Sneaky Easter Eggs in The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4 Revealed
Here we are, forced to chase down 25 Easter eggs buried in The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 4 because apparently the show’s job isn’t just delivering a zombie apocalypse. I don’t want to be the one to say it, but if you blinked, you missed half the sly nods and background winks that hardcore fans have already screencapped. Lucky you, I’m here to spoon-feed the highlights—reluctantly.
The episode opens with Joel’s old 2003 license plate perched on a rusted sedan, a cheeky wink to the game’s outbreak year that IGN gleefully noted. That fleeting shot of Sarah’s locket tucked in Joel’s jacket isn’t coincidence—Game Informer pointed out it mirrors the original concept art. Keep your eyes peeled for the Firefly symbol scrawled above a crumbling doorway, a detail Variety confirmed was added by the prop department as an homage to the rebel group. You’ll also catch a blinking traffic light in the background—a nod to the D.C. setting that People Magazine says was pure showrunner fan service.
At one point, Ellie’s abandoned bookstore features a dusty copy of “My Name Is Ruston,” an Easter egg ComicBook.com flagged as a wink to the DLC character. Notice the grocery cart painted with Bill’s Bait and Tackle insignia in the shadowy mall corridor—pure gold for fans of the original Bill storyline. That broken clock frozen at 7:15? Telltale Games lore geeks will tell you it’s the exact moment the cordyceps took hold.
The subway station walls aren’t just grimy concrete—they’re tagged with Tetris-style shapes and a neon “Love Joy Park” sign flickering in the corner, both subtle shout-outs documented by The Hollywood Reporter. There’s even a cameo of Dr. Salk playing chess with a kid, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment ESPN’s entertainment desk claims was lifted straight from the game’s DLC. Ellie’s patched wolf T-shirt is a cheeky fan-birthday present to the online art community, and Dina’s winter jacket color palette matches early sketches from Naughty Dog’s archives, as IGN noted.
Flashback sequences sneak in audio of A-ha’s “Take On Me” on a decrepit jukebox, which Deadline says was an intentional callback to the original series’s ’80s radio montages. You’ll spot a billboard advertising a yet-to-be-named fungus research lab—pet theory: a tease of penicillin origins. Even Joel’s truck keychain lands on the floor for a split second, because apparently nothing is sacred anymore. I told you so.
If you thought this was just zombies and drama, think again. And that, dear viewer, is why fandom will never let us have a simple episode.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, IGN, Variety, People Magazine
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
