‘The Last of Us’: What’s Lurking Under the Floor in Kansas City?
The Last of Us Episode 4 introduces Kathleen and Perry, revolutionary fighters living in Kansas City. Kathleen’s group overthrew FEDRA and now runs things according to their own rules. In episode 4, Perry shows Kathleen the pavement in the basement of a storage room, which is beginning to crack and move.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Episode 4.]
Kathleen is driven by a desire for revenge in ‘The Last of Us’
Joel and Ellie are ambushed while driving through Kansas City in The Last of Us Episode 4. The pair hide from a group of revolutionaries led by a woman named Kathleen and her right-hand man, Perry. Kathleen and her “Hunters” overthrew FEDRA and took control of the Kansas City QZ.
Although Kathleen might seem like a villain, there’s clearly more to the story. While interrogating a doctor, she mentions that FEDRA beat her brother to death in the very cell they are standing in. “Kathleen is driven by what I think is a reasonable and yet extreme desire for revenge because of what happened in Kansas City,” Perry actor Jeffrey Pierce told Vulture.
“The idea that she is the villain takes away all the shades of gray that exist within the situation. As more and more is revealed about what took place, I think that one of the great things that Neil and Craig do is they ask the audience, ‘What do you think you would do?'”
A Bloater might attack the Kansas City revolutionaries in future episodes of ‘The Last of Us’
While searching for FEDRA collaborates, Perry shows Kathleen a terrifying sight. The basement floor of the building is cracked and moving. “It is not a seismic disturbance in Kansas City, I can say,” Pierce told Vulture. So what exactly is lurking under the floor? Trailers for The Last of Us have hinted that the series will eventually introduce a terrifying new type of Infected.
In the video game, the final type of Infected is known as a Bloater. These creatures have been infected for years. Bloaters have hardened plates all over their bodies and are difficult to kill. Bloaters can also attack their prey with spore bombs which cause burns.
ScreenRant points out that the Pittsburgh section of The Last of Us video game (which had its location changed to Kansas City for the series) features a Bloater hidden underground beneath a hotel. The outlet also posits that Perry and Kathleen may have once managed to trap the creature, but now it is well on its way to breaking out.
Tensions are high between Kathleen and Perry
While appearing on an episode of HBO’s official The Last of Us podcast Troy Baker, who voiced Joel in the video game, discussed the “tension” between Kathleen in Perry in episode 4.
“I felt from him, ‘You’re not doing a good job of leading us. We need to tell people that there’s — let me show you something that’s happening down here,'” stated Baker. Perry follows Kathleen’s orders not to tell the other Hunters what’s going on, but he clearly has doubts about keeping the cracked floor a secret.
New episodes of The Last of Us drop every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
