Following the legitimate uproar produced by its third episode, HBO’s The Last of Us tugged at the heartstrings once again in its fifth hour, subtitled Endure and Survive, which saw Joel and Ellie meeting a pair of brothers, one of whom was deaf. Ellie linked with the younger one, eight-year-old Sam, laughed with him and found a few minutes with him to act like a kid.
That is the only peaceful moment in episode 5, after that only terrible things happen: hard decisions are made, lives are cruelly destroyed, and promising futures are snatched. Also, a new, terrifying species enters the horror pantheon, proving that mushroom zombies can be much scarier than we previously imagined.
The creators designed the Child Clickers to unnerve the audience
The episode’s monster MVP is not the big boy Bloater who physically rips a man’s head off – it’s far worse than that. A kid clicker crawls through a window, terrifies Ellie, and subsequently saves her life by pummeling a lady to death. This young child is truly eerie, with her flowery head and cute “Blue’s Clues” outfit. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the series’ co-creators, stated in the official companion podcast for The Last of Us that this was fully intentional. Mazin said,
“She’s this beautiful little girl, but […] it’s so creepy how she can move her body like that. And so, it was a combination of her performance, and then Wētā kind of creating, taking, drafting off of what Barrie Gower had created with prosthetics, and then making this little girl. And I insisted that our child clicker wear a ‘Blue’s Clues’ shirt because I’m really sick, and I just loved the contrast of innocence and horror.”
First, Mazin and Druckmann enlisted the assistance of Hyoung Nam, the Naughty Dog artist who created the first clickers. Nam, as the creator of the original horror, had a little issue coming up with a fresh concept for the adaptation: a child clicker who would play an important role in Endure and Survive. He produced the image, which solidified the design and left the authors with the terrible chore of picking the ideal performer.
Fans are traumatized by horrific Child Clickers
The episode was undoubtedly gut-wrenching leaving the audience shocked, traumatized and in awe of the 9-year-old. The creators of the show have taken many great decisions casting Skye Cowton might be the best one, she is an extremely talented performer who can bend every muscle to her will. Fans on Twitter praise the young girl for the exceptional talent but are also concerned for her safety and sanity.
Can we please leave child's out of this mess
Already had heartbroken enough— Sami 13 Sami (@Sami91947500) February 11, 2023
She did a fucking amazing job creeped the hell out of me the way she just rolled into the car and then suddenly popped up 😂
— Frēēflxຟ (@joshuacaton8) February 11, 2023
Well she was freaking terrifying…well done
— Jason Jordan (@LoganW1974) February 11, 2023
in her 10 seconds of screentime she freaked me out more than most horror movies these days
— LOU SPOILERS // charmaine (@tomsthicc) February 11, 2023
She was definitely scary. Especially the way she entered the car.
— Josh Galvan (@Mrhatz45) February 11, 2023
Glad my daughter quit gymnastics.
— Eudora Thorpe (@EudoraThorpe) February 11, 2023
that was a great addition… and how child clickers movements are more acrobatic like. i don't remember seeing that in game.
— Dale (@DeilDevil) February 11, 2023
The fifth episode created a louder buzz than the third one, Last of Us continues to grow in terms of viewership and quality. The production is getting bigger and better with every episode making the show a phenomenon, after Game of Thrones, this is the only show that has been talked about and watched at such a large scale.
The Last of Us is available on HBO
Source: Twitter
