The Last of Us spoilers follow.
The Last of Us boss Neil Druckmann has broken down that intense zombie kiss scene from episode two of the hit post-apocalyptic show, explaining why the zombie chose to kiss its victim rather than attack them.
In the episode, Anna Torv's Tess reveals that she has suffered a wound from one of the infected and makes a dying wish that Joel (Pedro Pascal) travels on with Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
Tess then saves Joel and Ellie by distracting a nearby horde of zombies, leading to a surprising moment that deviates from the game the show is based on.
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An infected, rather than attacking or chasing Tess down, simply walks over to her and gives her an open-mouthed kiss. Tendrils of the cordyceps fungi then pass into Tess from the infected.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Druckmann explained the reasons behind this decision.
"These things don't have to get violent unless you're fighting them from spreading [the infection] further. That is realised in this beautiful, yet horrific way with Anna," Druckmann said.
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"Craig [Mazin, co-creator] smartly said, 'What can we do to separate our infected even further from zombies?' It's more than just a bite. There's something else going on.
"I wish we had that a-ha moment immediately, but we brainstormed so many different things that they could be doing. Some of them were pretty outlandish."
Elsewhere, Druckmann also gave details about a Tess storyline they cut which would have involved revealing she had an infected son that she could not bring herself to kill.
The Last of Us airs on HBO in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW in the UK.
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