HBO’s The Last Of Us Episode 4 Breakdown & Easter Eggs

HBO’s The Last Of Us Episode 4 is now streaming on HBO and HBO GO (HBO Max in the US). Check out our breakdown of Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3 here.

The Last Of Us, based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name developed by Naughty Dog exclusively for the PlayStation platforms, is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam. Production companies include PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.

The Last Of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heart-breaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

The cast includes Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker also star.

Courtesy of HBO Asia, we were lucky enough to be the only Malaysian media to participate in interviews with Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Merle Dandridge and Gabriel Luna. You can also check out our spoiler-free review of the entire season by heading over here.

Spoilers ahead:

The No Pun Intended Book

To lighten the mood, Ellie pulls out a book titled No Pun Intended and makes pun jokes to Joel.

This is an easter egg to The Last Of Us Left Behind DLC, when Ellie and Riley also reads a book with the same title and tell each other pun jokes.

Ellie Reads A Dirty Magazine

This whole scene is taken directly from the game.

Kathleen Is An Original Character Not From The Game

Melanie Lynskey plays Kathleen, who is a brand new character created for the HBO series. However, it looks like this will be a major character for the series, as she’s the leader of the group of rebels in Kansas City.

Henry And Sam Enters The Picture

At the end of the episode, Joel and Ellie are roughly woken up by meeting Henry and Sam at gunpoint. Henry is played by Lamar Johnson while Same is played by Keivonn Woodard.

Until next week, excelsior!