Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode six, ‘Kin’, as well as the Naughty Dog video game series.
It’s almost hard to believe, but HBO’s The Last of Us is now two-thirds of the way through its nine-episode run. Joel and Ellie finally arrived in Jackson, which fans familiar with the source material understand the significance of.
Given that you’re here for The Last of Us Part II references, we can safely assume you’re one of these folks – but in case you’re not, we’re going in on spoilers hard and fast from the next paragraph – so turn back now if you’d rather the games or the show tell you what’s coming next.
By the time The Last of Us finishes its run, we know that Joel and Ellie will be turning tail and returning to this safe haven in a dangerous world to start what will be relatively peaceful lives, apocalypse considered.
The magic in this episode, of course, is that the television series was released after the first two entries in the video game franchise. So, while only the first game is being adapted, there was ample opportunity to nod to a few things in and around Joel and Ellie’s new home as depicted in the second game.
Joel’s sheep rancher fantasy
Joel and Ellie spend a night under the stars en route to Jackson, and share what they are looking forward to doing after Ellie’s blood provides a solution to the cordyceps infection. Joel’s ideal post-cordyceps world involves him living on a quiet ranch and raising sheep. Of course, this fantasy tragically never quite comes to pass for Joel, but it does for Ellie and Dina towards the end of The Last of Us Part II.
Ellie’s astronaut fantasy
Ellie, meanwhile, had slightly different plans to begin with. She shares her fascination about the moon with Joel, having lived vicariously through books she had read about space exploration in the Boston Quarantine Zone’s library, expressing particular appreciation for real-world astronaut Sally Ride.
While Ellie never quite makes it to space, an endearing flashback sequence in The Last of Us Part II sees Joel take Ellie to a museum in which there is a space exhibit, and the pair play make-believe with a space shuttle.
A likely sighting of Dina
While Joel and Ellie are having a hard-earned meal in Jackson’s cafeteria (which also looks like the event hall where the dance scene in the second game takes place), after spending three months on the road, Ellie can’t help but be vulgar towards anyone and everyone around her. She observes someone in the back of the room watching her, so she decides to spook her.
The camera cuts to the girl, who appears to be roughly Ellie’s age and certainly matches Dina’s description. The actress, Paolina Van Kleef, appears in the credits as ‘Staring Girl’, but come on. Who are we kidding?
Ellie meets her horse, Shimmer
When Joel and Ellie are being shown around Jackson, naturally that means a trip to the stables. Ellie is immediately drawn to a foal, to whom she is introduced as Shimmer. The Last of Us Part II fans know that over the next five years, this horse ends up being Ellie’s trusted mount that she takes along on her patrols and eventually to Seattle.
