The following article contains spoilers for Episode 3 of The Last of Us.
The Last of Us is back with another interesting episode, and several hidden details that keen-eyed fans of the game will be able to spot. This week saw the series take a different path and explore the backstory of one of the game’s most crucial supporting characters. But, even though the story mainly focused on Bill, a survivalist who has managed to create an entire base in an abandoned city, the episode has several callbacks to the game and original plot.
This week’s episode of The Last of Us does not include a lot of action, and is in fact a standalone hour-long journey of Bill and Frank’s love story. But, that doesn’t mean that Joel and Ellie are forgotten. Their story moves forward and the subtle hints and Easter eggs only makes things more interesting for hardcore fans to watch.
Every week, fans try to spot the various Easter eggs in the episodes. From the Mortal Kombat 2 arcade to Bill’s iconic blue and white truck, Episode 3 of The Last of Us brings in several Easter eggs and references to the original game material.
The arcade
Towards the beginning of the episode, Joel and Ellie arrive at an abandoned store, where the former has stashed some supplies. While Joel is searching, Ellie comes across an arcade of Mortal Kombat 2. “I had a friend who knew everything about this game,” says Ellie. This was a reference to The Last of Us: Left Behind where Ellie and Riley come across an abandoned arcade area at the mall. Ellie pretends to play a game called “The Turning,” which has a fight similar to Mortal Kombat. Her character, who Riley names Angel Knives, is an “unstoppable, claw-wielding, yet drop-dead gorgeous” assassin.
The crashed plane
Joel and Ellie come across a crashed plane while walking to the former’s secret stash hideout. This scene is a callback to Episode 1 of The Last of Us where Joel, Tommy, and Sarah witness a plane crash and their car gets wrecked due to flying debris. It is also a reference to a conversation between Joel and Ellie in the game where the latter finds an advertisement for an airline on a wall and talks about her dream of being on a plane that crashes.
Joel’s shirt
Towards the end of the episode, both Joel and Ellie find clothes in Bill and Frank’s home and change. The shirt that Joel chooses to wear looks almost identical to the one the character wears in the game. Keen-eyed fans will also notice that it is the same shirt that Frank wears during the scene where he and his partner Bill are discussing some changes in their community, including inviting some friends over for a meal.
Ellie’s t-shirt
Similar to Joel’s shirt, Ellie wears the exact replica of the t-shirt that the character is seen wearing in the game. A red t-shirt with an image of coconut trees located on a beach, with a setting sun in the background.
The rules
Just before leaving Bill and Frank’s home, Joel lays down the rules for Ellie to follow for the rest of their journey. “You don’t bring up Tess ever,” he begins, and goes on to tell her that she needs to keep her “condition” a secret and follow everything he says. “What you say goes,” confirms Ellie. The scene plays out word-for-word in The Last of Us game and Joel sets the exact same rules before heading out West, the only difference is that it doesn’t occur in Bill’s home, but out in the open instead.
Bill’s truck
Bill’s Chevrolet S-10, a pickup truck, plays a relevant role in The Last of Us game. Players use it to escape from a few infected while grabbing the car battery that Joel is looking for. The truck in the series looks identical to the one in the game, and clearly a lot of thought has been put into bringing the different props and accessories to life in the adaptation.
The window in the final shot
This is one that fans of The Last of Us games will instantly recognize. The menu screen in the first game is a very similar shot of a window, with light filtering through, overgrown shrubs climbing the walls, and the curtains moving slightly with the breeze. Director Peter Hoar has confirmed since the episode released that the scene was an intentional callback to the game. The shot is also quite similar to the final shot of The Last of Us Part II where the camera focuses on an open window, through which Ellie is seen walking away. The series replaces that with Joel and Ellie driving away in Bill’s truck.
The Last of Us is streaming on HBO Max.