author: Kristian Smoszna
Deep Dive: HBO's The Last of Us vs. The Game - Tidbits, Details, Similarities and Differences
HBO's The Last of Us is filled to the brim with references and easter eggs from the game. Still, there are also differences between the two, which in many ways, however, make sense.
Table of Contents
- Deep Dive: HBO's The Last of Us vs. The Game - Tidbits, Details, Similarities and Differences
- Joel's age and date of birth
- Signs of impeding epidemic
- Movie for Joel
- Joel and Tess' relationship
- Mirror reflection
- Mortal Kombat 2
- Bill and Frank's storyline
Movie for Joel
In the HBO show, while visiting her neighbors (the Adlers), Sarah borrows the movie Curtis and Viper 2 from them to watch it with her dad on his birthday. The choice of the movie is not accidental, and its name also appeared in the original. Interestingly, this didn't happen in The Last of Us, but in the sequel.
The film is mentioned in the prologue of part two, when Ellie and Dina scour the destroyed homes right after they go on patrol. The main character's girlfriend asks her what her plans are for the night, and she replies that she wants to watch a movie with Joel. She also adds that she wants to watch Curtis and Viper 2, one of Joel's favorite movies. From the course of the story, we know, of course, that this plan failed.
Sarah's passion for soccer
Other elements of Sarah's room decor are prizes from tournaments. The game shows that Sarah was an avid soccer player. This is evidenced by the shirt with the number 14 (it was folded in the original, and hung on the door handle of a large wardrobe in the remake). On the chest of drawers, in turn, we can find various trophies – one of them awarded to the player who made the greatest progress in a given season. In the series, we can also see some trophies, but not on display. They rest on the window in Sarah's room, partially covered by a curtain.
Familiar faces
The actors playing Joel and Ellie in the game participated in the HBO production, but they do not play the same characters. The creators themselves reported in a conversations with ew.com that "Ashley Johnson is in her 30s and clearly not gonna play a 14-year-old girl, but it was important for us to find space for them [in the show] because they matter. It's not just about fan service. It's a dramatic genetic connection between the game and the show. They needed to be there." However, there's one actress who turned out to be the perfect candidate for the same role. Merle Dandridge played Marlene in both the game and the show.
