Top 20 Things You Missed in The Last of Us
#20: A Brief But Brilliant Gas Mask Nod
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"Long, Long Time" In the original “Last of Us” games, having a gas mask was essential for every survivor. The source material allowed the virus to be spread through airborne spores. If a survivor was unlucky enough to go into an area covered in the material, they could easily turn. The production may have ditched that plot point to avoid mimicking the Mandalorian and covering Pedro Pascal’s face. However, Bill gave fans a nice tease of what gas masks would look like in a live-action “Last of Us” series. This nod to a game mechanic perfectly fit the character’s sense of paranoia and preparedness. But we won’t expect to see Joel borrowing that particular item for his live-action road trip.
#19: Musical Easter Eggs
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"When You're Lost in the Darkness" When Sarah is awoken by the sounds of chaos, she slowly makes her way through her home. Viewers can briefly spot a guitar stationed in the living room. For fans of the franchise, the sight of the instrument alone might get them a bit choked up. During “Last of Us Part 2”, Joel finds a guitar and takes the time to sing a sweet and sentimental song to Ellie. He then proceeds to give her the instrument to keep before promising to give her lessons. Unfortunately, Joel and Ellie don’t get much time to work on music before they’re tragically separated. Fortunately, she continues learning and eventually becomes a master guitar player.
#18: Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey’s Ironic Casting
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“When You're Lost in the Darkness" It’s time to address the Drogon-sized elephant in the room. Before playing Joel & Ellie on “Last of Us”, Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey both played characters on “Game of Thrones.” They both coincidentally died on the show after facing huge opponents. Years after their roles ended on that HBO hit, they’ve been welcomed back again for another show on the same network. But the biggest casting gag lies in the premise. As fans of the game know, the series will revolve around Joel reluctantly escorting a young and important being to a potentially shady location. Pedro Pascal has plenty of experience doing the same thing on the “Mandalorian”. While the “Star Wars” character had no problem smuggling a being, Joel ironically had some objections.
#17: Paying Homage to A Complex Survivor Story
"Endure and Survive" After Joel reaches an underground hideout, the camera lingers on a drawing of a duo named Donny and Ish. In the games, you never meet these people directly. But players can get their entire story by collecting a series of notes. Upon acquiring all the collectibles, you’ll discover that Ish tried to stay away from the horde by living on a boat. When surviving on it became impossible, he eventually settled in the sewers with a group. Ish and his new ally Danny did their best to protect everyone. However, their world came crashing down when someone let infected into their community. While the final fate of these survivors is unknown in the game, the show may let us know what happened to them next.
#16: The Doctor Scene Could’ve Been Darker
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“Look for the Light” The firefly surgeon who tried to stop Joel from saving Ellie ended up paying the ultimate price. As harrowing as it was to watch the protagonist execute a doctor, the scene could’ve been more unsettling. When players encountered the surgeon in the game, they had the option to go further and attack the two other doctors in the room. Anyone who chose to go that extra mile could’ve seen the medical professionals die in ways that are too gruesome to show here. Thankfully, the live-action Joel stops with the surgeon. At the same time, the fact that he eliminated innocents and may have denied the world a chance to get a cure still makes it hard to look at him the same way.
#15: How’d She Get That Scar?
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“Left Behind” During the course of the seventh episode, Ellie gets playfully attacked by her friend, receives a black eye and gets a bite from an infected. While all of those incidents are fully explained, we’re missing key details about one of her oldest marks. Ellie has had a distinct eyebrow scar since the beginning of the show. However, we only get a very vague nod to what caused it. This roundabout answer is a reference to another franchise running joke. Gamers have been curious about what exactly happened to Ellie’s eyebrow since 2013. Although creator Neil Druckmann has been asked about it, he only hinted that the story would be revealed at a later time. We can only hope Ellie won’t pull a Joker and will actually tell us the tale one day.
#14: The Bloater Actor Worked On Another Notable Infectious Role
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"Endure and Survive" While all of the clickers on the show are scary, the bloater made the most frightening entrance. The intimidating enemy was played by stuntman and performer Adam Basil. Over the years, he’s worked on everything from “The Northman” to 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast”. Pedro Pascal would probably appreciate that Basil worked on “Game of Thrones” too. But the role that mirrors the stunt performer’s Bloater character the most is Venom. In both Tom Hardy films, Basil served as a stand-in for the alien symbiote hero. The stunt man clearly has a knack for playing huge people who have been infected by foreign organisms.
#13: Joel’s Hearing Loss Was Subtly Hinted at Before
“Please Hold to My Hand” The very observant Ellie was able to pick up on the fact that Joel has experienced hearing loss in his right ear. While we don’t know what made her come to that conclusion, there are a couple of moments in previous episodes that point to this reveal. When Joel is sleeping in his apartment, he sleeps with his left ear up. It’s only when Tess comes in that he feels secure enough to switch sides. Additionally, Joel is surprised by attackers that approached him on his right side multiple times. This subtle running detail may become more important in crucial action scenes and plot points going forward.
#12: The Hidden Symbolism Behind the Big Movie Night
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"Kin" During the “Kin” episode, Ellie notably leaves a public screening of the rom-com “The Goodbye Girl” right in the middle of the film. She may have cut out early because the themes of the movie hit a little too close to home. In the famous film, lead character Paula is abandoned by her lover at the beginning of the story. After she starts developing feelings for a man named Elliot, she starts wondering if he’ll take off too. The movie’s plot perfectly mirrors what happens between Ellie and Joel when he attempts to split the two of them up. Fortunately, neither she nor Paula gets abandoned by the person they’ve come to care about by the end of their respective stories.
#11: Bill’s Home Depot Trip Leans on a Popular Meme
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"Long, Long Time" Years after playing a tough Mr. Fix-it who dislikes the government on “Parks and Rec”, Nick Offerman played a tough Mr. Fix-it who dislikes the government on “Last of Us”. Coincidentally, both characters have tons of musical talent as well. But the biggest visual similarity between the roles came early in the episode. In one of “Parks and Rec’s” most famous and memeworthy scenes, Offerman’s Ron Swanson goes into a Lowe’s to pick up vital items. While his cart is full, he completely brushes off an employee who tries to offer help with an iconic phrase. “Last of Us” appears to pay homage to this scene by having Bill make a trip of his own. Although he goes to Home Depot and the employees there are almost definitely already dead, it’s hard not to visually compare the two Offerman characters.
#10: Anna’s Last Lullaby Becomes One of Ellie’s First Loves
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“Look for the Light” It’s tragic that Ellie doesn’t get to spend much time with her mother Anna before the two are torn apart. But the immune survivor does get a couple of gifts from her mom in that short time. Outside of the knife, Anna gave her daughter a subtle gift through the lullaby she was singing. If you listen very closely to the lyrics, it becomes clear the new mom was singing a tune by the band a-ha called “The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” Ellie notably got her hands on a cassette full of the same band’s best songs when she got older. Maybe she subconsciously likes a-ha so much because one of their hits was at the center of her memories of her mother.
#9: The Heroes Are Saved By Fungus
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“When We Are in Need” While Joel managed to survive getting a nasty wound from an enemy, he still had to deal with the consequences of a nasty infection. Thankfully, Ellie was able to keep him stable until she traded for some penicillin. The fact that this medicine helped is incredibly ironic. Penicillin couldn’t exist without the help of fungi. As many viewers know by this point, the world of “The Last of Us” was completely wrecked by a not so fun guy that’s known as cordyceps. Outside of Joel, Ellie just managed to buy herself time by letting David know she was infected by fungi already. It looks like our heroes should recognize fungus as the true MVP of their perilous journey.
#8: Highlighting An Important Franchise Song
“Please Hold to My Hand” During Joel and Ellie’s road trip, they get enough downtime to listen to “Alone and Forsaken” by Hank Williams. This scene was inevitable due to the song’s significance across the franchise. One of the very first trailers for “The Last of Us” used the track to underscore glimpses at the story and gameplay mechanics. After intriguing prospective players, the song was played within the first narrative as the duo drove towards Pittsburgh. The track was used once again for one of the full trailers for the show itself. Since the lyrics focus so heavily on mourning things that have been lost, this song is a perfect match for the crumbling world of “The Last of Us”.
#7: Perry’s Actor Should Sound Familiar
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“Please Hold to My Hand” One of the most surprising and welcomed additions to the SHOW was the militaristic character Perry. This strict survivor is played by Jeffrey Pierce. Around 10 years before the actor took on this role, he played a little character in the “Last of Us” franchise named Tommy Miller. He was excellent at portraying Joel’s troubled yet well meaning brother in the games. Unfortunately, a bloater prevented the two from ever meeting. But we had a strong feeling that Pierce wouldn’t have gotten along with Pascal’s version of the character on the show anyway. In any case, we were glad to have Pierce in live-action.
#6: “The Last of Us Part 2” Antagonist Abby Is Hidden In Plain Sight
“Look for the Light” During the events of “The Last of Us Part 2”, a woman named Abby becomes one of Ellie’s most hated enemies. While we won’t spoil anything for those who haven’t played the games, just know that there’s pretty much no chance that they’ll ever be friends. The Abby character doesn’t appear in the show during season 1. However, the actress that portrayed her actually does. Laura Bailey plays one of the nurses in the operating room. This is just three years after she won several awards by portraying Abby. Although we’re unsure if Bailey will appear in the live-action series again, the game changing character she voiced will definitely play a major role.
#5: A Naughty Dog Easter Egg
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“Left Behind” Gamers may have picked on the fact that “Left Behind” is both the title of the episode and the name of the DLC story that fully introduced Riley. It’s one of several fun nods to the show’s gaming roots. After a Mortal Kombat poster appeared in the dlc, it became a main centerpiece in the episode. Ellie’s treasured SONY Walkman pays homage to the game company that was once the exclusive home of “The Last of Us”. But the sneakiest Easter Egg came when the immune survivor was meeting with a FEDRA Captain. When he uses his keys as a metaphor, you can spot the Naughty Dog Logo. Thanks to that company’s work with SONY, we got the game that inspired a thrilling and layered series.
#4: Glimpses Into Ellie’s Future
"Kin" Although Ellie was still thinking about what she’ll do with her life after meeting up with the Fireflies, the sixth episode gave us plenty of hints at what she’ll get up to. The narrative provided yet another hint that Joel will take Ellie to a space exhibit in the future. Additionally, she was introduced to a very specific horse. Shimmer would go on to become a loyal companion for Ellie throughout the second game. Last but certainly not least, we saw the immune survivor devote time to taking care of sheep in “The Last of Us Part 2”. While Ellie may make fun of Joel for wanting to do the same on the show, she may take up the profession to feel closer to him in the future.
#3: Animal Easter Eggs
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"Infected" One of the most iconic scenes in gaming history in the 21st century saw Joel and Ellie coming across a giraffe in the wild. The scene was praised for its unique nature, optimism and symbolism about hope in the midst of a bleak world. Throughout the series, eagle eyed viewers could spot giraffes hidden in the background. There’s a stuffed giraffe toy amongst the ruins of the city in episode 2. The bedroom Ellie burrows in episode 6 has both a poster of the animal and yet another plush on the windowsill. After all these tiny hints, the payoff came in the finale when a family of giraffes brought hope to Ellie when she was feeling truly lost.
#2: Ellie Technically Kills Joel
“When We Are In Need” No, you didn’t miss a scene where Bella Ramsey’s Ellie decided taking care of Pedro Pascal's Joel was too much work and took him out. But the actress definitely did slay another actor who played him. Troy Baker provided the voice for Joel himself in the games. After playing a character who protects Ellie, he stepped into the role of James and hunted her on the show. Seeing Baker go from being a complex hero to becoming an irredeemable villain was fantastic. In the end, Ellie had to slay him in order to escape. We can’t deny that we were just a little sad to see the original Joel leave the show so soon.
#1: The Second Episode Basically Confirms a Viral Fan Theory
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"Infected" After the “Last of Us” premiere aired, Reddit user “Anagnost” suggested that flour was the reason the world got infected so quickly. The internet sleuth pointed that Joel notably didn’t eat pancakes, the birthday boy forgot to get a cake and the neighbor who turned consumed biscuits. A second user named “RealStamedHam” pointed out that the city of Jakarta produces a huge amount of flour. Not only was the city referenced in the first episode, but it’s where the episode begins. Additionally, when a doctor is trying to get information about where people got infected, she’s told that they worked with flour. These details seem to suggest that a common baking item may have ruined the world.
