- 4/15/2025
Did you catch all the hidden gems in the season premiere? Join us as we uncover the subtle nods, Easter eggs, and clever details packed into the latest chapter of HBO's post-apocalyptic drama! From nostalgic callbacks to the original games to blink-and-you'll-miss-it props, we're breaking down everything that makes this adaptation so special.
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00:00So you're saying it was, what, smart?
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 10 references,
00:07easter eggs, and fun hidden details you may have missed
00:10in the first episode of The Last of Us Season 2.
00:14Maybe they're staring at you.
00:20Welcome to 2029.
00:22Hallie, hey, what took you so long?
00:26This next one is a little slow, right?
00:28Come on, let's go.
00:30The Last of Us technically takes place in the future.
00:33If you want a refresher, look no further than the climactic New Year's sequence.
00:37To recap, Sarah's death occurred in 2003,
00:40and the first season takes place exactly 20 years later in 2023.
00:45You got anything else?
00:46Nothing today.
00:47Tomorrow we got street sweeping or swear maintenance.
00:51Now we're fast-forwarding another five years to 2028.
00:55This is when a majority of the first episode occurs.
00:58To make the setting more explicit and eliminate all the head math,
01:01a Happy New Year 2029 poster can be seen on the wall in the dance hall.
01:06The future is here, everyone.
01:07Hey, don't forget, you got early patrol, so get some rest.
01:10Sir, yes, sir.
01:11The Nose Tendrils
01:12Sometimes a fantastic little prop or visual effect goes unnoticed,
01:23and we certainly don't want that.
01:24In the episode's biggest action set piece,
01:27Ellie and Dina check out the Green Place Market,
01:29the name and logo of which are taken directly from The Last of Us Part II.
01:33Inside, Ellie meets a new type of infected,
01:36the horribly creepy stalker.
01:38The makeup on this thing is just wonderful,
01:52but there's one specific detail that makes our skin crawl,
01:56and it's very easy to miss.
01:58Just after she rears her head to look at Ellie,
02:00little tendrils begin to emerge from her empty nose socket,
02:04seemingly stretching out and sniffing out its target.
02:06Yeah, that's a big nope from us.
02:09You okay?
02:10Yeah.
02:15Oh, is it?
02:17Just her?
02:19Just her?
02:20The giraffes.
02:21Maybe...
02:23Maybe the Seattle crew has resources.
02:28They could help us get some sort of lead.
02:30He'll help me find him.
02:37Season 2 picks up immediately after the harrowing events of Season 1,
02:41with a group of fireflies standing around a makeshift gravesite.
02:44This group is led by the grieving Abby,
02:46who places her necklace around one of the graves
02:49and vows deadly revenge against Joel.
02:51When we kill him...
02:52We kill him slowly.
02:58But before all that,
02:59we see a fun piece of connective tissue linking the scene to Season 1.
03:02Before all the talking begins,
03:04we see a herd of giraffes eating plants,
03:06walking around,
03:07and just kind of hanging around doing giraffe things.
03:09This is presumably the same herd that Joel and Ellie stumbled across
03:13in the Season 1 finale,
03:14which in itself was a virtual shot-for-shot remake from the game.
03:18You see that?
03:21Shh, don't scare him.
03:23I won't, I won't.
03:24What are you doing?
03:25It's alright.
03:27Come here, come here.
03:28There you go.
03:30Hurry up.
03:31Pearl Jam Record
03:32Strings are shot.
03:34Well...
03:34I'll put some new ones on for you.
03:36Well, you don't have to do that.
03:37I'll get it back tomorrow.
03:40Ellie's garage apartment is chock-full of great Easter eggs,
03:43including one that is relevant
03:45and even tear-worthy to players of the game.
03:47Ellie is quite the grunge fan,
03:49as she's blasting Nirvana while cleaning her gun.
03:52But in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter egg,
03:54you can also see a Pearl Jam record on the shelf
03:57just as Joel bends down to get her guitar.
03:59You been playing much?
04:02Enough, yeah.
04:08Based on the font and color scheme,
04:10this looks like their debut album 10.
04:12This is a great reference to the game,
04:14as Joel plays Pearl Jam's future days
04:16while showing Ellie the guitar he got for her.
04:19This scene wasn't adapted for the show,
04:21but this Easter egg serves as a fun little nod.
04:23If I ever were to lose you,
04:31I'd surely lose my sin.
04:35The Savage Starlight Poster
04:37You think they'll be okay?
04:40No, I think.
04:43It's easier when you're a kid anyway.
04:46Props to the prop department,
04:47because they absolutely nailed this.
04:49During the establishing shots of Ellie's apartment,
04:51we can briefly see a poster depicting
04:54some kind of science fiction comic.
04:56This is Savage Starlight,
04:57the comic book series that you collect
04:59throughout the first Last of Us game
05:00and which Ellie shows to Sam in Season 1.
05:03What's that comic book say?
05:06Endure and survive?
05:07Endure and survive.
05:08To be even more specific,
05:10this is the cover of the Termination shock issue,
05:13which can be found in an empty bus in Pittsburgh.
05:15It's a cute little reminder of Ellie's innocence
05:17and adorable inner child,
05:19even though she's now a fully grown
05:21and very bitter adult.
05:23I bet Ellie would like this.
05:28The Moon Landing Poster
05:30So I've been thinking,
05:32let's say we find the fireflies,
05:34it all works,
05:36they draw my blood
05:37and put it through some of their fancy machines
05:39and make a cure.
05:41Okay.
05:43Then what?
05:44Okay, one more fun Easter egg from Ellie's.
05:46In the first season,
05:47she and Joel share a touching moment by a campfire,
05:50talking about their dreams and ambitions.
05:52Joel reveals that if the world went back to normal,
05:55he would buy a farm and raise sheep,
05:57signaling his want for quiet and peace.
05:59Meanwhile, Ellie reveals her love of space,
06:01claiming that she read about space travel at the library
06:04and that she always wanted to be an astronaut.
06:06And what about you?
06:07Where are you going to go?
06:12Cut to Ellie's garage
06:14and wouldn't you know it,
06:15she has a couple of small posters
06:16depicting the Moon Landing.
06:18Even though she's all grown up,
06:19it's clear Ellie hasn't completely abandoned
06:22her childhood fascinations.
06:23It's probably because I grew up in the QZ.
06:26Behind you, there's ocean,
06:27and ahead of you, there's a wall.
06:30I don't know what else to look but up.
06:31The shot-for-shot dance scene.
06:33I hate these things.
06:36Tell me about it.
06:37Oh, I hate these things.
06:39Tell me about it.
06:40Fans of the game were very quick to notice
06:43that the climactic dance sequence
06:44is a shot-for-shot recreation
06:46of the same scene from The Last of Us Part II.
06:49Pretty much everything is exactly the same,
06:51including the famous ceiling light prop,
06:53the costumes, and even the hairstyles.
06:55I give you guys two weeks
06:57until you're back together.
06:59I'm not gonna have.
06:59You guys will be back together
07:01in two weeks, tops.
07:04I'm not gonna have.
07:05But that's certainly not all.
07:07Camera movements,
07:08framing,
07:09dialogue,
07:10all are taken verbatim
07:11from the video game.
07:13It's not only a great way
07:14to honor the source material,
07:15it also serves as a fantastic bit
07:17of fan service,
07:18and even speaks volumes
07:20to how beautifully cinematic
07:21the game appears.
07:22Okay, I have a very serious question for you.
07:27How bad do I smell?
07:29Okay.
07:30I have a very serious question for you.
07:33How bad do I smell?
07:35People Magazine
07:36It's too far for me to drop down,
07:38so I can find a stairway or something
07:41and figure out a path back up here.
07:43Just stay put.
07:44Yeah.
07:45The prop department creates magic yet again.
07:47While Ellie is exploring the Green Place Market,
07:49she comes across a time capsule of days gone by,
07:52an issue of People Magazine
07:54with Jennifer Aniston on the cover.
07:56What makes this a great detail
07:58is that it is absolutely period perfect.
08:00This is a special double issue of People,
08:02featuring the best and worst dressed of the year.
08:05After doing some digging,
08:06we found that this magazine
08:07was to be on display
08:08until September 29th, 2003.
08:10In the show,
08:11Outbreak Day occurred on September 26th, 2003,
08:15a date when this exact issue of People
08:17would still be on grocery store shelves.
08:20Where'd you get the money for this?
08:22Drugs.
08:23I sell hardcore drugs.
08:24It's better when I do.
08:25It was only $20,
08:26which I stole from you.
08:29I could have stolen 60,
08:30but I put the change back
08:31because I'm an honest thief.
08:32Hmm.
08:33Besides, it's the thought that counts.
08:34Employee of the Month.
08:36Promise, we're just gonna
08:37listen quick,
08:39see if any are in there.
08:40Which is definitely recon.
08:42Another great Easter egg
08:43that game players immediately noticed
08:45was the Employee of the Month board
08:46that Ellie stumbles across
08:47in Green Place Market.
08:49She sees that a white dog
08:50has been named
08:51Employee of the Month for July,
08:53resulting in a little smirk of amusement.
08:55This is virtually the exact same board
08:57found in the Green Place Market
08:58in The Last of Us Part 2,
09:00with the white dog
09:00even being in the same
09:01bottom left position
09:02under the same month of July.
09:04This board is part of a puzzle in the game,
09:06so many players have experience with it.
09:09And many players were more than happy
09:10to see it recreated in the show.
09:12Oh my god, before we leave,
09:14you gotta check out the influence.
09:15Ah!
09:16Ah!
09:16Ah!
09:19Before we continue,
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09:35Gustavo Santaolalla
09:36She's been on quite the show.
09:42We return to the dance sequence
09:47for what is arguably
09:48the episode's cutest
09:49and most missable easter egg.
09:51As Ellie watches Dina dance,
09:53there's a very brief shot
09:54of a bearded man
09:55playing the charango,
09:56an instrument of the lute family
09:57that's very popular
09:58in South America.
10:00Fans of the game
10:00may recognize this instrument,
10:02as The Last of Us
10:03features plenty of Andean lute music.
10:05But even better than that
10:16is the man himself.
10:17This is Gustavo Santaolalla,
10:20an Argentinian musician
10:21and the composer
10:21of The Last of Us franchise,
10:23having done both games
10:24and the show.
10:25It's certainly a fitting cameo,
10:27and we loved seeing
10:28the master at work.
10:33What other fun details
10:34did you see?
10:35Let us know in the comments below.
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