In “The Last of Us” the Cordyceps fungus (which exists in real life) is the reason the world has been mired in an apocalypse for 20 years, until Ellie, a girl who seems to be immune to the infection, appears.
The HBO Max series explains that the parasitic fungus is in the flour and that Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) miraculously avoid catching it.
But not all of the population is so lucky, and within hours the entire world succumbs to chaos and the infected.
Ellie (Bella Ramsey), born after the initial outbreak, suddenly becomes the most important person in the world after being bitten and going weeks without transforming, meaning she is the only one immune to the fungus.
Due to random events, Joel and Ellie end up traveling to the United States together, hoping that someone can create a cure thanks to Ellie, but how is it possible that the girl is not affected by the fungus?
- Want another zombie story similar to “The Last of Us”? You can watch “Maggie” movie absolutely free on ViX.
‘The Last of Us’: why Ellie is immune to the Cordyceps fungus
?
In “The Last of Us” series, it is revealed that Ellie was bitten and spent weeks in observation with the group of rebels called the Fireflies. By healing her wound rather than transforming, it is clear that the girl is immune to the fungus.
Ellie still tests positive for the infection on the testing machines, but she’s a normal person and the fungus hasn’t taken over her or her brain.
Some notes in the original video game hint that Ellie’s immunity is due to her mother being infected very shortly before she gave birth, giving her a natural defense against cordycephalus.
Although this idea is unlikely, as the longest it can take for the infection to spread in the body is 24 hours. Therefore, there would not be enough time for the baby in the womb to create antibodies to the fungus.
‘The Last of Us’: Ellie is not special, the theory explains that the mushroom is different
One theory that could explain why Ellie hasn’t transformed is that she’s nothing special, but that the fungus inside her is different.
Proposed since 2020 on Reddit by some users, the theory explains that Ellie’s body is not fighting off the Cordyceps fungus, since in the video game a doctor determines that her white blood cell count is normal.
This means that somehow the cordyceps is attached to it, but without controlling it. Even an MRI of Ellie confirms this, showing that the fungus is in the limbic region of her brain.
That’s why in the game the doctors try to operate on Ellie and remove her brain tissue to study it, although this is certain death for the girl. And it is that the fungus would be the special one.
Since Cordyceps mutated to be able to survive the heat inside humans, it’s possible that it changes all the time, and one of the thousands of mutations is the one Ellie has that makes her not infected like most humans.
As the show has further expanded on the origin of the infection and changed some things about the Cordyceps’ behavior, it’s possible that the first season will confirm the theory that the fungus on Ellie is the different one.
You may also like:
Source: univision
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
