10 Things You Missed In The Last Of Us Season 2 Episode 1
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
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. Our breakdown includes the creepy nose tendrils on the Stalkers, Ellie's Pearl Jam record, the Savage Starlight poster in her apartment, and even a special cameo by composer Gustavo Santaolalla! Which Easter egg was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
10 Things You Missed In The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 1
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at ten references, Easter eggs, and fun hidden details you may have missed in the first episode of “The Last of Us” season 2.
Welcome to 2029!
“The Last of Us” technically takes place in the future. If you want a refresher, look no further than the climactic New Years sequence. To recap, Sarah’s death occurred in 2003, and the first season takes place exactly twenty years later, in 2023. Now we’re fast-forwarding another five years, to 2028. This is when a majority of the first episode occurs. To make the setting more explicit and eliminate all the head math, a “Happy New Year 2029” poster can be seen on the wall in the dance hall. The future is here, everyone!
The Nose Tendrils
Sometimes a fantastic little prop or visual effect goes unnoticed, and we certainly don’t want that! In the episode’s biggest action set piece, Ellie and Dina check out the Greenplace Market, the name and logo of which is taken directly from “The Last of Us Part II.” Inside, Ellie meets a new type of infected - the horribly creepy Stalker. The makeup on this thing is just wonderful, but there’s one specific detail that makes our skin crawl - and it’s very easy to miss. Just after she rears her head to look at Ellie, little tendrils begin to emerge from her empty nose socket, seemingly stretching out and sniffing out its target. Yeah, that’s a big nope from us.
The Giraffes
Season two picks up immediately after the harrowing events of season one, with a group of Fireflies standing around a makeshift gravesite. This group is led by the grieving Abby, who places her necklace around one of the graves and vows deadly revenge against Joel. But before all that, we see a fun piece of connective tissue linking this scene to season one. Before all the talking begins, we see a herd of giraffes eating plants, walking around, and just kinda hanging around doing giraffe things. This is, presumably, the same herd that Joel and Ellie stumbled across in the season one finale, which in itself was a virtual shot-for-shot remake from the game.
Pearl Jam Record
Ellie’s garage apartment is chock full of great Easter eggs, including one that is relevant - and even tear-worthy - to players of the game. Ellie is quite the grunge fan, as she’s blasting Nirvana while cleaning her gun. But in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg, you can also see a Pearl Jam record on the shelf just as Joel bends down to get her guitar. Based on the font and color scheme, this looks like their debut album, Ten. This is a great reference to the game, as Joel plays Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” while showing Ellie the guitar he got for her. This scene wasn’t adapted for the show, but this Easter egg serves as a fun little nod.
The Savage Starlight Poster
Props to the, uh, prop department, because they absolutely nailed this. During the establishing shots of Ellie’s apartment, we can briefly see a poster depicting some kind of science fiction comic. This is “Savage Starlight,” the comic book series that you collect throughout the first “Last of Us” game and which Ellie shows to Sam in season one. To be even more specific, this is the cover of the “Termination Shock” issue, which can be found in an empty bus in Pittsburgh. It’s a cute little reminder of Ellie’s innocence and adorable inner child, even though she’s now a fully-grown and very bitter woman.
The Moon Landing Poster
OK, one more fun Easter egg from Ellie’s! In the first season, she and Joel share a touching moment by a campfire, talking about their dreams and ambitions. Joel reveals that if the world went back to normal, he would buy a farm and raise sheep, signaling his want for quiet and peace. Meanwhile, Ellie reveals her love of space, claiming that she read about space travel at the library and that she always wanted to be an astronaut. Cut to Ellie’s garage, and wouldn’t you know it, she has a couple of small posters depicting the moon landing. Even though she’s all grown up, it’s clear that Ellie hasn’t completely abandoned her childhood fascinations.
The Shot for Shot Dance Scene
Fans of the game were very quick to notice that the climactic dance sequence is a shot-for-shot recreation of the same scene from “The Last of Us Part II.” Pretty much everything is exactly the same, including the famous ceiling light prop, the costumes, and even the hairstyles. But that’s certainly not all - camera movements, framing, dialogue - all are taken verbatim from the video game. It’s not only a great way to honor the source material, but it serves as a fantastic bit of fan service and even speaks volumes to how beautifully cinematic the game appears.
People Magazine
The prop department creates magic yet again. While Ellie is exploring the Greenplace Market, she comes across a time capsule of days gone by - an issue of People magazine, with Jennifer Aniston on the cover. What makes this a great detail is that it is absolutely period perfect. This is a special double issue of People, featuring the Best & Worst Dressed of the year. After doing some digging, we found that this magazine was to be on display until September 29, 2003. In the show, Outbreak Day occurred on September 26, 2003 - a date when this exact issue of People would still be on grocery store shelves!
Employee of the Month
Another great Easter egg that game players immediately noticed was the Employee of the Month board that Ellie stumbles across in Greenplace Market. She sees that a white dog has been named employee of the month for July, resulting in a little smirk of amusement. This is virtually the exact same board found in the Greenplace Market in “The Last of Us Part II,” with the white dog even being in the same bottom left position under the same month of July. This board is part of a puzzle in the game, so many players have experience with it. And many players were more than happy to see it recreated in the show.
Gustavo Santaolalla
We return to the dance sequence for what is arguably the episode’s cutest - and most missable - Easter egg. As Ellie watches Dina dance, there’s a very brief shot of a bearded man playing the charango, an instrument of the lute family that is very popular in South America. Fans of the game may recognize this instrument, as “The Last of Us” features plenty of Andean lute music. But even better than that is the man himself. This is Gustavo Santaolalla, an Argentinian musician and the composer of the “Last of Us” franchise, having done both games and the show. It’s certainly a fitting cameo, and we loved seeing the master at work.
What other fun details did you see? Let us know in the comments below!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at ten references, Easter eggs, and fun hidden details you may have missed in the first episode of “The Last of Us” season 2.
Welcome to 2029!
“The Last of Us” technically takes place in the future. If you want a refresher, look no further than the climactic New Years sequence. To recap, Sarah’s death occurred in 2003, and the first season takes place exactly twenty years later, in 2023. Now we’re fast-forwarding another five years, to 2028. This is when a majority of the first episode occurs. To make the setting more explicit and eliminate all the head math, a “Happy New Year 2029” poster can be seen on the wall in the dance hall. The future is here, everyone!
The Nose Tendrils
Sometimes a fantastic little prop or visual effect goes unnoticed, and we certainly don’t want that! In the episode’s biggest action set piece, Ellie and Dina check out the Greenplace Market, the name and logo of which is taken directly from “The Last of Us Part II.” Inside, Ellie meets a new type of infected - the horribly creepy Stalker. The makeup on this thing is just wonderful, but there’s one specific detail that makes our skin crawl - and it’s very easy to miss. Just after she rears her head to look at Ellie, little tendrils begin to emerge from her empty nose socket, seemingly stretching out and sniffing out its target. Yeah, that’s a big nope from us.
The Giraffes
Season two picks up immediately after the harrowing events of season one, with a group of Fireflies standing around a makeshift gravesite. This group is led by the grieving Abby, who places her necklace around one of the graves and vows deadly revenge against Joel. But before all that, we see a fun piece of connective tissue linking this scene to season one. Before all the talking begins, we see a herd of giraffes eating plants, walking around, and just kinda hanging around doing giraffe things. This is, presumably, the same herd that Joel and Ellie stumbled across in the season one finale, which in itself was a virtual shot-for-shot remake from the game.
Pearl Jam Record
Ellie’s garage apartment is chock full of great Easter eggs, including one that is relevant - and even tear-worthy - to players of the game. Ellie is quite the grunge fan, as she’s blasting Nirvana while cleaning her gun. But in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg, you can also see a Pearl Jam record on the shelf just as Joel bends down to get her guitar. Based on the font and color scheme, this looks like their debut album, Ten. This is a great reference to the game, as Joel plays Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” while showing Ellie the guitar he got for her. This scene wasn’t adapted for the show, but this Easter egg serves as a fun little nod.
The Savage Starlight Poster
Props to the, uh, prop department, because they absolutely nailed this. During the establishing shots of Ellie’s apartment, we can briefly see a poster depicting some kind of science fiction comic. This is “Savage Starlight,” the comic book series that you collect throughout the first “Last of Us” game and which Ellie shows to Sam in season one. To be even more specific, this is the cover of the “Termination Shock” issue, which can be found in an empty bus in Pittsburgh. It’s a cute little reminder of Ellie’s innocence and adorable inner child, even though she’s now a fully-grown and very bitter woman.
The Moon Landing Poster
OK, one more fun Easter egg from Ellie’s! In the first season, she and Joel share a touching moment by a campfire, talking about their dreams and ambitions. Joel reveals that if the world went back to normal, he would buy a farm and raise sheep, signaling his want for quiet and peace. Meanwhile, Ellie reveals her love of space, claiming that she read about space travel at the library and that she always wanted to be an astronaut. Cut to Ellie’s garage, and wouldn’t you know it, she has a couple of small posters depicting the moon landing. Even though she’s all grown up, it’s clear that Ellie hasn’t completely abandoned her childhood fascinations.
The Shot for Shot Dance Scene
Fans of the game were very quick to notice that the climactic dance sequence is a shot-for-shot recreation of the same scene from “The Last of Us Part II.” Pretty much everything is exactly the same, including the famous ceiling light prop, the costumes, and even the hairstyles. But that’s certainly not all - camera movements, framing, dialogue - all are taken verbatim from the video game. It’s not only a great way to honor the source material, but it serves as a fantastic bit of fan service and even speaks volumes to how beautifully cinematic the game appears.
People Magazine
The prop department creates magic yet again. While Ellie is exploring the Greenplace Market, she comes across a time capsule of days gone by - an issue of People magazine, with Jennifer Aniston on the cover. What makes this a great detail is that it is absolutely period perfect. This is a special double issue of People, featuring the Best & Worst Dressed of the year. After doing some digging, we found that this magazine was to be on display until September 29, 2003. In the show, Outbreak Day occurred on September 26, 2003 - a date when this exact issue of People would still be on grocery store shelves!
Employee of the Month
Another great Easter egg that game players immediately noticed was the Employee of the Month board that Ellie stumbles across in Greenplace Market. She sees that a white dog has been named employee of the month for July, resulting in a little smirk of amusement. This is virtually the exact same board found in the Greenplace Market in “The Last of Us Part II,” with the white dog even being in the same bottom left position under the same month of July. This board is part of a puzzle in the game, so many players have experience with it. And many players were more than happy to see it recreated in the show.
Gustavo Santaolalla
We return to the dance sequence for what is arguably the episode’s cutest - and most missable - Easter egg. As Ellie watches Dina dance, there’s a very brief shot of a bearded man playing the charango, an instrument of the lute family that is very popular in South America. Fans of the game may recognize this instrument, as “The Last of Us” features plenty of Andean lute music. But even better than that is the man himself. This is Gustavo Santaolalla, an Argentinian musician and the composer of the “Last of Us” franchise, having done both games and the show. It’s certainly a fitting cameo, and we loved seeing the master at work.
What other fun details did you see? Let us know in the comments below!
