The latest episode of The Last of Us Season 2 packed a ton of references in a short amount of time.
HBO’s The Last of Us live-action adaptation aired its latest episode, Season 2 Episode 4: Day One, earlier today. This episode takes viewers on a journey with Ellie and Dina across Seattle, where they learn that the militaristic faction they’re hunting down, the W.L.F., is a lot bigger than they anticipated.
It also adapts the events of Seattle: Day One from Ellie’s perspective in The Last of Us Part II. As such, this episode is jam-packed with references to the game. Here are all the changes and Easter eggs we spotted in The Last of Us Part II:
Isaac Dixon gets a fleshed-out backstory (outside of lore notes)
The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 4: Day One opens with a group of FEDRA soldiers in the back of an armoured van, joking around about a rather violent incident involving one of their superiors. A soldier played by Drake & Josh’s Josh Peck, who makes an unexpected cameo here, refers to civilians as ‘voters’.
When questioned on why he does this, sergeant Isaac Dixon (Jeffrey Wright) explains that it’s a term used to mock civilians who no longer have the power to vote. Wright reprises his role as Isaac here from The Last of Us Part II, being one of the few actors from the game to cross over to the series. In the game, he’s used rather sparingly, and players learn more about him via in-game notes scattered around Seattle.
This opening already sees HBO’s The Last of Us make a rather big change concerning Isaac’s backstory. In the game, he was a former marine who became one of the founding members of the W.L.F., after rebelling against FEDRA’s rule in Seattle. In the series, we see that he was originally a FEDRA sergeant until he betrayed them for the W.L.F., clearly as part of a pre-established agreement between both parties. He also recruits a FEDRA soldier to his cause in the process.
We see that soldier later in this episode, when Isaac is violently interrogating a Seraphite prisoner on their attack plans. In the game, we see Isaac make a similar interrogation before being interrupted by Abby. The scene ends right before he would have met Abby, so there’s still a chance that we’ll see a continuation of this scene in the future.
Ellie and Dina’s journey through Seattle
The Last of Us Part II players might remember that the game has a memorable semi-open world level called Downtown located in Seattle. While the TV series doesn’t depict Downtown Seattle with nearly as wide a scope, we do get a brief glimpse at familiar imagery from the game. We see Weston’s Pharmacy from The Last of Us: Left Behind and The Last of Us Part II, in a scene where Dina finds and uses a bunch of pregnancy tests.
Later on, we see both Ellie and Dina remark on the many rainbow-themed murals and pieces of art they find during their journey. They don’t know this, given the unfathomable loss of culture that has occurred in the years following the fungal apocalypse, but these are obviously LGBT+-themed pride flags and assorted queer imagery decorating the city streets. In the game, we see Ellie and Dina make similar puzzled remarks when they encounter sapphic novels and pride-themed crosswalks.
Eventually, we see Ellie and Dina stop at a music store. This leads into one of the game’s most iconic moments: Ellie finds a guitar, preserved in its case with what appears to be humidity-controlling packs, and plays Take on Me by a-ha. These humidity-controlling packs are original to the series, serving to explain why Ellie's guitar is in pitch-perfect condition. She eventually serenades Dina, and it’s clear that the latter recognises and finally accepts her feelings for Ellie here. That’s just bad timing, considering what happens next.
Infected, Seraphites, and W.L.F., oh my!
This episode more or less follows the main beats of Seattle Day One from The Last of Us Part II with few changes or additions. Ellie and Dina do end up at a W.L.F. radio station in search of Abby only to find the people there massacred by Seraphites, who have already fled the scene. More W.L.F. agents show up as backup, chasing Ellie and Dina into the subway tunnels, where they run into Clickers and Infected.
In the game, this was a much slower burn. Players would have to stealth through the subway tunnels before they’re met with the horde, but the series instantly puts pedal to the metal by having Infected instantly chase Ellie and Dina out of the tunnels. Once they’re out, they arrive at an iconic location: the theater, which serves as Ellie and Dina’s base of operations while they’re in Seattle.
Things flow a little differently from this point onwards. In the game, Ellie’s helmet was broken in the subway, leading to Dina worrying over her inhaling spores. In the series, spores do not exist (yet), so Ellie gets bitten by an Infected instead. The end result is the same: Ellie reveals that she’s immune to the cordyceps infection, only Dina is a lot slower to believe her in the series. Eventually, the two become romantically entangled (this also happens much earlier in the game), and find their next target: a nearby hospital, where one of Joel’s killers awaits them.
Seattle Day Two begins next week
The events of Seattle Day One do not see Ellie come face-to-face with any of Joel’s killers, but the same can’t be said for Seattle Day Two. Next week, we should see Ellie encounter Nora in a W.L.F. hospital, if the series continues its faithful adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.
That’s it for now! Check out our coverage of The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 3: The Path here, and stay tuned for more Easter eggs and references from upcoming episodes.
