The Last of Us viewers are only just noticing an incredible Easter egg

The Last of Us fans have just noticed a moment from the HBO show is a direct Easter egg to the game.

HBO is currently adapting the first half of The Last of Us Part II as part of the show’s second season. Before we delve into more detail, please consider yourselves spoiler warned for the show and the game.

If you remember back a few weeks ago on the show, a flashback cold open revealed Isaac Dixon’s origins as a FEDRA soldier who defected to the WLF.

The scene shows him killing his former FEDRA comrades by tossing two frag grenades into the transport truck, locking the door and blowing them up.

It’s a pretty memorable scene, and yet viewers are only just realising it’s a direct reference to something you can find in the game.

During Seattle Day 1 while playing as Ellie, she and Dina can find an old FEDRA truck littered with several corpses on the inside.

You can also find a note written by Isaac addressed to an unnamed FEDRA soldier. Isaac mentions that “everything is in place” to “take the FEDRA soldiers captive”, and that the soldier is free to join the WLF. Considering the note is found on a body inside the truck, he probably didn’t get to do that.

Obviously, that cold open from the show is an Easter egg for this bit from The Last of Us Part II. It does, however, divert slightly from Isaac’s origins.

The show clearly portrays Isaac as a soldier who defects to the WLF, while the game establishes him as never being a part of FEDRA.

Over on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, viewers have only just made the connection between the two moments in the show and game.

“Whoa, I didn’t make this connection when I first saw the scene,” wrote one comment on Reddit.

“Wow, as someone who did not play the games, this is a super cool connection to see,” wrote another.

“This just tells me I need another play through, because I didn't make the connection,” wrote a third comment.

This season of the show certainly warrants another playthrough of the game once it's over, so you can go back and find all the references the show made.

The Last of Us Season 2 finale airs this Sunday, 25 May.