How The Last Of Us Episode 5 Bloater Kill Was Almost WAY More Graphic

Series co-creator, Craig Mazin, explains how HBO’s The Last Of Us episode 5 Bloater kill was originally a far more violent and graphic death.

Spoilers for The Last of Us episode 5 below!The Last of Us episode 5’s Bloater kill was almost way more graphic. The latest episode of HBO’s zombie horror drama finds Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) partner with Henry (Lamar Johnson) and his little brother Sam (Keivonn Woodard). After nearly escaping the city, the group find themselves trapped by Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) and her violent troops. However, they are interrupted by a horde of infected bursting from a sinkhole, which memorably included a large grotesque figure known as a Bloater.

Nearly impervious to bullets, the Bloater barrels through people and manages to nab Kathleen’s top enforcer Perry (Jeffrey Pierce), and rips his face in half.

Speaking on HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast, co-creator Craig Mazin admitted that he wanted Perry’s death to be far more graphic with the Bloater tearing him in half at the waist. Read what Mazin said below:

That was something where I was overly ambitious. So I had this thing where I wanted to pick Perry up a rip in half at the waist. Neil [Druckmann] was like, “Well, okay, I mean is that going to be realistic?” And I’m like, “I think so.” And then like the more WETA tried to do the more you realize that people don’t rip along the waist. [Laughs] It’s really hard to do.

It got close. It came close. But ultimately Neil prevailed and was correct in suggesting that something that felt more grounded anatomically would be more effective. And then, of course, we were like, “Well, the Bloater has this head-rip that is iconic, it’s great, and it’s terrifying.”

Related: What That Huge Zombie In Last Of Us Episode 5 Is & Why It’s So Different

The Bloater Infection Stage Explained

In the world of The Last of Us, after the Cordyceps fungal brain infection takes a hold of a host, it begins to spread within their body. First manipulating the brain and its control over the body before transforming the body with sprouting fungal growths. Depending upon the duration of the infection, a host can hit severals stages seeing massive changes in their physiology.

The large terrifying Bloater is a late stage of the fungal brain infection that takes years to reach. Similar to the terrifying Clicker, the massive Last of Us creature features large fungal growths from its head, blinding it. As a result of the time the infection grew within the host, the fungus spreads to all parts of the body, through its limbs, and enhancing the host’s strength.

However, the Bloater in the Last of Us show adaptation is slightly different from those depicted in the original PlayStation video game. Along with beating the player to death and ripping Joel’s head in half, the Bloater would toss sacks of mycotoxin at the player. Despite the changes, the Bloater proved to be just as fearsome on the show. With four episodes still left in The Last of Us season 1, Joel and Ellie will likely avoid as many cities as possible in hopes to never come face-to-face with a Bloater again.

Next: The Last Of Us Episode 5’s 5 Deaths ExplainedSource: The Last of Us Podcast