The following article contains spoilers for Episode 7 of The Last of Us.
The first season of HBO’s The Last of Us is already approaching its end, with only two episodes remaining. This week featured the plot of The Last of Us: Left Behind as Ellie and her best friend Riley spend time in an abandoned mall in Boston. When the duo head off into the night, it is expected that the episode will be largely adapted from the original content, and therefore hardcore fans prepare themselves for some major Easter eggs to pop up in almost every scene.
The story begins when Ellie is seen sitting on her bed in the latest episode of The Last of Us. Her room consists of several Easter eggs from the game and previous episodes of the HBO series. Whether it's her love for space, reading, or video games, nutshells of each can be found within her bedroom, and more. When Riley arrives and convinces her to go off on a magical journey with her, the game references begin to light up their path as they proceed further.
This week’s episode of The Last of Us gives viewers a chance to understand Ellie and her motivations better. While Bill and Frank’s story in Episode 3 was modified for the series, Ellie and Riley’s story remains the same as the game. The episode’s title ‘Left Behind’ is a direct reference to the game’s downloadable content that takes fans through the duo’s last night together. For fans of the series, it showcases Ellie’s loss and helps viewers understand why she isn’t ready to let go of Joel just yet.
Ellie’s room
Within Ellie’s room, there are several references to previous conversations that occurred in the HBO series. Her pun book lies on her bedside table, which has appeared previously as Ellie reads puns out to Joel in Episode 3 of The Last of Us. In her room, Ellie is seen reading the comic book Savage Starlight, which is a callback to a moment she shares with Sam. The room’s wall is covered with space posters, a reference to a conversation Ellie has with Joel where she reveals her dream of becoming an astronaut.
“Take On Me”
When Ellie’s backstory begins in this week’s episode, fans quickly discover that she has a Walkman, which she also carries in the game, and is seen listening to a cassette of the 1980s pop band A-Ha’s top hits. One of their most iconic songs is Take On Me, which is heard playing in the background when Ellie and Riley arrive at the mall, and Ellie discovers the escalator for the first time. This song is important as in The Last of Us - Part II it is revealed that it is one of Ellie’s favorite songs, and she even sings a cover version. The song was also used in the final trailer of The Last of Us series.
Ellie’s shirt
Throughout the season so far, Ellie has been seen sporting long-sleeved shirts and jackets. This week’s episode of The Last of Us sees her wearing a short-sleeved shirt for the first time, which has the same pattern as the one she wears in The Last of Us: Left Behind. It is also a reminder that the contents of this week’s episode occur before Ellie is bitten, and she wears long sleeves to keep the bite mark hidden.
Dawn of the Wolf poster
As Riley and Ellie explore the mall, a sequence shows a closeup of a poster for a movie called “Dawn of the Wolf.” In The Last of Us game, Joel tells Ellie that he watched a “dumb teen movie” before the apocalypse with his daughter Sarah, as the duo look at a poster of the same movie featured in the HBO series. A poster of the movie can also be found in Sarah’s room towards the beginning of the game.
Mortal Kombat II at the arcade
The arcade scene that fans have been waiting for has finally arrived. In Episode 3 of The Last of Us, the series had offered a glimpse of Ellie discovering an arcade of Mortal Kombat 2 and talking about a game she used to play with a friend. This episode sees Ellie and Riley playing the game together, a callback to the previous episode and The Last of Us: Left Behind where the duo also come across an abandoned arcade area at the mall.
Water pistols
At one point in the episode, Riley tells Ellie that she has a gift for her. “Is it a water pistol?” Ellie immediately asks. Even though Riley has “something better,” Ellie’s question is a reference to The Last of Us: Left Behind. In the DLC, Riley actually gives Ellie a water pistol, and the two end up having a water-gun fight.
Macho Nacho
As Ellie and Riley go through the different activities at the mall, they come across a restaurant named Macho Nacho in the food court. This restaurant features in The Last of Us: Left Behind, but it is also a reference to Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. In that game, one of the characters Elena refers to having worked at the restaurant as her first job.
No Pun Intended: Volume Too
The origins of Ellie’s pun book is finally revealed. Viewers have seen her reading jokes from the book in previous episodes, and this week shows that it was actually a gift from Riley, similar to the game. The duo read out some puns and share a laugh, which are also heard in an optional dialogue in The Last of Us: Left Behind.
Halloween masks
Before the Infected attacks, Ellie and Riley put on silly Halloween masks and dance in an abandoned party store of the mall. In The Last of Us: Left Behind, players can explore a similar store and try on a wolf mask, similar to the one in the HBO series. There are then some additional dialogues that Ellie and Riley exchange when trying on some other masks in the store, one of which is the clown mask identical to the one in this week’s episode.
Ellie and Riley’s final conversation
After Ellie and Riley discover that they’ve been bitten towards the end of this week's episode, they share a heartbreaking moment together where they slowly accept their fate. “We can be poetic and just lose our minds together,” says Riley, a dialogue lifted directly from the game. The conversation ends in the same way, with the scene changing to present times when Ellie is suturing up Joel’s wounds.
The Last of Us is streaming on HBO Max.