The Last of Us Season 2: Surviving in the Chaos

April 30, 2025

In one of the early episodes of The Last of Us Season 1, Tess — already infected — is “kissed” by a clicker who recognises her as one of its own. If I had to choose a starting point to explain the deeper meaning of this incredible series, and convince you to watch the freshly released Season 2, I’d start right there: the Cordyceps fungus that has infected the world embraces its own kind. It creates a functional, thriving ecosystem. It conceives a new equilibrium with nature. Everything humankind failed to do, despite claiming to be the planet’s most intelligent species.

The true power of The Last of Us lies not in its depiction of destruction, but in its ability to show us, with ruthless tenderness, that nature always finds a way to go on. And perhaps the real collapse is not ecological, but human. The series invites us to imagine who we would be without the background noise of the modern world. No supermarkets, no fuel, no phones, no deliveries. None of the comforts we’ve mistaken for needs.

And in that silence, the question isn’t how we would survive — but who we would become.

What Remains When Everything Falls Apart?

Watching Joel and Ellie move through abandoned cities and forests overtaken by vines, it’s only natural to ask: What would I take with me, if I had to run today? It’s not just a mental game. It’s an exercise in essentialism.

You don’t need an arsenal. You need ingenuity. Adaptability. The ability to tell what’s useful, what’s excess, and what truly holds value.

Let’s play: if it all ended tomorrow, what would you pack in your backpack?

A multi-tool knife, obviously.
A sturdy pair of cargo pants (yes, they look cool and last a lifetime)
A breathable, durable hoodie (like the ones from our hoodies collection)
A multi-pocket Travel Belt
A water filtering bottle
A flint and steel fire starter kit
A copy of your favourite book — maybe one that once woke you up.

Every choice tells a story about who you are. Every item carries meaning.

Essential hoodie

Survival cargo pants

Life-saving multi-pocket belt

The Last of Us as a (Dirty but Clear) Mirror of Our Reality

The show hits hard because it’s about today, too: environmental crisis, pandemics, social division. And it asks a chilling question: What happens when the system collapses? But for those who’ve already started questioning the system, the answer feels less terrifying.

Nature’s Take on Upcycling

From a less anthropocentric point of view, the Cordyceps may be nature’s most radical example of up-cycling. It takes what already exists — a human body — and repurposes it into something new, organic, and fully integrated within a larger ecosystem.

Creepy? Absolutely. But also illuminating.

Because nature, unlike us, doesn’t know the concept of "waste". Everything gets transformed, recycled, and absorbed into a never-ending cycle.

And this is where The Last of Us hits the hardest: by showing us a world where hoarding is pointless. Where fast fashion no longer exists. Where the obsessive need to own is gone. Where travelling light is a survival skill. Where the essential is, finally, enough.

Maybe the real apocalypse isn’t the one outside — it’s the one within. And maybe, in the silence that follows the end of the world, we can finally hear the voice of the Earth.

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