WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for HBO’s The Last of Us season 1 and The Last of Us Part II.HBO’s The Last of Us season 1 is full of Easter eggs referencing both The Last of Us games. Considered one of the best video game adaptations ever made, if not the best, HBO’s The Last of Us found the perfect balance between recreating the source material and adding something new to it. In addition to the great story and performances, The HBO adaptation of the hit video game series nailed the atmosphere of The Last of Us’ world, resulting in Easter eggs and callbacks that add to the overall viewing experience.
There were dozens of The Last of Us game Easter eggs in each episode of the show's first season, from the shirt that a character is wearing to throwaway lines that set up The Last of Us season 2’s story. Of course, those little moments most likely go unnoticed for those who have not played The Last of Us games, yet they do not affect the enjoyment of the story. The best Easter eggs are there to enhance the experience for those already familiar with the franchise.
20 Sarah’s Halican Drops Shirt Is Exactly Like The Game
Episode 1 “When You’re Lost In The Darkness”
The Last of Us episode 1 had perhaps the most difficult mission among all episodes of the HBO Last of Us adaptation. The Last of Us game prologue is one of the most important sequences in the entire game – if not the most – and it had to be nailed in the TV adaptation. Fortunately, all the events leading up to Sarah’s death in The Last of Us perfectly captured the atmosphere of the game, including by giving Nico Parker's Sarah the exact same shirt Sarah wears in the video game.
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As the infection spreads and the family piles into the car to escape, the camera point-of-view shots even switch to those of Sarah in the backseat. That's exactly how the sequence plays out in the video game as well, putting the audience in Sarah's shoes, so it was nice for game fans to see more nods to her from the games. She's an important character, even if she does not live past the prologue of the story.
19 Curtis And Viper Are Joel’s Favorite Duo
Episode 1 “When You’re Lost In The Darkness”
The prologue aspect of the first episode of the TV series does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to setting up information from the game franchise and providing the audience with Easter eggs. As Joel’s daughter prepares for his birthday, for example, she chooses the movie Curtis and Viper 2 for them to watch. It’s a movie about a pair of commandos who battle spies. That movie is a nod to a bit of dialogue from The Last of Us Part II.
He loves the titular duo and even saw the fourth movie in theaters before the virus took hold of the world.
In the video game, Ellie makes the comment that she wants to watch the movie. Joel reveals that the movies are some of his favorites. He loves the titular duo and even saw the fourth movie in theaters before the virus took hold of the world. In the game, the movie helps to show that the world has changed a lot in a very short amount of time, and the show sneaks the movie in for game fans who know how fast those changes really take place.
18 A Forgotten Birthday Card In Sarah’s Room
Episode 1 “When You’re Lost In The Darkness”
Sarah makes a lot of birthday plans for her father. She clearly wants his big day to be special. From getting his watch fixed for him to finding one of his favorite movies to watch to wanting to make him pancakes that morning, Sarah has a whole day planned. There is one aspect of his birthday that she does not get to, though.
In shots of Sarah’s room, fans can see the birthday card she has for him with a green dinosaur on it sitting on her desk. She is never shown giving him the card and Joel never mentions it in the show. It is the same design as the card from the game. Sarah picks it up, lamenting in some of the in-game dialogue that she forgot to give her dad the card. It sitting on the desk, forgotten again, is a nice nod to the same birthday events from the game playing out without her having to explicitly hold the card up for the camera.
17 Tess’ Lighter Is From Another Video Game
Episode 2 “Infected”
The Last of Us Easter eggs do not solely nod to its own video game franchise in the first season. There are also nods to the popular Uncharted video games. Fans can spot one of the nods in the second episode of the series when Tess pulls out her lighter to use after her luck has run out.
The lighter has a notable “76” engraved on it because it is modeled after the lighter used by treasure hunter Sam Drake in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Neil Druckman, who is an executive producer on The Last of Us TV series worked on both video games as did several other Naughty Dog employees who work in the show.
In a since-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter, Druckman acknowledged the use of the design, saying, “When the props department asked me if there's any particular design I'd like on Tess's lighter… I couldn't help myself.” Naughty Dog also confirmed the design on their Instagram.
Naughty Dog also gets its own nod as a company in episode 7. The heaster of the FEDRA school's keys contain a keychain with Naughty Dog's pawprint logo.
16 The Outbreak Started From “Basic Ingredients”
Episode 3 “Long, Long Time”
There is some debate as to how the Cordyceps managed to change the world so quickly. In episode three, however, Joel notes that they likely got into “basic ingredients” of brands that were sold all over the world. He lists common grocery pantry items like flour, sugar, bread, cereal, and pancake mix. This explanation he gives to Ellie is actually foreshadowed in the first episode of the series.
...a sly way to show why Joel and his family did not initially become infected...
In the very first episode, Sarah plans on making pancakes for her dad’s birthday, but the family is out of mix. While she is initially upset, she moves on. The neighbors offer the family freshly baked biscuits, but they decline. Joel also forgets all about his birthday cake. Every time they are given the opportunity to eat any of the items that may have been contaminated, they do not.
This is the kind of nod that a lot of fans are not going to catch their first time through the series because it seems like a basic explanation, though it is referenced in a newspaper Sarah finds in the original game. It could be a sly way to show why Joel and his family did not initially become infected like those in their neighborhood did though.
15 The Last of Us Show Gives Joel & Ellie’s Game Looks An Origin Story
Episode 3 “Long, Long Time”
Sarah’s Halican Drops shirt is not the only The Last of Us game look that the HBO adaptation brought to the screen. While there are a lot of characters that simply don hunting or military gear, which is easy enough to get close to the looks of other characters in the games, principal characters Joel and Ellie have distinct outfits in the game.
Both Joel and Ellie were eventually given their “game shirts”, the looks that defined the characters during the first The Last of Us game. Joel’s flannel shirt was even given an origin story in this version – it belonged to Frank. Frank is seen wearing it during one of the flashback confrontations with Bill. Ellie also gets her iconic shirt from the first game in The Last of Us episode 3, after she and Joel find Bill’s note. She gets her pink striped hoodie later in the season as well.
14 Bill’s Letter Makes A The Last of Us Game Moment Better
Episode 3 “Long, Long Time”
Bill’s letter to Joel in The Last of Us episode 3 is a major Easter egg that changes The Last of Us game story for the better. In The Last of Us Part I, the player, Joel, runs into a note left by Frank before Bill’s partner killed himself. Frank’s note in the game is rather tragic, and it explains why Bill is in such sadness and anger by the time Joel goes to ask him for help.
In The Last of Us show, however, it is Bill who leaves a note specifically to whoever finds his house – most likely Joel – before he and Frank die together. The series does a great job at expanding on the story of Frank and Bill as a whole. Many of the side characters in the games do not get expanded stories like this in the original platform, and season 2 promises to flesh out other characters as well.
13 Ellie’s Pun Book Could Not Be Missing From The Show
Episode 4 “Please Hold To My Hand”
No Pun Intended Vol. 2, Ellie’s book from the first The Last of Us game, could not be missing from the HBO adaptation. Joel and Ellie’s interactions throughout The Last of Us Part I are what set The Last of Us apart from similar games, as it created this unique connection between the main character – and thus the player – and the seemly ing, NPC (non-playable character). Ellie’s casual jokes helped establish her and Joel’s bond during the gameplay, with no need for dramatic cut-scenes, and it was fortunately added in The Last of Us show.
Other books and items that are seen in the games also make appearances in the show. The Savage Starlight Comics, for example, become Ellie's favorite comics in the games, and she gets to find and read them in a later episode. Of course, the Savage Starlight Comics can even be collected in the original game and contain Easter eggs and foreshadowing for players there as well.
It's likely that if there was reading material in the games of some kind, Ellie is going to find it in the show too.
Ellie also flips through the adult magazine she finds at Frank and Bill's house, something she does in the game. It's likely that if there was reading material in the games of some kind, Ellie is going to find it in the show too.
12 Joel & Ellie Unlocking Doors Recreates The Last of Us Gameplay
Multiple Episodes Of Season 1
Joel and Ellie simply moving things away from a door or climbing a ladder to access an entry may seem trivial, but moments like that perfectly recreate The Last of Us’ gameplay. Just as the camera moves to Sarah's point of view in the prologue to recreate the game's point of view, the show uses these simple tasks to echo what players have to do to play the game.
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Between The Last of Us and The Last of Part II, players had to move a lot of tables and garbage dumpsters from one point of the room to another, which is something that moments like Ellie and Joel pushing a desk away from the door in HBO’s The Last of Us episode 4 managed to capture. Joel also has to give Ellie a boost to pull down a ladder and direct her to go into a smaller crawlspace at one point. Both of those actions occur in the game to help Joel keep moving through different levels.
11 The Last of Us Game’s Tommy Actor Plays Perry
Episode 4 “Please Hold To My Hand” And Episode 5 “Endure And Survive”
HBO’s The Last of Us cleverly brought in actors from The Last of Us games in different roles, creating an even stronger connection between the games’ legacy and the TV adaptation. For example, Jeffrey Pierce who played Tommy in The Last of Us games, played Perry in HBO’s The Last of Us. Perry was a character created for the show, serving as the right-hand of the also original character Kathleen.
Perry's presence serves to help expand the world created by the video games while still honoring the actor's original contribution to the games themselves. Pierce has also made contributions to other video games in addition to his on-camera roles. His voice can be heard in the Call of Duty franchise and the Medal of Honor games as well.
