The Last of Us: all the game Easter eggs in the HBO show

HBO’s Last of Us is a way to revisit the iconic and beloved video game of the same name — to revel in the ways it’s both unchanged and entirely different. The appeal of this game is a must-see for dedicated gamers. Last of Us is not necessarily in being surprised by twists and turns of the story; rather, it’s to see the franchise in a new light, picking out the little details that point back to the original media.

There’s plenty to see in that regard. The Easter eggs hidden in video games can be described as small, obscure references that are often hidden within the game. And so it makes sense that HBO’s Last of UsI would also do the same to give subtle nods (and subtle ones) to everyone. Last of UsYou can find -heads everywhere. Part 1: The Last of Us felt like it so badly wanted to be a movie or show, and now the TV show is switching that up — at least in one way.

Episode 1 Easter eggs

Halican Drops

Photo: Shane Harvey/HBO

Halican Drops is the name of the band on the T-shirt Joel’s daughter Sarah (played by Nico Parker) is wearing at the beginning of the show — and the game. There’s no real significance for the band in the game, other than a few posters, but the back of the T-shirt does foreshadow how the game plays out: Each tour stop is another location that Ellie and Joel will visit throughout their journey.

Aside from Sarah’s T-shirt, there are Halican Drops stickers in windows, too — at least according to set pictures.

Rear-seat Driving

When Joel, Tommy, and Sarah are trying to escape Austin during the chaos of the initial outbreak, the show’s directors make clever use of the camera angle to make Last of UsIt’s like playing a videogame. It’s all in the third-person view, with the camera in the back seat. This is exactly how the game is shot from the truck — you’re still playing as Sarah at that point, and she’s in the back seat. It was obvious to us all that this just It feels good like a video game during these shots, a trick that’s of much better use here than in other TV adaptations of games, like Halo, which tried the first-person view — including player UI.

Sarah wakes up

Sarah wakes up in her bedroom in the middle of the night in both the game and the TV show, stumbling around sleepily in the dark to see what’s going on. Each scene provides a bit more context, but it’s done in a different way. In the video game, you control Sarah, and she’s looking through her house in the dark. You’re not on a set path, and you can pick up things in the house, which provide some more context — one item is a newspaper that details how admittance to local hospitals is up by more than 300%. Joel shoots the infected man as he comes through the glass door. Tommy arrives just in time.

Last of UsThe TV series shows Sarah, just herself, waking up because Joel was trying to get Tommy out of jail. She ends up back at the neighbor’s house, bringing their scared dog home. That’s when she gets a very clear glimpse of what’s going on: The infected old lady is munching on her housemates. This scene sets up the horrors of the infected in a different way, giving some more context to show viewers what’s going on.

Joel’s wrench

Tommy and Joel pull up to their neighbor’s house just as Sarah is getting attacked by the infected old lady, but thankfully Joel has a formidable weapon: a wrench. The heavy wrench looks to be of forearm’s length and probably quite handy while they’re escaping the city, but Joel drops it right away.

It’s a good idea to save the item for future use. Toss it into the back of the pickup truck and you don’t even have to hold it. Our best guess is that this is a nod to the video game — in Part 1: The Last of UsAnd Part 2 of “The Last of Us”Your everyday melee weapon will only deal you three hits. They break all the time, and that’s by design. Last of UsIt is a survival game, where you must scavenge everything.

Marlene

Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO

Does Marlene in Last of UsDo you recognize this TV program? That’s because the same actor plays both roles. Merle Dandridge plays Marlene in Part 1: The Last of UsAnd Part 2 of “The Last of Us”The role was taken on by a third actor for HBO’s adaptation.

When you’re lost in the darkness

Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO

This is the complete phrase When you’re lost in the darkness, look to the light, appears several times in the show, and it’s plastered all over the games. The phrase is graffiti on walls throughout Boston (and likely elsewhere), a symbol and motto for the revolutionary group the Fireflies — the people who are fighting the oppressive military in the country’s quarantine zones. Marlene’s one of them, and an important one at that: She’s the leader of the Boston faction, and the person who puts Ellie in Joel and Tess’ care.

Curtis and the Viper 2,

Curtis and the Viper 2, is the movie that Sarah picks up from the neighbor’s house in Last of UsThis was pulled off a shelf along with the likes Pink PantherAnd Murderball. And unlike the other two. Curtis and the Viper 2, isn’t a real movie, but it’s still an important one. People who have played Part 2 of “The Last of Us” will remember it tearfully — it’s brought up in the second game as a cheesy ’80s movie, but one that was going to mean a lot to the two people watching it.

“The Long and Winding Road”

Joel and Ellie are waiting to hear from Tess about their escape plan. Ellie takes out the book No. Ellie flips through the book of No. 1 hits as she waits for Tess to scour Boston quarantine zone. There’s one page marked off with a piece of paper — the radio code for Joel and Tess’ smuggling operation. The page it opens to is easy to miss, but may be a nod to the franchise — The Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road.” This could be reference to the long, winding road that will take Ellie and Joel across the United States, or maybe the long and winding road it’s been since a Last of UsIn 2014, a movie adaptation was revealed.

Bigwig’s daughter

In the same scene where Joel and Ellie are discussing the radio code, Joel starts to question Ellie on her own life — why Marlene and the Fireflies are going through so much trouble to smuggle her out of Boston. No one knows yet of Ellie’s true condition — that she’s immune — and she’s sworn to keep it a secret. Joel asks if Ellie is a “bigwig’s daughter” or something, and Ellie responds that it’s “something like that.” These few lines are pulled straight from the game, but in those scenes it’s Tess talking to Ellie when they’re escaping the zone.

Escape from the quarantine area

Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO

Ellie, Joel, and Tess’ escape from the Boston quarantine zone has a few shots that are heavy references to the game — the overgrown world is dark and gnarled up with cars and buses to crawl under and through. But there’s one scene in particular that stood out for its similarities to an iconic level in Part 1: The Last of Us: Chapter 3, “The Outskirts.” Crawling through tunnels and debris, the trio has to dodge spotlights and flashlights from the military guarding the quarantine zone wall — spots in the game where it’s essential to play the game as stealthily as possible. The show cleverly mimics that feeling visually.