What do real Ophiocordyceps fungi do to ants?

Control their behavior before killing them

Who play Joel and Ellie in season 1?

Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke

The Last of Us Quiz: Cordyceps Outbreak, Joel and Ellie

This The Last of Us quiz traces the fungal outbreak at the heart of HBO's series and Naughty Dog's video game. Play 10 interactive questions on the real Cordyceps that control insects, the 2003 outbreak in the show, the Jakarta flashback, infected tendrils, clickers, FEDRA and the Fireflies, Joel and Ellie, Bill and Frank and season 2.

Start the Last of Us Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Origin
What was The Last of Us first?
Fungus
Which fungus causes the outbreak?
Real
What do real Ophiocordyceps fungi do to ants?
Year
In which year does the show's outbreak begin?
City
Where does the show's first flashback begin?
Spread
How does the fungus spread in the show?
Clicker
What are clickers?
Groups
What is the military authority in quarantine zones?
Stars
Who play Joel and Ellie in season 1?
Bill
Which episode is famous for the love story of Bill and Frank?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What was The Last of Us first?
Answer: A video game by Naughty Dog
The game came out in 2013.
Q2: Which fungus causes the outbreak?
Answer: Cordyceps
Real cordyceps infect insects.
Q3: What do real Ophiocordyceps fungi do to ants?
Answer: Control their behavior before killing them
It is called zombie-ant fungus.
Q4: In which year does the show's outbreak begin?
Answer: 2003
The game's outbreak is 2013.
Q5: Where does the show's first flashback begin?
Answer: Jakarta, Indonesia
A scientist examines a body.
Q6: How does the fungus spread in the show?
Answer: Through bites and tendrils
The game used spores.
Q7: What are clickers?
Answer: Infected who hunt by sound
They are blind.
Q8: What is the military authority in quarantine zones?
Answer: FEDRA
The Fireflies are rebels.
Q9: Who play Joel and Ellie in season 1?
Answer: Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey
The show premiered in 2023.
Q10: Which episode is famous for the love story of Bill and Frank?
Answer: Episode 3
It won wide praise.

A Fungus That Ended the World

The Last of Us began as a 2013 video game by Naughty Dog and became an HBO series in 2023, created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. A mutated Cordyceps fungus turns people into aggressive infected, and society collapses.

Real Ophiocordyceps fungi infect insects such as ants, controlling their behavior before killing them, which inspired the story. The show moves the outbreak to 2003 and opens with a flashback in Jakarta, Indonesia. It replaces airborne spores with tendrils, so infection spreads mainly through bites and touch. Clickers are blind infected who hunt by sound.

Survivors live in quarantine zones run by FEDRA, while the rebel Fireflies seek a cure. Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, smuggles Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, who is immune. Episode 3, about Bill and Frank, won wide praise, and season 2 followed in 2025.

What This Quiz Teaches

TV and gaming fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the story began
How the fungus works
When the outbreak started
Which groups appear
Who leads the story

Did You Know?

Gustavo Santaolalla wrote the music.
Boston is the first quarantine zone.
Jackson, Wyoming is a safe town.
Tommy is Joel's brother.
Giraffes appear in Salt Lake City.