Exploring all of HBO’s The Last of Us Teaser Trailer Easter Eggs

Now that we’ve finally got a look at HBO’s The Last of Us Teaser Trailer, let’s go in and crack open some Easter Eggs!

The first teaser trailer for HBO’s The Last of Us series has finally dropped. Although many fans were eagerly hoping for some news of the show on The Last of Us Day (Outbreak Day) due to only seeing a handful of stills previously, no one could have anticipated what a fantastic jam-packed trailer our eyeballs were treated to.

As many TLOU enthusiasts have been doing across the globe, let’s break down the trailer while exploring some of its Easter Eggs ripped straight from the game.

• The Last of Us Part 1 Secrets: Players Can Find Out How Much Joel Weighs

HBO’s The Last of Us Trailer Soundtrack

Straight off the bat, we are hit right in the face with a whopper of an Easter Egg before we even get to the meat and potatoes. The 1951 song “Alone & Forsaken,” by Hank Williams is used as the soundtrack of the trailer but it was also played via a cassette Ellie found in the car scene with her and Joel in the Pittsburgh chapter just before they got their asses ambushed in The Last of Us game.

Just in case you can’t remember 10 years ago, and honestly, who can, the song was also featured during Gamescom 2012 when The Last of Us trailer was released.

When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light

As Joel is walking along the streets of what looks to be a quarantine zone, we see some people have begun to paint over a red Firefly symbol as well as writing that states “When you’re lost in the darkness”. This is a nod to the Fireflies from both Last of Us games who were a revolutionary group against military oppression and used the saying as its mantra. It was Firefly Marlene, who we also see later on in the trailer, that asked Joel if he’d smuggle ‘precious cargo’ for the group out of the city, and of course, the cargo turned out to be Ellie and the rest, as they say, is history.

Joel’s Broken Watch

Any The Last of Us fan will tell you how their heart was left in pieces due to that Sarah scene. In the game, Sarah buys her dad, Joel, a watch for his birthday and they playfully share a joke about how she got the money for it. Later that night and while all hell breaks loose as they try and escape the city, Sarah is shot and killed by an army soldier which also breaks Joel’s watch at the same time.

In the new HBO teaser trailer, we get a glimpse of Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) watch with a crack in it, providing a callback to the game where the watch symbolizes Joel and Sarah’s timeless love and also Joel’s survivor’s guilt.

Ellie in Chains

Only 15 seconds into the trailer, we see someone in chains around their feet. Although we don’t see a face to accompany the scene, we do see a pair of converse and who do we know from the game that loves their Chucks? Ellie of course. This scene is very likely to be an Easter Egg from the Winter Chapter in The Last of Us where Ellie is kidnapped by David while out hunting who then wants to turn her into his “little pet” before chopping her up for food.

Joel, Ellie and Tess – The Great Escape

We also see Joel, Ellie and Tess in a tunnel huddled together in the teaser trailer as beams from the soldier’s spotlights frantically search for them. This is another important part taken from the game where the threesome has escaped from the Quarantine Zone in the hopes of getting Ellie to the Capitol Building to fulfill the deal with the Fireflies but, of course, nothing is ever that easy in The Last of Us and it looks like it’ll be the same in the TV show too.

Ellie and Riley on the Carousel

This was a little bit of a surprise to get a taste of the Left Behind DLC from The Last of Us but very much welcomed in the otherwise grim teaser. In a short but blissful moment halfway through the trailer, we see Ellie and Riley riding on a Carousel – providing a very brief period of joy for the twosome. In the DLC, we see the two teenagers in an abandoned mall where they get a carousel to work and spend some time actually having some fun and telling jokes. I can’t wait to see how this scene plays out in the show!

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Bill’s sexuality revealed?

Although we never really know if Bill is gay or not in the game, it is somewhat implied that he might. Not only did Ellie sneak a porn magazine full of naked men from Bill’s place but there was also the notion that Bill’s friend Frank, who was found hanging in one of the houses, could have been his boyfriend.

At around the one-minute mark of the trailer, we see what looks to be two men in suits holding hands at a dinner table. This would likely be a memory throwback given that their clothes look far too clean to be living in post-apocalyptic times but also we know that Bill lived alone when Joel and Ellie visit him. Either way, this would be a really cool and interesting avenue to explore as Bill’s previous life before the Outbreak has been left mostly untouched.

Even though this new teaser trailer is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s yet to be shown and experienced, we have gotten so much so far! 2023 cannot come soon enough and until we have an actual set date for the show to release next year, I hope HBO provides many many more trailers and inside juice regarding the series.