Top 20 Things You Missed In The Last of Us Season 2

#20: 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!

#19: 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.

#18: Gustavo Santaolalla

We return to the dance sequence for what is arguably the episodes cutest - and most missable - Easter egg. As Ellie watches Dina dance, theres 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. Its certainly a fitting cameo, and we loved seeing the master at work.

#17: Dinas Bracelet

After revealing themselves as the remaining Fireflies from Salt Lake City, Dina and Joel are taken hostage. Its during this moment just before Mel puts Dina under anesthetic that we get a glimpse of a bracelet on Dinas wrist. This is a Jewish Hamsa bracelet and the exact one Dina wears in game and eventually gives to Ellie during their time in Seattle and was heavily referenced in pre-release trailers for The Last of Us Part 2. The bracelet is typically worn to prevent harm and bring good fortune. However, it seems to have run out on this particular day unfortunately.

#16: Eugenes Man-Cave

In the game Ellie and Dina discover Eugenes underground pot farm as well as numerous oddities from his life, some of which are especially notable such as Eugenes history as a Firefly. In the series, we dont get to fully explore Eugenes hideout but there are some specific pieces of Eugenes lair that make the jump, such as a blink and youll miss it nod to Eugenes adult film stash with a stack of VHS tapes next to an old TV. The best reference however comes in the form of Eugenes mask bong which is lifted directly from the game and Ellie gleefully declares shes taking with her.

#15: Through the Valley

At the end of the episode, we hear the song Through the Valley by Shawn James. However, longtime fans of the game will immediately recognize this as the rendition used in the reveal trailer for The Last of Us Part 2 at the 2016 PlayStation Experience. One notable fact about this version and the one used in the show is that they are both performed by Ellies in-game actress Ashley Johnson in an updated version of the track recorded specifically for the series by the actress. Its fitting then that her beautiful rendition of Through the Valley marks the beginning of Ellies quest for revenge that also harkens back to Ellies intent in the original teaser trailer.

#14: Etta James

Another Ellie bedroom detail, another poster. We told you it had a lot of good Easter eggs! Just as Ellie opens the door, you can see a black and white poster on her wall, just beside the desk. This is a poster of Etta James, a legendary R&B artist who had a number of hits in the 60s. In 1968, James released I Got You Babe, a cover of Sonny & Chers iconic single. This is the song that Ellie and Riley dance to in Left Behind while wearing their masks in the Halloween store. It looks like Ellie is still honoring her late best friend.

#13: Dead Zombie Joel

The episode doesnt take long to remind you that Joel died. It immediately opens with the fiery aftermath of the Battle of Jackson, with a huge pile of dead zombies laid out in front of the burning settlement. The first zombie we see is in the exact same positioning that Joel was in when he died, complete with his head turned to the left and his left hand resting in front of his face. We dont know if the show is making some kind of connection between the two or if its just a macabre reference to Joels death. Either way, it was one heck of a way to open the episode.

#12: Joel Is Off the Credits

Alright HBO, you sick so and sos. We see you. Not only did they kill Joel off, but they completely removed him from the opening credits. Before, we saw the figures of Joel and Ellie growing from the fungus, a beautiful little representation of their relationship. But the credits were changed for this episode, and the Joel figure is now gone. Ellie is all by herself, her father figure dead and forced to go it alone. To make matters even worse, they removed Pedro Pascals name from the opening credits. You know, because it didnt already hurt enough!

#11: Dina Cant Hear the Stalkers

We know that Dina is very proficient in listening to the infected, often telling Ellie exactly how many are in a room. But she has a problem with the Stalkers in the warehouse. Not only does she not know what they are, but she also cant seem to hear them, even expressing shock when more emerge from the darkness. This is a great reference to the video game. By their nature, Stalkers are exceptionally quiet and therefore almost impossible to detect while in listening mode. Dina is clearly playing in listening mode most of the time, so it makes complete sense that she isnt able to detect them!

#10 : The Rat King

During the opening sequence, Elise Park mentions going into the hospital basement. They were expecting something bad, but they found the place completely abandoned. She even says that there were not even rats inside, which seems to elicit a subtle reaction of anxiety from Hanrahan. It also elicited a huge reaction from fans of the game, whose ears pricked up from the mention of hospital rats. The Rat King is a famous type of infected from the game, found in the basement of the Seattle hospital. Its a disgusting creature, consisting of numerous types of infected phased into each other and forming a giant mass of limbs, mouths, and fungal growths. We still have nightmares about it.

#9: Joels Watch

Whereas in the game, Sarah gifts Joel a brand-new watch on his birthday, within the series, Sarah is instead seen getting Joels old watch repaired. We didnt understand the significance of this at the time, but now it would seem that Joels watch was passed down from his father. This in turn makes Joels watch even more significant as it not only represents his connection to Sarah as it was the last gift she gave him, but also to his father, who hoped that he would become a better father than he was and continue that tradition of each generation being better than the one before it.

#8: The Moth and The Owl

Whereas in the game, its assumed Ellies fascination with moths stems from the etching on the guitar Joel gives her, in the series, Ellie is already obsessed with the dusty insects which leads Joel to carve one into her guitar. Its only years later Joel inquires about the moths and goes to Gail for further confirmation to which she tells him they signify death. Which is technically true, but Ellie seems to have a different interpretation, in which the moth signifies someone drawn to the light and searching for purpose which is evidenced by her sketches. Joel has a similar obsession with owls which coincide with his views of himself as a wise but deadly stealth predator and protector.

#7: Joels Coffee

Joels love of coffee is well documented throughout both games and likewise within the series. Near the end of the episode, Ellie returns to talk to Joel after the events of the dance hall and the scene plays out almost exactly as in game with Joel confessing, hes ashamed of what he traded to get it. Eagle-eyed fans of the game however will notice Joels cup is the exact one Ellie finds on the sink after his death, once again adorned with Joels favorite animal, the owl. Joels love of coffee also resonates after his death when Ellie lays the coffee beans on his grave.

#6: Earth Abides

When Joel visits Gail during her lunch, Gail can be seen reading a book titled Earth Abides. The significance of this book is that this was one of the first stories to detail the events after a global pandemic nearly wiped out all of humanity all the way back in 1949. Within the book, humanity begins to revert to lower intelligence especially after the last human who can read dies, leaving future generations completely illiterate. Last of Us writer Neil Druckmann has acknowledged the storys influence on the game and its themes of hope and rebuilding. Gail could also see parallels between herself and the novel as one of the last highly educated residents of Jackson as the next generation slowly begins to take over.

#5: Pointing to the Map

In the finales most brutal and emotional sequence, Ellie kills both Owen and Mel and makes a horrifying discovery about the latter. But before she does that, she asks them to point to Abby on the map. Her method of doing so is quite clever, and more than a little familiar. She tells them that theyll both point to the location separately and that they better match, or else. If we rewind back to season one, well see that this is the exact same method that Joel used against Davids men when he had to find Ellie. Looks like Joel taught her his ways

#4: The Seattle Great Wheel

The show has done some funky things with time. Outbreak Day occurred in September 2003, yet in The Price, Joel sings Pearl Jams Future Days to Ellie, which came out ten years later in 2013. Another, maybe even more egregious, example occurred in the season finale, when Ellie traveled to the Seattle Great Wheel to find Abby. The Wheel is found on Pier 57 and opened on June 29, 2012 - nearly ten years after Outbreak Day. So either the show is playing a little fast and loose with time and we just have to accept that, or it takes place in some kind of alternate universe where these things exist outside of our own.

#3: Thieves of the City

When Abby wakes up in the stadium, we can see that she was reading a book called Thieves of the City. There are so many great things about this Easter egg, we dont even know where to start. First, its a cute play on the title City of Thieves, which is a real book published by David Benioff. Many know Benioff as the co-showrunner of Game of Thrones, which shares a network with The Last of Us. And if you look closely, you can see the author is one Ben Davidoff, an obvious nod to David Benioff. Lastly, co-director Bruce Straley has claimed that City of Thieves was a huge inspiration for The Last of Us, so its nice to see them paying homage.

#2: The Boat Shot

The final crane shot of Long, Long Time references the beautiful window visual from the main menu of The Last of Us. Well, it looks like season two is continuing that tradition. Theres a shot in Convergence that shows a motorboat rocking against a dock in the violent waves. Like Long, Long Time, this is a visual nod to the main menu of The Last of Us Part II, which shows, well, a motorboat rocking in the waves. Its a fun, if somewhat moody, bit of nostalgia for fans of the video game, many of whom would have instantly recognized that iconic visual.

#1: The Rope Burns

In the agonizing climax of the episode, Jesse gets shot and Ellie encounters a vengeful Abby. If you look closely, you can see what looks like rope burns across Abbys neck. This makes sense within the parameters of the story, because - as we saw earlier - the Seraphites are prone to capturing WLF soldiers and hanging them from a noose. So, its likely that Abby has run into the violent cult at some point during her time in Seattle. However, this detail also serves as an Easter egg, as Ellies brief run-in with the Seraphites greatly mirrors Abbys interaction with the group in the video game - including being hung by a noose.

What was your favorite hidden detail? Let us know in the comments below!