The Last of Us season 3 to focus on finding replacement gearbox for Ford Explorer

Here’s TopGear.com’s roving correspondent, Cory Spondent, with his mostly incorrect exclusives from the world of motoring

Season 3 of The Last of Us will focus almost exclusively on Ellie’s journey to find and replace a broken transmission on her 2002 Ford Explorer, insiders have revealed.

Having dealt with complex themes surrounding love, loss, grief, revenge and societal collapse, producers were keen on drilling down into the nitty-gritty of surviving a zombie apocalypse by focusing on knackered gearboxes in beaten-up American SUVs.

“The Last of Us is one of the most complex, challenging, morally ambiguous and emotional pieces of television ever created,” an insider revealed, “but nothing compares to the agony and despair that erupts when the gearbox on your 2002 Ford Explorer goes pop.

“Just like the arrival of the zombie apocalypse, there is no warning, no reason and no way to prepare for the sheer shock, outrage, and subsequent heartbreak of a major mechanical part failing. Just like the natural world order and critical parts supply chains.

“No, Ellie cannot just head over to the internet to source a reconditioned ‘box, because there is no internet. She can’t pop down to the local garage to get it fixed, because the local garage has been overrun by zombies and/or extreme cultists who only communicate via whistles.

“Her only hope is navigating this infected, desolate wasteland in the hope some other poor soul has turned into a zombie and left behind their Explorer. And then hope that gearbox still works.

“To maintain the season’s brutal, gritty realism, we’re devoting 16 of the 26 episodes to the art of undoing rusted bolts using a modified bow and arrow, because that’s all you’ve got left,” the source added.