The Last of Us easter eggs: heartbreaking detail in Episode 6 you might have missed

The Last of Us is more than half-way through its first season and is barrelling towards its conclusion.

HBO aired the sixth episode - titled Kin - on Sunday (19 February), with it arriving in the UK via Sky Atlantic and Now TV on Monday (20 February). It saw Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) arriving at the peaceful community of Jackson, Wyoming.

Joel reunited with his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and new characters such as Maria (Rutina Wesley), a leader and important figure in the town, made their debut. Fans have also speculated that a major future character might have been subtly introduced.

Covering the entire Fall section of the game, the episode featured a number of easter eggs that might have had fans of the original Naughty Dog works pointing at the screen. It also featured scenes from the game recreated faithfully.

Here are some easter eggs you might have spotted - and others you might have missed - from The Last of Us Episode 6:

The Dam

In HBO’s The Last of Us, Ellie and Joel pass a hydroelectric dam while continuing on their search for Tommy. Fans of the game will likely recognise it as the setting for a large part of the action.

In the game it is at the dam where the protagonists stumble into Tommy and meet Maria for the first time. The show instead moved the reunion moment to the town of Jackson itself.

Wallpaper in Ellie’s room

The house where Joel and Ellie stay in the HBO series is clearly styled on a very different house from the game. In the Naughty Dog original, Ellie flees after overhearing Joel trying to convince Tommy to take Ellie to the firefly base at the University.

Joel and Tommy give chase and find her in an abandoned house. From that point on the scene plays out in much the same way, with Joel opening the door and finding Ellie sitting on the window seat, reading the diary.

The arguement - including the famous “you have no idea what loss is” - plays out in identical fashion. Even the stripped wallpaer on the wall of the room echoes the design from the game.

Heartbreaking introduction

But perhaps the most heartbreaking easter egg of all came in the form of Shimmer. After Joel and Tommy leave to go to the bar and have a gruff Texas catch-up, Ellie is introduced to a pony in the stables.

Maria tells her that the young horse’s name is Shimmer. For fans who have played The Last of Us Part II the name might just ring a bell.

Shimmer is Ellie’s horse in the game and is the one that she and Dina take with them on their quest to Seattle following the inciting incident of the sequel (no spoilers about that here). It is a nice little nod to the future of the story.

Hopefully Shimmer has a better fate in the HBO series than in the games...

Did you spot any other easter eggs in the episode?