On Zombies

I’m not sure that I should watch a series about zombies

But I can’t help myself.

I’ve never been a zombie person. They either freak me out (I’m a big scaredy cat), or I just think the whole concept is ridiculous, even the notion of ourselves turning madly against ourselves, falls apart with even the slightest amount of introspection.

And yet

The Last of Us was filmed in my hometown. And I honestly just tuned in to see if I could spot some landmarks.

That may have been a mistake.

(minor spoiler alert)

A seminal cold open sets the stage in a way that only great writing can. On a 1968 talkshow, a mycologist outlines his fear that fungi are the microorganism most threatening to our way of life. He notes the gruesome way fungi overtake ants and turn them into homicidal beasts. His tone is dismissed by another scientist who remarks that said fungi cannot survive in the human body so the concern is ridiculous. To which our mycologist rejoins with how, in the event the earth warms (nervous laugh) fungi would most likely adapt to survive in even the human body.

And our scene is set.

It’s truly unnerving.

But I’m hooked.

Couple my morbid fascination with incredible pacing, acting, direction, and world building.

The first two episodes reel me in, take me over a little bit, and win me over. I’m powerless to resist. Overcome.

Like a fungus.