Then in the 1990s and 2000s, the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon was partly responsible for changing the way TV series handle death, with heroes carrying the pain of a loss for multiple episodes — to the point where fans would anxiously wonder whether the show would ever be fun again.

Ellie and Dina take matters into their own hands after last week's harrowing episode, as Jackson rebuilds after the infected attack.

Aside from the crushing absence of Pedro Pascal's name at the very start of The Last of Us ' opening credits, the sequence in Season 2, episode 3 looks pretty much the same as usual: The camera winds through a morphing, cordyceps-inspired tapestry, with fungal plants sprouting into the shape of a city alongside the names of the cast and crew.