There is little doubt that The Last of Us Episode 7 had viewers completely mesmerized by Ellie and Riley's sweet yet tragic story. However, Left Behind also featured some cool Easter Eggs. Early on, the HBO series briefly referenced the original game by placing the Naughty Dog logo in the most unexpected place.
In The Last of Us Episode 7, Joel regained consciousness and Ellie managed to bring him into an abandoned house. Although he insists that she should leave him and return to Tommy, she refuses and tries to find something to help with his stab wound. As Ellie goes through the house, she remembers her time at FEDRA military school where she was with Riley Abel.
In the flashback, Ellie gets bullied by another girl who claims she can't fight because Riley has left FEDRA. The furious Ellie attacks the girl and is immediately reprimanded for her actions. However, instead of punishing her, Captain Kwong gives her two options: she could choose the path of a grunt (represented by his mug) or go straight (symbolized by his keys). Determined not to be pushed around by her peers, Ellie chooses the keys.
We only see the keys for a couple of seconds but there's something awesome attached to Captain Kwong's keys. The key chain is actually the logo of Naughty Dog, the studio that developed The Last of Us video games.
Interestingly, The Last of Us Episode 7 also featured a reference to a different Naughty Dog title. The mall scene also revealed that Riley has been hiding out in a Macho Nacho food stall. In addition to being a near-perfect rendering of the same stall in the Left Behind DLC, it's a subtle reference to Uncharted 4's Elena who had previously worked at a Macho Nacho.
The Last of Us Episode 7 is titled Left Behind. It is now streaming on HBO Max.
Related: The Last of Us Episode 7 Highlights Ellie and Riley's Sweet and Tragic Story
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