grain. Thats why the ground zero taking place in Jakarta that has big flour factory and noodle factory that is exported worlwide.
This wasn't in the game but would be so perfect to be the origin of the infection. I'm a microbiologist and I'm so impressed on how they handled the fungi proliferating in a wheat factory.
Or an entire prequel spinoff series for that matter that is set in Indonesia! Prolly have a cold opening sequence that takes place in the ill-fated flour factory the night before the outbreak began - with the management, workers, guards and delivery truck drivers being blissfully unaware of what was to come (but throw easter eggs that hint all is not what it seems in an apparently normal time)! You will easily get tens of millions of Southeast Asian viewers already right off the bat!
The opening to the second episode of this series did something that similar flesh eating zombie series/movies always seems to gloss over. While those stories tend to put its audience in the middle of the mayhem already in progress, this breaks the mold in its first 9 minutes and places us at ground zero. This opening shows its viewers the helplessness and hopelessness of the situation, and by doing so it highlights the importance of Ellie and the ultimate hope her character brings to this bleak remainder of civilization. By taking the time to show the audience the bleak early stages of the Cordyceps Infection in Jakarta, The Last of Us is steadily becoming a much needed breath of air to the whole zombie horror genre.
Ok my issue is how did the fungus survive the baking process? I understand if your exposed to the raw flour you could be infected but after the baking process how? The biscuits and cookies are baked at 375-425 degrees so I don't see how the fungus could survive that
The exposure probably happened in the dough making/rolling/biscuit shaping process. I made shortbread last night and added a little extra flour to the dough because it wasn't the consistency I was looking for. I stopped as I saw little particulates of flour in the air and thought: oh yeah, that'd fuck me pretty hard, huh?
the dancing plague in 1518. Modern reports vary, with some claiming the hawkers were influenced by a psychotropic fungus known as ergot, which grows on the moist stalks of wheat. in fact the spread is said to have come from wheat flour affected by ergot fungi
I don't know much about fungi but apparently there is some real world inspiration a French town called point saint esprit had an incident with a fungi called ergot where a mill was exposed and the supply to a local bakery some people got seriously I'll And died it was in the 1950s look into it there might be some explanation
Ergot, a fungus that targets grains like wheat and rye, can survive baking and thrive in baked goods. The Salem Witch Hysteria was caused, in part, by ergot contaminated rye flour used for baking bread.
The infection might have not started in Jakarta. How fast does grain/flour travel around the globe? Could grain/flour really have traveled all around the world in only a couple days? Often it is loaded into large ships which take weeks crossing oceans, getting around the world. A more reasonable explanation would probably be that Jakarta was the second place it "broke out". Indonesia actually only imports wheat for its wheat needs and doesn't produce or export any significant amount, from what I found with a quick google search. So likely there was a major exporter of wheat in the world, where the wheat got infected, then loaded on many ships, which then delivered it all around the world. The location would likely be somewhere in Asia like you mentioned, which also potentially explains why it publicly broke out in Jakarta first. It could have started in Australia maybe, where it could have been turned into processed goods as well to spread even quicker since some of them can be shipped quicker than grain often is. Wherever it truly started, it might have avoided outbreak for so long due to the grain being stored in long term storage, not being used by anyone till it came time to clear it out and store some more, as is often the case for major grain exporters as they often keep large stores to respond to famines and keep prices stable.
The fear that Ibu Ratna conveyed was far more chilling than anything else on the show till now. I felt truly the hopelesness and tha magnitude of the tragedy that was about to unfold. Great writing, great acting.
It could be one of the greatest scenes in television history. Right up there with "I am the one who knocks". She gives me chills when she starts shaking and has to put her tea down. Than gives him the answer nobody wants to hear... Bomb
@@AnonymousForPPL i mean the whole point of the infection was that the fungi eventually evolved to host on human bcs of global warming, which is reflecting our current condition thus us consuming it as a health supplement was in a way scary bcs it provokes you to think “what if this evolves too?” like in the movie. ofc people know it’s science fiction, but the fact that it is soo close to the real life condition is what makes it so creepy
The show is just fantastic so far. My wife has never played the game, nor does she know about it. While I have the ps3 and remaster platinumed and know the game inside and out. It stays faithful to the source material as much as possible to keep those who know the game inside and out engaged, and keeping my wife engaged the entire time as well. It is so hard to not spoil it for her.
The prologues in both episodes one and two are brilliantly done. I never played the game but some younger family members have, and even back then I remember how shaken they were by the story. When we got word about the show they insisted we all needed to see it. So far I'm really impressed, but my highest marks so far go to those prologues, especially this one. The first set the stage for how it could (hypothetically) happen, backing up its plausibility with real existing scientific information (and John Hannah is wonderful full stop). Episode 2 takes that and adds a real human feel. When the professor wipes her eyes and gives her solution it is a gut punch. I hope they keep that format; it has acted as a pre-action meditation to guide us into that world.
When I was watching the first episode I knew it would be that grandma to turn into an infected because earlier when Sarah was in their house looking over some photos or something, I could see that Grandma was twitching strangely in the background. Then later on in the series, Joel said it started with suppliers of flour or grain of some sort, then I immediately thought about how Grandma was having biscuits in the morning. Every tiny detail counts lol
@@dieforwenqingliveformengzo3241 nah actually I heard somewhere that dead insects killed by the cordyceps fungus cannot found in a higher rate, and its cost is extremely high (searched it on the internet too). The cordyceps fungus itself is a costly product.
@Banter Maestro2 I know it poses no threat to humans. I just found on the internet that the cordyceps fungus is actually a valuable thing. Its sold at a high price around the globe. Guess many people don't know that.
In the little behind the scenes after the episode, they went into more detail about the changes from the game to the show. They changed it to primarily oral borne with the tendrils being the physical manifestation of the spread rather than primarily airborne which makes a lot more sense. It would have been really hard to film and justify all the gas mask scenes in the game, especially the amount of times where they go without a mask in areas where it looks like there should be a high spore count. With the tendrils being the way the fungus manifests within a host, now they can do all the scenes where they get right up onto a fungified corpse and not have people asking "why aren't they catching it from there?"
I still love the role reversal of the scientist coldly and clinically saying that bombing is the only way to try and slow the infection, which the general finds appalling, as opposed to the heroic scientist struggle to find a cure before the explosion happy military leader gets to just blow people up.
That's what made it so scary, the smartest mind in the room could see the horror that was about to be unleashed, and was willing to sacrifice millions to save billions.
This opening was a masterpiece. It was so chilling, it was a surprise when the scientist, who is supposed to be one of the greatest mind of the country just advise the general to bomb the city and everyone in it, in hope to have a chance to fight the spread of the cordyceps. It was the scariest thing of the whole show. True psychological Horror.
I think they jam it into your throat, anywhere on your body, or even your mouth if convenient and then it takes over your mind not sure if they can still use their teeth when the tendrils are coming out. There was a lot of blood when we saw the granny infect the other old people so maybe they clamp down with their teeth and the tendrils make their way in.
The accuracy of the scene on the road is even more incredible in which the production team take it to James Cameron level of perfectionism detail, all of the cars and motorbikes shown are from the 90s and early 2000, I can't spot any latest cars and motorbikes on the road in the scene.
I know it’s stupid to nitpick on such a small detail, but when she’s walking through the lobby of the lab they take her to, there are posters for SARS everywhere, which is just an incredible little bit of attention to detail.
What did you think of the opening scene in The Last Of Us Episode 2? Comment your thoughts below!
It's chilling, just like the first episodes opening
One of the best scene
Yeah it definitely was! It will be interesting to see if they do something just as haunting again!
don't forget that Indonesia is located on the equator, where heat is the source of this cordyceps problem
Too long, not necessary
Not only does the cordyceps growing in flour make sense and explains how it could've spread so fast across the world, but it's also mindblowing when you remember how many meals with flour were in the first episode:
Joel didn't want pancakes on his birthday
Granny Adler ate biscuits which Joel and Sarah neglected
and Joel forgot to bring home a cake.
If they ate any of that they might have gotten infected. Joel unknowingly dodged the bullet on three occasions.
That's so crazy and great storytelling.
Definitely was!
Oh wow! I didn't even notice that!! That just makes me love the writing and storytelling that much more
Holy crap!!
This is great, I remember being dissapointed for Sarah for not getting her cake lol
Can't dodge a baseball bat tho
Also the fact that the largest grain/flour mill is in Jakarta, and Indonesia is one of the largest flour grain exporter in the world, it does make sense and realistic tho
Yeah that is what I also said in other videos regarding the flour factory.
But where did they get the grain? Brazil got soybean wheat so this might be prime suspect because the professor outright said cordyceps which Brazil is good location for one particular reason:
Deforestation to make room for farming, Brazil and Indonesia also have good relations.
@@Frostwolf_103 Ah now I understand, I think its connected to the contaminated yeast farms in South America the game mention it before, that possible if the factory import some of it and cause outbreak in Jakarta
Wouldn't cooking kill off the infection though? Like ik it can survive in humans but baking bread in a 350 degree oven would kill anything lol
@@agentchicken3577 i think you'd still get sick if you eat uncountable amount of it (dried fungus or not) since it's the flour that is contaminated.
the first outbreak was in Jakarta, but the source of infected flour was not from there. If it from Jakarta, it would takes weeks for the flour from the factory floor in to the neighbor's pantry. There are only 2-3 days gap between the outbreaks in Jakarta and US.
The opening was absolutely incredible and felt as dark as Chernobyl
shout out to the writer craig mazin
So scary as Chernobyl
I from Indonesia you don't know how i feel.
@@Yazuxi there's no Cordyceps there? Hahaha
@@blackdemon7948 there is a breaking news right now on my tv.
For a small fact, the actress who take role as Professor Ratna is Christine Hakim. Put it simply, she is Indonesian equivalent of Dame Judi Dench, or Dame Hellen Mirren. Truly a legend
She brought a lot of gravitas to such a short role. Actors in this show killing it
She was brilliant!
Her acting was absolutely fantastic.
She bodied that role. Her acting was superb
It shows, the acting was superb! I really liked her
There was a comment someone made that I really liked on another video about how it was an interesting twist how it’s the military man asking for a medicine or vaccine and the scientific woman goes straight to a wanting the city destroyed. The man of war wants a scientific answer but the woman of science knew a violent response was needed. A bit of a change from the usual trope of the gung ho general not listening to reason and scientist saving the day with their scientific answer.
It was here, I believe the comment is not too far up from yours, but yes it was nice change of pace to see the "Scientist" go for the "Military" solution instead of the "General" disregarding the "Scientific" solution.
Also, dont know if that comment said it but the actor who played the General or Colonel (i dont remember his rank or if is stated) really sold the part that he sincerely wants to help and look for a solution for this mess but as soon as the Professor says "bomb the city" his eyes both light up and feel empty; is almost as if he is "did i hear that right?" shortly after with a "shit shit shit, theres nothing left to do" and understands the same as the professor that being with the family is the thing to do.
@@d.ml.g9902 Thats what makes me chills on that scene, it feel surreal to me dang
@D.M L.G that's a 3-star general btw. Most people don't know military ranks by sight anymore, but it's another indication how hard the s*** has hit the fan, when a 3-star personally hunts down the expert and escorts her to the lab.
I know this is fiction so it doesn't matter, but bombing the whole Jakarta might be a hard ask. Even if we were to assume the military collected enough resources to do that, any slip up on this operation will be disastrous, not just because it's bombing a whole city, but also the situation. A month before the first shot a bomb has been exploded on Marriott. And while this may not scar some people (I remember at the time police said that the culprit targeted Western buildings, so middle upper class people might had bigger concerns), it's also barely five years after Indonesian people overthrown a president now infamous for body counts from his secret police. And now officials have to consider bombing a city.
What I am saying is that there's much more chaos outside the movie text and I hope there's an Indonesian fanfic writer somewhere that expand on this setting.
@@d.ml.g9902 gotcha. Didn’t know where it was but glad to know!
And I agree that he really sold it! He oozed emotion and his eyes told us a lot so much. He really sold the idea of a frightened and disturbed man looking for a solution.
That moment when she learns how many workers are still missing, and she starts shaking. Because it hits her that fast, it's too late, far far too late. The absolute fear conveyed in that moment and the entire opening is absolutely incredible.
Agreed. The moment she starts shaking gives me goosebumps.
I didn’t know anything about the game so everything was new information to me. That scene you’re talking about told me everything I needed to know about how horrific this fungus was and what destruction it would bring to the world. Beautiful storytelling and beautiful acting.
It’s the fact that the characters know in the story that it’s the end. The only thing that isn’t plausible is that the flour could be transported around the world in 2 days. The fact is it’d take 3-4 weeks to ship that around the world.
Sometimes it is necessary to take drastic action, from a scientific point of view. That's why plague victims were shut up in their house. Cruel for them and their family, but necessary to try and protect the rest of the city
@@nicholasdickens2801 It's likely that the flour had been contaminated for weeks and only at that point was it beginning to manifest visibly in the infected.
It was scary with how real the beginning of this episode made everything feel.
It most definitely was!
It's because this shit can actually happen and this is how our zombie apocalypse will probably happen BrainPilot do better and let people know this information
@@luvsmobilegamez Isn't he doing it?
@@luvsmobilegamez Also I don't think BrainPilot is an expert in Medical Stuff.
Cause we’ve been through a pandemic and remember how that felt at first. That’s why all this plague end of society shit hits different now more than ever.
Opening was an absolute masterpiece 10/10. And the rest of the episode was a solid 9 with 10/10 ending
Those clickers are terrifying and amazingly done
They are - without even looking at them the sound is so chilling
@@jdm8702 I was screaming to Joe: USE A SHIV!!! Freakin scary! Exactly like in the game.
This is true horror than any horror movies i have seen.
@@xkirax2997 I was like "dang it Joel! It's like you've never played the last of us before! Use a shiv! Conserve your ammo!v
You can also hear a news in episode 1 (while Joel and Sarah taking breakfast), about a flour factory in Jakarta. It was subtle but noticable.
That’s really clever!
It's the way the show showed us how Sarah and Joel avoided getting infected 4 times. The birthday pancakes Sarah was going to make for Joel, the biscuits the neighbors were offering, the cookies the old lady was making for Sarah, and the cake Joel was suppose to get.
@@dovelove5427 your brain is actually fucking massive. Thank you for this
@@Ogcyre ;)
@@dovelove5427 my man … talk about the importance of small details
It really shows how helpless it is when she recommends bombing the city because there is no cure. and she knows there is no hope because she wants to be with her family
What got me was that it wasn't even the general's idea to bomb, as would be more typical TV. He brought in an expert and was clearly willing to act on her advice, whatever it may be. That one of their nation's brightest minds is telling him the situation is that hopeless, that they must bomb their own CAPITAL CITY just for a fighting chance...oh those are some CHILLS.
@@sagelemmers7009 i’m glad someone brought this up none of these youtube videos have mentioned that and if they have it’s slipped my mind
@@sagelemmers7009 Thats realistic decision came out from the experts that theyre knows, there is no any choice left to stop it, no medicine and no vaccine just bcause its a fungus that we dealing with, spread faster like a fire, killing everyone is the best option we can do to slow down the spread, and thats why the armies hunts for them and kill sarah in the first episode
@@sagelemmers7009 yeah i dont know about this choice. But i guess its plausible 🥺
@@michael2134c when she learned what the symptoms were (extreme violence) and how easily and quickly it was spreading, the choice was clear.
The directors explained they wanted the opening to be in Indonesia bc they wanted this show to make the audience see that it was in fact on a global scale and not just an American, as it was felt in the game. They also said that they wanted to do scenes of majors cities during the outbreak but didn’t have enough money 😢
And the fact that Indonesia is not wheat exporter country, means when the outbreak happened in Jakarta and US in same week, the infected flour/wheat can be already in every other country.
with just This scene, makes sense tho.. Indonesia has one of the largest flour factory in the world
I'm always imagine after seeing eps 2 if they made a spin off located like in Indonesia and the title called the first of us
@@chibatadayoshi278 Indonesia has the largest grain mill factory + one of the largest flour exporter
Somehow I pictured the same three runners cheaply green screened in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, and Tenochitlan and honestly I’d have supported such a directorial choice
That lady's acting was PERFECTION.
Masterful.
Me and my lady's eyes teared up bad lol
Ya, when her demeanor changes after telling them to bomb when she realizes her personal situation vs her as a scientist knowing what must be done.. was chilling.
she is a well-known and seasoned actress in Indonesia. she plays her role perfectly.
@@INGORPG I loved seeing people gush about her from that part of the world, the raw emotion had me mourn for the character, the casting was done so well
@@GroundbreakGames This... you can pratically see all what she represents as a well known scientist, an authority in her field of study, slowly evaporates and leave only a humble , helpless senior lady who only wants to be taken home to stay with her family. Being stripped of our titles, achievements in life, we all are really just helpless human beings, that was a powerful message
@@INGORPG Who plays the General? He nails his part too by only his eyes.
“Bomb” was never so terrifying. Her hands shaking after she was told 14 people are unaccounted for was amazing. Show and not tell.
She was terrified and already knew at that time, humanity's fate is sealed.
@@jamesmmcgill Humanity yes. Vietnam no. Even zombies would be defeated in Vietnam.
So I watched the interview of this actress. This was one of those scenes shot during CoVid (obviously), and her 13 year old relative really begged her to take the casting for this show, but she was very worried because her husband is comorbid and she worried that things would happen to her family if she got sick on the shooting process. So we have a senior actress shooting a scene in which a professor asking to be sent home to meet her family in the last days before a zombie pandemic about to happen, WHILE also really worried for her family on a global pandemic.
No wonder it rang so true!
Damm...no wonder she nailed the acting when she shift from expert scientist to a crying grandma
Thank you for sharing!
As soon as the Indonesian policeman said 14 workers were missing and the whereabouts of the person who bit the woman were unknown, I knew it was over. By the time you start investigating an outbreak, the damage has already been done. 30 hours is enough time for an infection to travel far. through ppl.
If there are openings like this each episode, the show will be perfect
It most definitely will be! Interested to see if they do that will Bill and Frank!
@@BrainPilot I played the game long time before and I literally forgot who bill and frank was 😂😂😂watching game walk through now
@Firepower because everybody just has mixed emotions that the show is ending
@Firepower Craig Maizin wrote a pretty bleak, yet carthartic ending. And the ending of the game itself had the same tone. I don’t think it’ll be bad at all.
@BlackholeTtson452 If the show follows a similar path, I believe E3 will either open with the start of the bombing, or the start of the major outbreak back in the US, likely one of the major cities in Texas as Joel and his brother begin to escape. Since we know they eventually find their way to Boston, I could see Dallas being the city in question. That is, if they follow a similar direction in the opening scenes of the past.
Props to the actor that played the General for showing the absolute horror at being told by his expert that the only way to possibly give *the rest of the world* a fighting chance is to *immediately raze Jakarta to the ground*
He is also a veteran actor in Indonesia, name Yayu Unru. Usually plays a police officer. But indeed his acting was SUPERB! The face shows...
General Millay, head of the Joint Chiefs of the military in the U.S., said in a speech this year that the purpose of a strong military is to prevent war. I found that very reassuring.
He is also the guy who spent HOURS on phones talking to his opposites in China and Russia that then President Trump was not going to launch nuclear missiles to start a war, so he could declare a national emergency and stay in power. The terrifying thing is, this was actually discussed during Trump's desperate last days. China was so sure Trump was going to do this that they were considering launching a pre-emptive strike. Millay talked them away from the ignition switch.
Millay was accused by extreme right wing of going behind the President's back / over his head: Millay held a meeting with all the significant military officers and reminded them that before nukes are launched the Chief of the Joint Chiefs (him, at the moment) must be told. This has been policy for a long time. He was just making sure everyone damned well remembered it.
Spoilers: it's also an incredible way to foreshadow the choice Joel has to make about Ellie in the finale.
This episode that shows you the problem is infected flour makes you look back at episode one. They couldn't make pancakes, they forgot the birthday cake, she didn't eat the cookies because they had raisins, he's on atkins so no bread and the family next to them that got infected were feeding biscuits to granma. So much attention to detail.
Kudos to your observation skills. 👍
Make sense
It was also coffee and chocolate beans
But you really have to wonder how the fungi wasn't killed by cooking, which in all of those items it should have been.
@@stevenjeffrey4637 I thought fungi I can burn it up
She has the same age, body size and aura as my grandma who passed away in 2021 which makes it hit a lot harder for me. The way she says “please listen carefully” and “start bombing” gives me chills. No other language could’ve delivered those words like that. Incredible acting from Christine Hakim!
After Jakarta was bombed, many other cities ere as well, and we can still see the traces of bombs in Boston later in the episode. That's the point of the scene.
Yup and same with Austin, Texas. Sarah while at the watch repair store, the jets zoom by to the city center and start bombing. They knew right away
Even in 2003 they had satellites and could see everything, not to mention being post 9/11 they had high alert contingencies in place.
That doctor deserves atleast an Emmy nomination for that scene, just brilliant
She was very good!
Yes she was great actress
small comment, her name would be Professor Ratna. The name "Ibu Ratna" translates to "Mother Ratna" but in Indonesia, the word "Ibu" (meaning mother) is also used as a respectful way to call a lady older than you, sort of like the equivalent of calling someone Ms/Mrs. A lil cultural lesson for everyone :)
Its not really a Mother like usaid. Like mother/son. Its more like Mem, miss.
@@mupicap7927 and madame.
Ma'am, Lady or Madam would be correct.
Kayaknya maknanya sama dengan kata Mam di bahasa Inggris ( Ibu ).
@@mupicap7927 literally what I wrote. Madame is another synonym of Ms
I rewarched that scene like 15 times, and still going 😂, never seen something more terrifying and serious before
It was such a chilling scene!
same
My heart dropped 😂
the doctor was such a good actress, when she mentioned bomb i got all the chills
Omg yes 😂
The policeman/military explaining to her the situation and I’m wondering well they need to find patient zero. Then he says they have no idea who bite her.
I’m like omfg, you have to burn out the infection at that point because it can’t be contained. Bombing was the only logical choice… scary chills.
@@mrnozchalazt7199n a densely populated place like the Jakarta area, it would be quite easy for Patient Zero to get lost in the crowd (especially once the infection started spreading)...
I think it is worth noting that the fact that the Cordyceps was spreading through flour shows that the fungus is effectively unkillable: Breads, cakes, pancakes, just about anything containing flour bakes at over 300-350 degrees F. That means that the Cordyceps can withstand extended exposure to those temperatures. So, even if you burn it, it won't die, at least not right away. In fact, burning it could cause the spores to rise on the wind and spread through the air.
This heat tolerance is extremely important, since most fungus don't find human body temperature (98.6 F) to be tolerable. This has long been our greatest defense against fungal infections. So, this fungus hasn't just adapted to human hosts, but to be able to survive at extremes of temperature so severe that it would kill most living things. So, even a human being with a high fever is still able to be infected. After all, if it can survive the inside of an oven baking bread, it can survive almost anywhere.
It really is an apocalyptic scenario, since not only is it spreading through arguably the most commonly eaten grain on planet Earth. With that massive an initial foothold and any news about the source having been too slow to limit the initial spread, there was no way of stopping the disaster before it was too late. Even in a world where the concept of "Zombies" is well known and the military actually has strategies in place to fight a "Zombie Apocalypse" scenario (With mutated rabies being an example), these are based on an idea that the infection would behave, well, like a standard infection, passing from person to person.
Zombie apocalypse scenarios, however, are based on the idea that there would *time* between the initial outbreaks and a worldwide spread. There would be chances to slow, halt, and contain the infection. The infection becoming widespread all across a country, or the nation, is essentially a failed state for the scenario. There's no real answer for what to do if suddenly every other human being just suddenly becomes a "zombie" with little to no warning. This scenario starts with the failed state, and escalates immediately.
Bro, you deserve likes for this explanation
Imagine HIV would have spread by air. Until the first one noticed, all of mankind could already have been infected. The same for nvCJD in Britain in the 1990s. The whole country could have been infected by eating prion contaminated meat. When the neurological signs appear it is only months to death and here too there would be no cure. At least we have some cures for viral and fungal diseases, but nothing for prions. We should care more about infections with very long incubation times.
Even if global warming made the fungi adapt to warmer (human body temperature) conditions I think it would still be destroyed at the heat it takes to burn the bodies which is what they were doing in the show
@@healgoth So it's not coherent that the fungus spread through baked flour and that they burn bodies. So there's a loophole, the end, next please :p
As an Indonesian based in Jakarta, i honestly shit my pants when she said “bomb the city”. This show really knows how to immerse viewers
(My apologies if mentioning my nationality bothers any one of you. I only used it to state the fact that I was petrified of such an outbreak occurring right beside of my house and since this is the case in the show, it amplified the fear to a whole new level. Once again, I am deeply sorry if any of you felt like this was yet another patriotic overly-proud useless comment about being indonesian)
Oh plz just say youre overproud
As an Indonesian, how accurate would you say the show's depiction of Jakarta was? It looks quite lovely.
@@alahsiaboi8909 there is nothing wrong for being that lol, thats mean he/she nationalistic and love his country so much, also I didn't find his/her comment overproud
@@alahsiaboi8909 oh yeah they're overproud sure sure
@bvbs5572 I mean this is rather for Jakarta in 2000 - 2005
Bringing a zombie apocolypse down to earth and slightly plausible is what makes this story strong and this show is making sure we are all in on the possibility of this really happening even if it is not actually possible in reality. I love what they are adding to this.
That’s why I love this game, because this seems the most realistic approach to it all. Fungus adapted, it spread through one of the most used ingredients in the world, and it took a couple days before everything went to hell.
In reality it’s not that realistic if you look at the details, an insects’s anatomy is vastly different from a human’s anatomy. The fungi evolved for millions of years just to be able to control ants so to make such as drastic switch to humans is nearly impossible cause of how complicated our nervous system is. Second, even if that was possible, Fungi spread through spores, so realistically we would become “zombies” in a sense that we would wander around mindlessly until we find a high place where we die and the fungi grows to spread it’s spores to other humans. Other than that most of the other stuff is pretty realistic. The WHO released a list of fungi that are becoming an increasing threat to humans as well as being resistant to Anti fungal medicine because of climate change.
@@kiranbabu5403 That is why I said "slightly plausible" Another leap they make is the incubation period. In the show and game it is like 15min which is also a big leap as it would be more like a day or two at the fastest.
But the point most of us are making is that for the first time we have a more believable zombie franchise becouse it does not have zombies. Infected and uninfected both have permanent deaths and it is even scarier becouse we know the infected never died and we could imagine for a time at least they wander unable to control thier actions but may be thinking.
@@garypranzo9334 yeah fair enough
The opening was amazing, having the scene and actors speak Indonesian with subtitles made it all seem so real. It was truly a haunting scene and they could easily make a short season about ground zero in Indonesia with all the actors and actress speaking indonesians with subtitles! it would truly be a different perspective of the zombie genre, considering most zombie films takes place in western society.
I would love to see a spin off of TLOU set in Indonesia during the early years of the outbreak.
@@jamesmmcgill The Last of Us spin-off, TLOU Ground Zero.
@@jamesmmcgill I thought you don't use the name Mcgill anymore
@@senoadjiaditya1535 I think “Ground Zero” is a perfect name
@@jamesmmcgill With the amazing trio from The Raid 2: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian & Cecep Arifrahman. Would be epic!
I love the flashbacks in the first two episodes. Hope they continue to start each episode like that.
Yeah we hope they did
I hope so too!
I'm trying to think what other flashbacks would be effective. I know that Neil and Craig said they scrapped the idea of flashing back to Tess having to kill her husband and lock up her son - but I think episode 3 we'll get the flashback of Bill and Frank trying to survive.
Just a minor correction. Cordyceps are fungi, not viruses.
I was going to say the same.
not minor at all. Vaccines are for viruses. There can be no vaccine because it’s a fungus.
Many people who are talking about the show on YT are making the same mistake.
They dont know the differents , 😁
👏👏
Not only was Christine Hakim an absolute powerhouse in this scene but was so was the general... displaying the mannerisms of a military man right up until Ibu Ratna lets him know there is no way out. Another piece of amazing writing/attention to detail was the small scene where Ibu Ratna has to slightly walk-jog to keep up with the pace of the military men. This the kind of attention to detail which sets great shows apart from good shows,
This episode was so good and the Clickers was so terrifying.
They really were!
In episode three when Joel is explaining to Ellie about how the outbreak started and he talked about "Flour" or "Sugar" was the food stuff, and even dropped "Pancake mix" into the list, throwing back to Sarah wanting to make him pancakes on the day of the outbreak, and the eggshell breakfast is what probably saved him.
Very true!
Little pet peeve of mine in this episode: HBO messed up on the translation of the professor's name. Her name's Ratna. "Ibu" actually means ma'am/Mrs., so people calling her Professor Ibu Ratna is basically calling her Professor Mrs. Ratna, which is weird.
😐
Happened once in a game I think it was fable, where an npc was named señora doña xy (can't remember the actual name)
Señora and doña meaning both Mrs.
One being more polite than other.
I dont speak the language, but I know people in English who use multiple professional suffixes when trying to be more formal and courteous. "Mrs. Professor Ratna" instead of Professor Mrs. Ratna. It could also be because she's a woman and some people give women the extra title to distinguish them from men. However I've heard men be called "Mr. Professor Last Name" so I'm not sure. Again, still not sure if it's the same in her language.
@@kellenlewis3087 In this language it's not. That's interesting though what you said, TIL.
Agreed. Her first name is Ratna, Ratna Pertiwi is the character. But she was never addressed as Doctor Ratna in the 10 mins throughout the cold opening.
This is why I feel a fungus is such a great instrument for a zombie outbreak. There is no cure for the cordyceps because a fungus isn't a virus, it's an animal. The only way you can remove it is to ensure that it goes extinct. This is why Ellie being "immune" is such a big deal. The fungus can't survive within her. Such a great way to adapt the original material!
There isn't a cure for this fungus because it doesn't infect humans. There is cure for some other fungi that infect humans.
A fungus isn't an animal...
It should've died in the cooking process if it was in the flour. If you toast moldy bread, you won't get sick from eating it, although it might taste bad, but heat will kill the fungus. So, maybe this was a resillient type of fungus?
fungi arent animals or plants, theyre a different thing entirely
Well I mean if it's in the body, you should be able to introduce something else into the body that would kill the fungus since there would have to be something we can survive it cannot survive interacting with being the more durable organisms. Hard part would either be finding said something, or not killing the person with the virus. Or it could be as simple as heating up the body a bit.
The only thing bothered me was the yellow haze effect which all the western media sets whenever they portray Asian countries, Mexico or Middle Eastern countries. Like omg believe it or not, we actually have blue skies. Not everything is a sickly yellow.
I feel like this time it’s just to emphasize the severity and sickliness of the country, because of the cordyceps taking over. I think it matches pretty well for this specific scenario.
You have blue skies but you also have a lot of dirt and pollution. Also the weather is very humid and sticky. I think that effect serves its purpose
Usually it's just to emphasize how hot it is in there. Also sometimes yellowish filter used for flashbacks.
In a lot of sci-fi movies they do same thing, yellowish filter for deserts or hot planets.
but their neighborhood in texas also look slightly yellow in some scene... it just a simple language of videography to pictured a hot humid place.. but yeah sometime its cliche
3:48 jakarta also has the largest flour mill in the world, which makes sense as to how widespread was and fast it spread.
Some info :
Christine Hakim is considered a Grand Dame of Indonesian film industry, won 8 times for the best actress category since 1973.
The producer and director of this $100 million project knew what they are doing for choosing her for this particular role.
Just can't get enough of her, hoping for more of her in the future of this series. Example the US government in collaboration with Indonesian military bring her to Stateside at the beginning of the pandemic for more research and what she knew.
Problem is she prolly already died within a few hours or days of that meeting with the Indonesian General - either cuz of the bombs and bullets, or succumbing to infection or getting killed by another infected...
I dont think thats possible for her to continue in this series, because i think she is already contracted the cordycep. The 1st scene when she had breakfast, she alreadt had something with flour on her plate. Shes Doomed.
@@akbarymoch7635 that old mute woman in the house was a white woman, while that Indonesian mycologist was a different woman in different country.
@@dwchen1 no. MRS ratna also had a breakfast in a restaurant before meeting the Army man.
I was so excited to see Christine Hakim. She played her role beautifully.
You must waching Impetigore, Kartini she is brilian acting there
@@rianandriansah2839 Saya akan menonton film malam ini!
Wow , nice language Indonesia
@@krishryan9420, thanks! I grew up in Jakarta.
@@heatherbrooks1979 OK, recommendation for you to watch best Indonesian movie:
1.Stealing Raden Saleh(Netflix)
2.Missing Home(Netflix)
3.Ali and Ratu-ratu queen (Netflix)
4.Kartini(Netflix) -about strong of women,women is strong
5.Satan Slave(Netflix)-Best Indonesian horror all of time
6.Impetigor (Netflix) foxlore horror
7.june and kopi(Netflix)-heartbreaking movie you Will crying if you wach this movie,about friendship between a dog and human
8.A copy of my mind (Netflix)
9.Marlina:The murderer in four Acts (Netflix)
10.the night come for us (Netflix) best Indonesian action movie all of time wit the Raid movie
11. 5 CM
12. Rainbow troop
13.Filosopi copee
14.leter from Praha
15.May the devil take you(Horror movie)
16.Turah
17.bumi manusia
18.Photocopier(powerful movie)
19.the big 4 (Netflix)
20.Nanti kita cerita tentang hari ini
🙏❤️
One of the hardest scenes Ive watched on any tv show in a minute. That actor playing the professor needs an Emmy yesterday.
Totally agree!
Jakarta is also the perfect place for it to start since it is supposedly the worlds largest supplier of flour. So for Craig & Neil to set Jakarta as the epicenter for the outbreak was genius.
Yessir
Really? Since when Jakarta being the largest supplier of flour? 🤣
lmao this guy is nuts.
jakarta largest epicenter supplier of flour?.
wtf youre talking about.
@02 Alpha Zero the world's largest flour mill is in Jakarta. Wrong choice of words but you get the point.
Not only that, Jakarta is one of the most populated city on earth. As of now, it's only second to Tokyo (No.1). The Cordyceps outbreak would be so terrifying.
Just saw this opening scene in episode 2 and I must say that it's the best opening scene I have seen. The Indonesian actress and the male officer talking to her capture that grim moment so freaking good, got my hairs standing up right.
Totally agree!
I just realized; In episode one Joel and Sarah skip eating pancakes for breakfast, Sarah turns down her neighbor's cookies and Joel forgets to bring home a birthday cake. If the cordyceps were in the flour than every one of those missed meals was them dodging a bullet.
good observation bro
Thank you , good points
Only for Sarah not to dodge the soldiers bullet
I hope each cold open continues to follow the progression of the scientists until the finale where the cold open is from the perspective of the doctor
Same, that jakarta scene was so good, hearing the language with the subtitle and their top acting and bold decision to bomb the city, dang it gimme the chill runs on my veins
To be honest, the opening scene in this epsd is the best scene in the entire epsd
just write episode
The opening scene was scarier than the rest of the episode to me, my heart was beating so fast.
Just a note: Most cordyceps fungi species are in Asia, but you can find it also in the Amazon. ( I actually once travelled in the Amazon forest with a mycologist who studies this fungi). Thus, both the game and the serie have an origen of the disease that is possible.. Another note, it is unlikely that the mycologist of the serie has ever looked for a cure. Why looking for a cure if the fungi only attacks insects like ants, or other arthopods like spiders. As long if the fungi do not attack an insect considered to be economically important, like bees, it will be difficult to find funding. On the other hand, studies could be done to see it the cordyceps can be used as an insecticide, or even as a biological weapon. But it is a fact that looking for a cure would be difficult. Our best weapon against viruses are vaccines, our best weapon against bacteria are the antibiotics (antibiotics are produced by fungi to combat bacteria, routing out competition). So, scientist would need to start from scratch, and can not rely on the conventional remedies of vaccine and antibiotics.
More likely to be doing the opposite- looking for a way to use it as a biological pest control
Rewatched the episode so many times and still get chills on how real it felt. The look on the General's face when Ibu Ratna said to start bombing after realizing the gravity of the situation and that there was no hope. The acting was incredible
Christine Hakim, Indonesian Meryl Streep, a seasoned actress no doubt she nailed this short scene, so impactful and powerful
I'm liking the series so far. But they cut out some key parts, such as Joel dying 18 times in the first Clicker room because you didn't make enough shivs.
😂😂😂
The fact that TLOU opening shows the country of Indonesia is pretty much impressive considering that more zombie films often take place in the Western world or in the East Asian world
That actress absolutely _killed_ the role of Professor Ibu; I really hope to see her in more things!
i was caught off guard with the intro to episode 2 i really like that we are getting more of a background on the spread of the virus, and not only that the fact the zombies can interact with eachother with those vines running thru their hands was insanely awesome
Not a virus. Fungal infection.
not a virus, it’s fungi
Agreed. I'm also glad they did away with using the spores as a way to spread the virus. In several instances in the game, Joel was clearly in an environment where he was inhaling spores, but he wasn't wearing his gas mask, and he was fine. Spores are pretty much microscopic when floating in the air, in reality, so in a live adaptation, Joel would need to either wear a gas mask half of the time or the audience would have to really suspend their disbelief.
What virus?
Brilliant opening scenes. Flashbacks are often overused and done incorrectly, but this was done right. The actors in the opening sequence performed perfectly. Masterpiece.
The fear and confusion of the professor when she was taken from the restaurant was so on point…and her change to astonishment and then sheer terror and sadness…wow. I felt every ounce of the emotion those scenes gave. I cried with Grandma professor…her reluctant and pained acceptance of the gravity of the outbreak hit hard with me.
Bomb. Bomb the city.
So far, so good. I can’t wait for next week’s episode.
such a powerful subtle performance on her part. 10/10
Totally agree!
There's a theory in the game theorists that propose that Ellie isn't actually immune, but instead "infected" by another species of cordyceps, the Tolypocladium inflatum, this one which doesn't infect the nervous system, acts like an immunosuppressant and ,as an added bonus,, is made into cyclosporine: antifungal medicine, thus explainin why she doesn't wear a mask (in the game) and the whole bite thing.
The part that gave me chills was when she just said she wanted to go home to her family. As a lifelong student of the fungal world, she knew what the conclusion would be before it even started.
fun fact, at the beginning of the scene we can hear music background plays ari lasso's song , and the lyric , "kini kau menghilang, bagaikan ditelan bumi" , or translated , "now you're gone ,like swallowed by earth" , i dont know why they put this song, but i think , it really perfectly fit the show
My issue with this episode was Tess tryna use a lighter when she was surrounded by grenades….just use one
I just chalked it up to people doing irrational things while terrified.
Haha same 🤣😂
@@dahhmlife It must be 😂
Hand grenades don’t work like that bro …too much COD maybe
@MP they launch pieces of shrapnel not flame bro
As someone who was oddly fascinated with studying Fungi in middle school, it really is almost like an alien organism, and closer in biology to animals than any from of plant life... I loved the game partially because of the biological accuracy, and I'm really excited that the show is doing the same... Someone had said they are happy this is science fiction... I just replied "Tell that to insects..." 👁👄👁
It can’t happen, our immune system basically has hundreds of ways of dealing with Fungi, not to mention the fact that our nerves are wayyyy more complicated and harder to control than insects. And even if those impossibilities happen there are many many medications. And if even THAT passes we will still win through outlasting it, infecting and killing hosts like cordeceps does is not efficient for any organism.
TLDR: while it’s cool that it’s based in reality, it ain’t ever happening.
@@tahaymvids1631 Oh I agree fully since I know how they work in nature (naturally)... It's our Frankenstein scientist governments that keep crazily playing god with reckless abandonment that scares the crap out of me... Certain agencies specifically work on Fungi, and their cross species work is horrific and could super easily backfire... If Fungi ever gained ability to attack mamals, it will be because WE did it...
real life Fungi are still pretty relevant and important to study today. It's important to keep an eye on any changes that fungi may react upon the environment. We still don't know much about Fungi completely which is why The Last of Us is so eerie and disturbing and almost hits home. Because what are the odds of similar fate we humans could face like in the series. Fungi really do feel like Aliens from another place. Just look at how it infect its host aka ants and small insects and gradually kills them once drained. Really brutal and merciless.
And the fact that the fungus in the show actually physically spreads throughout the surface, makes it looks like an alien organism wreaking havoc in an ecosystem.
They actually have grown massively in size compared to real life cordyceps
This is also why mushrooms also taste much more like meat than vegetables/plants.
The opening for this episode....
Christine Hakim(Ratna) knocked it out of the park!!
She definitely did!
Wonderful scene, excellent acting. Also note that in one of the earliest trailers for the series, there is a brief section which shows bombers and fighters jets flying over rural areas as citizens look upwards. So I have a feeling we will see a flashback of one/many cities being bombed.
Edit: Also, did anyone else notice the ever so slight theme song in the background the moment she said "bomb"? What a great touch.
The opening scene is such a flip on what other pandemic/zombie movies do with the trope of scientists being pulled aside by the state to address the newly discovered virus or whatever. In most shows/movies the doctor or specialist is pulled away from their day to day life like we see in the opening moments, but instead of the specialist appealing to reason and hope to a gung-ho general it’s the complete opposite! The general is the one appealing to reason, holding out on hope for a cure and it’s the doctor that tells him that there is no reason for hope and that he should start bombing immediately instead. The gravity of the moment during their sit down over tea is immense! It definitely fits the vibe of the devs of the game that were trying to make a new but different “zombie” game. Can’t wait to see the rest of the series.
*SPOILERS*
i’m not sure if i’m late to this conclusion already, and i might be wrong, but since there’s no cure no matter what, then trying to make a cure out of Ellie really would be useless even if shes immune. I feel like Ellie, and anyone else who is immune, are just the next step in human evolution, and need to survive to procreate a new generation of humans who can survive against the fungus. This would make Joel’s decision to rescue Ellie appear as less selfish.
Let me know if the was the whole point from the beginning tho.
I think it's more like the scientists were not aware of the possibility of immunity or a cure yet. The professor didn't even believe Cordyceps could survive in humans until she saw it for herself. She couldn't have predicted Ellie's immunity and cure potential twenty years in the future.
However, whether Ellie's condition would actually provide a cure is not certain in the game, this is a somewhat open question as of now. I don't know how the show will handle it.
About the human evolution thing, it would make sense if the reason for Ellie's or any other person's immunity has to do with their own genetics. This is also not made clear in the game, in fact, Marlene states that it was the fungus that mutated inside of Ellie, and not that it's Ellie who carries a beneficial mutation that could start an evolutionary step. This is also a point which can be further explored in the show. But even if Ellie has a mutation, well, we know she's not into boys so she won't be passing those genes forward 😂 I guess humanity will have to wait a little longer to develop immunity.
I don’t think Joel’s decision was selfish at all considering in the logs you find in the game that Ellie was not the only one immune. It’s just that the Fireflies found other people but all died in the trials. Plus the fireflies were pretty dumb, if the harvesting failed they would have essentially killed humanity them selves.
@@griz312 yeah, in my opinion i agree. I just pointed that out because theres a big percent of ppl who think so
@@lenoncerqueira8308 Good point actually. Thank you for educating🙏🏼
She's also NOT immune if she's testing positive. She's carrying the infection and may one day succumb as she gets older.
One thing I really loved about this episode was that they kept the original voice actor/ motion capture actors of the Clikers( The zombie if anyone is wondering ) from the game. I felt like I was playing the game all along
how accurate everything is in this scene, the uniform used in that era, the ministry of health logo from that era, the formality of the language used.. i can even say the guy is a lieutenant general from kostrad (strategic command of indonesian army).
Kostrad. Indonesian equivalent to the United States STRATCOM
The more that guy in the military talked to her...the more afraid she got because she knew it was too late. They didn't know who or what bit the initial carrier, 14 employees where the first outbreak was missing...it just got worse and worse the more he talked.
Here's my theory
It does not originate from Indonesia because 2 days isn't enough time for the products to be shipped out worldwide,p ut on supermarket shelves and then immediately used in cooking/baking to be consumed. Shipping the product itself to the US would take a month by containers.
Plus nobody exports flour because pricing wise doesn't make sense and i'll explain why.
I believe the grain itself is the source of contamination. Flour mills worldwide use the same grain to produce flour. The number 1 exporter of grain is the US, canada being number 2 (we're talking worldwide supply) Hence it was already in the US before it even happened in Jakarta and also why it happened instantaneously across the globe.
jakarta actually have biggest flour factory in the world named bogasari. just theory, bogasari already export flour over the world before the first outbreak happened
@@mamaubear nope. Bogasari doesnt export their flour. They dont even export it in asia because it's impossible to compete with the local products.
Like i said, bogasari and any other flour mills use the same grain to produce the flour, same supplier (mostly from US/canada, some from black sea and australia)
2 days before was the first time anyone in the factory went violent. 14 employees were already missing from the factory and it was already in the flour that gets shipped all over the world ...
Dont forget that noodles as flour product from Indonesia is already exported worlwide. Its can contain the spore. Its just movie, but its related
The perfect environment for cordycept mutation mentioned on tropical country, and the flour has the major part, not the grain. Thats why the ground zero taking place in Jakarta that has big flour factory and noodle factory that is exported worlwide.
This wasn't in the game but would be so perfect to be the origin of the infection. I'm a microbiologist and I'm so impressed on how they handled the fungi proliferating in a wheat factory.
That opening scene in Indonesia was so good that it made me want to see an entire Zombie movie set in Indonesia with subtitles.
Or an entire prequel spinoff series for that matter that is set in Indonesia! Prolly have a cold opening sequence that takes place in the ill-fated flour factory the night before the outbreak began - with the management, workers, guards and delivery truck drivers being blissfully unaware of what was to come (but throw easter eggs that hint all is not what it seems in an apparently normal time)! You will easily get tens of millions of Southeast Asian viewers already right off the bat!
The opening to the second episode of this series did something that similar flesh eating zombie series/movies always seems to gloss over. While those stories tend to put its audience in the middle of the mayhem already in progress, this breaks the mold in its first 9 minutes and places us at ground zero. This opening shows its viewers the helplessness and hopelessness of the situation, and by doing so it highlights the importance of Ellie and the ultimate hope her character brings to this bleak remainder of civilization. By taking the time to show the audience the bleak early stages of the Cordyceps Infection in Jakarta, The Last of Us is steadily becoming a much needed breath of air to the whole zombie horror genre.
Ok my issue is how did the fungus survive the baking process? I understand if your exposed to the raw flour you could be infected but after the baking process how? The biscuits and cookies are baked at 375-425 degrees so I don't see how the fungus could survive that
Maybe the spores can withstand much higher temperature
The exposure probably happened in the dough making/rolling/biscuit shaping process.
I made shortbread last night and added a little extra flour to the dough because it wasn't the consistency I was looking for.
I stopped as I saw little particulates of flour in the air and thought: oh yeah, that'd fuck me pretty hard, huh?
the dancing plague in 1518. Modern reports vary, with some claiming the hawkers were influenced by a psychotropic fungus known as ergot, which grows on the moist stalks of wheat. in fact the spread is said to have come from wheat flour affected by ergot fungi
I don't know much about fungi but apparently there is some real world inspiration a French town called point saint esprit had an incident with a fungi called ergot where a mill was exposed and the supply to a local bakery some people got seriously I'll
And died it was in the 1950s look into it there might be some explanation
Ergot, a fungus that targets grains like wheat and rye, can survive baking and thrive in baked goods. The Salem Witch Hysteria was caused, in part, by ergot contaminated rye flour used for baking bread.
The infection might have not started in Jakarta. How fast does grain/flour travel around the globe? Could grain/flour really have traveled all around the world in only a couple days? Often it is loaded into large ships which take weeks crossing oceans, getting around the world. A more reasonable explanation would probably be that Jakarta was the second place it "broke out". Indonesia actually only imports wheat for its wheat needs and doesn't produce or export any significant amount, from what I found with a quick google search. So likely there was a major exporter of wheat in the world, where the wheat got infected, then loaded on many ships, which then delivered it all around the world. The location would likely be somewhere in Asia like you mentioned, which also potentially explains why it publicly broke out in Jakarta first. It could have started in Australia maybe, where it could have been turned into processed goods as well to spread even quicker since some of them can be shipped quicker than grain often is. Wherever it truly started, it might have avoided outbreak for so long due to the grain being stored in long term storage, not being used by anyone till it came time to clear it out and store some more, as is often the case for major grain exporters as they often keep large stores to respond to famines and keep prices stable.
The fear that Ibu Ratna conveyed was far more chilling than anything else on the show till now. I felt truly the hopelesness and tha magnitude of the tragedy that was about to unfold. Great writing, great acting.
My absolute favorite opening. The storyline, those actors. It was perfect, I've watched that opening at least 5 times now already.
I love this show so much I really hope they continue showing more intros like this
First time I watch Christine hakim was on Impetigore 2019. She's amazing actrees
It could be one of the greatest scenes in television history. Right up there with "I am the one who knocks". She gives me chills when she starts shaking and has to put her tea down. Than gives him the answer nobody wants to hear... Bomb
When she said you have to bomb this city and everyone in it and asked to go spend time with her family I was sooooo sad watching.
I had to rewatch the Indonesian scenes like three times 😂 it was so good lol
They were so haunting!
Nice job! Subbed.
My favorite scene of the show is the "bomb" scene .
I wish Season 1 had more pre-pandemic scenes like this.
Kinda scary these days, where cordyceps is literally sold as a health product
And global warming
It's actually been a thing for a very long time that people have eaten these for health.
thankfully, for now, cordyceps are only parasitic to bugs
Bruh it's science fiction
@@AnonymousForPPL i mean the whole point of the infection was that the fungi eventually evolved to host on human bcs of global warming, which is reflecting our current condition thus us consuming it as a health supplement was in a way scary bcs it provokes you to think “what if this evolves too?” like in the movie. ofc people know it’s science fiction, but the fact that it is soo close to the real life condition is what makes it so creepy
I vaguely remember in episode 1 that Sarah heard news over the radio or tv about Jakarta
The show is just fantastic so far. My wife has never played the game, nor does she know about it. While I have the ps3 and remaster platinumed and know the game inside and out. It stays faithful to the source material as much as possible to keep those who know the game inside and out engaged, and keeping my wife engaged the entire time as well.
It is so hard to not spoil it for her.
The prologues in both episodes one and two are brilliantly done. I never played the game but some younger family members have, and even back then I remember how shaken they were by the story. When we got word about the show they insisted we all needed to see it. So far I'm really impressed, but my highest marks so far go to those prologues, especially this one. The first set the stage for how it could (hypothetically) happen, backing up its plausibility with real existing scientific information (and John Hannah is wonderful full stop). Episode 2 takes that and adds a real human feel. When the professor wipes her eyes and gives her solution it is a gut punch. I hope they keep that format; it has acted as a pre-action meditation to guide us into that world.
When I was watching the first episode I knew it would be that grandma to turn into an infected because earlier when Sarah was in their house looking over some photos or something, I could see that Grandma was twitching strangely in the background. Then later on in the series, Joel said it started with suppliers of flour or grain of some sort, then I immediately thought about how Grandma was having biscuits in the morning. Every tiny detail counts lol
0:03 Jonathan (The mummy 1999?
You’re right!
Yeeees!
Yeah me and my dad went crazy when we saw him😂😂😂
I love the backing theme you use? Takes me back to the better call Saul episode reviews😢
Thanks for sticking around since the Better Call Saul days!
Parasitic Cordyceps definitely exists in South America. I have a few photos I took myself of dead fungal ants while I was in the rainforest.
They exist everywhere. There are thousands of sub-species of them which all coincide to different insect species that they can infect.
Dude, did you left it just by taking a photo?
@@tusharrajkonwar2378 what else could he do? Fight the fungus?
@@dieforwenqingliveformengzo3241 nah actually I heard somewhere that dead insects killed by the cordyceps fungus cannot found in a higher rate, and its cost is extremely high (searched it on the internet too). The cordyceps fungus itself is a costly product.
@Banter Maestro2 I know it poses no threat to humans. I just found on the internet that the cordyceps fungus is actually a valuable thing. Its sold at a high price around the globe. Guess many people don't know that.
In the little behind the scenes after the episode, they went into more detail about the changes from the game to the show. They changed it to primarily oral borne with the tendrils being the physical manifestation of the spread rather than primarily airborne which makes a lot more sense. It would have been really hard to film and justify all the gas mask scenes in the game, especially the amount of times where they go without a mask in areas where it looks like there should be a high spore count. With the tendrils being the way the fungus manifests within a host, now they can do all the scenes where they get right up onto a fungified corpse and not have people asking "why aren't they catching it from there?"
I still love the role reversal of the scientist coldly and clinically saying that bombing is the only way to try and slow the infection, which the general finds appalling, as opposed to the heroic scientist struggle to find a cure before the explosion happy military leader gets to just blow people up.
That's what made it so scary, the smartest mind in the room could see the horror that was about to be unleashed, and was willing to sacrifice millions to save billions.
@@mr.mediocregamer9653Herself included!
@@mrconfusion87 Exactly
This opening was a masterpiece. It was so chilling, it was a surprise when the scientist, who is supposed to be one of the greatest mind of the country just advise the general to bomb the city and everyone in it, in hope to have a chance to fight the spread of the cordyceps. It was the scariest thing of the whole show. True psychological Horror.
Like you said, true psychological horror. Couldn't agree more!
And painful since she knows she will end up having to sacrifice herself alongside her family members and fellow Jakartans in the process...
So those fungal tendrils that come out of the infecteds mouths are those dangerous to touch with bare skin or do they have to get into an open wound?
Pretty sure it’s both
I think they jam it into your throat, anywhere on your body, or even your mouth if convenient and then it takes over your mind not sure if they can still use their teeth when the tendrils are coming out. There was a lot of blood when we saw the granny infect the other old people so maybe they clamp down with their teeth and the tendrils make their way in.
The accuracy of the scene on the road is even more incredible in which the production team take it to James Cameron level of perfectionism detail, all of the cars and motorbikes shown are from the 90s and early 2000, I can't spot any latest cars and motorbikes on the road in the scene.
Except for the relative lack of "B" plates on the cars...
In a documentary, in South America the Cordyceps fungus also thrives there as well.
Good job man you explained it perfectly!! Even other big UA-camrs haven't put it together yet of what actually happened and how it spread so fast
I know it’s stupid to nitpick on such a small detail, but when she’s walking through the lobby of the lab they take her to, there are posters for SARS everywhere, which is just an incredible little bit of attention to detail.
Though some Indonesian viewers said the number plates shown are reflective of Bali plate numbers and not Jakarta plate numbers...
Mushrooms don’t hit the same after this episode 😭
😂😂😂