Where do the monkeys in ‘The Last of Us’ come from?

Week after week, the new HBO Max phenomenon series continues to surprise its followers with gifts directly taken from the original source and, for those who are a bit lost, We explain where the monkeys in ‘The Last of Us’ come from.

In ‘Family’, the 6×01, we meet Joel and Ellie three months after the events of the previous chapter. After various events that we will not go into to reduce the number of spoilers to a minimum, our protagonists continue their journey on horseback and arrive at the University of Eastern Colorado.

There they hope to find a group of Fireflies, the group of rebels who could find the solution to the pandemic in Ellie’s immunity, but instead of that the first thing they find is a funny group of monkeys.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen a monkey?” Joel asks amused before an excited Ellie. This moment will not add to our list of the main differences between the series and the video game of ‘The Last of Us’ because It’s something that replicates a scene from the Naughty Dog original, but where did those monkeys come from?

“They must be from the old labs“, says Joel tersely. The same thing happens in the game, but thanks to some recordings we can get a more precise idea of ​​what happened before his arrival.

The monkeys were part of earlier tests related to Cordyceps infection. The scientists hoped to find a cure, but were unsuccessful and one of the monkeys ended up biting a member of the Fireflies, after which he took his own life.

Before being bitten, he recorded a message saying: “There are four pallets of labware packed up and ready to go. Now the big question is what do we do with all of you. They say we have to get rid of the contaminated batch. You know what I’m saying? I say to hell with that. Who made a bigger sacrifice than you, right? If anyone deserves to run free out there it’s… Hey, calm down. Shit. Oh no. She bit me. My God…“.

All monkeys are believed to be infected, but they do not display the same traits of crazed behavior as humans when Cordyceps takes over. At least they aren’t needed to get Joel and Ellie into trouble, who end the episode leaving viewers with a complex week of waiting ahead..

Do you need to play ‘The Last of Us’ video game before watching the series? If you follow all our explanations, you won’t need to enjoy all the details of one of the best series on HBO Max and now, in addition, with monkeys. Can you ask for more?