Why The DVD Sarah Borrows In The Last Of Us Episode 1 Means So Much To Hard-Core Fans
Contains spoilers for "The Last of Us" Season 1, Episode 1
Video game adaptations are always rife with Easter eggs that only the most eagle-eyed of fans will pick up, though some of these nods can be a bit more overt than others. In the 1995 "Mortal Kombat" movie, the iconic line "get over here" is lifted directly from the video game. Likewise, 1993's "Super Mario Bros." movie is filled with references to the video game, like a windup bomb-omb, boots that allow the protagonists to launch into the air, and even a Devolution Gun that looks surprisingly similar to the Super Nintendo's Super Scope peripheral.
Although HBO's "The Last of Us" definitely sets itself apart from the above example, it isn't without its fair share of Easter eggs inspired by its source material, the immensely popular and critically acclaimed game of the same name. Both the video game and the television show highlight a world that has been ravaged by a fungal infection that causes humans to become aggressive and bloodthirsty before slowly being transformed into fungal colonies. However, unlike other shows in the zombie genre, "The Last of Us" has some semblance of technology and organization, and most people and groups are morally gray as opposed to the righteous and noble contrasting against mustache-stroking villains. Luckily, HBO's "The Last of Us" is definitely a love letter to the video game series, which means there are plenty of clever nods to fans.
The HBO show borrows a DVD from its source material
As anybody who has played "The Last of Us" can tell you, the TV series lifts many scenes directly from the video game, including several of those in that harrowing first episode that sets the pace for the brutal world viewers can expect going forward. The show takes its time to develop this part of the game by showing viewers what Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker), get up to the day she dies.
It starts off with breakfast, and it is established that it is Joel's birthday. Sarah is then shown pilfering some money from Joel's dresser, but it is later revealed that she is using it to repair Joel's neglected watch. After she gets back from her errand, Sarah dutifully goes to visit their neighbors, where she asks to borrow a DVD. She then goes home to wait for Joel to return in order to celebrate his birthday with the watch and the DVD, but for hard-core fans of the video game, the name of the movie Sarah borrows should be ringing a bell.
The movie Sarah selects is the focus of a scene in The Last of Us Part II
When Joel gets home, Sarah gives him the repaired watch and reveals the borrowed DVD, the latter of which Joel quickly snatches from her hand. When the camera shifts, viewers can see that the movie is called "Curtis and Viper 2," which has a tank-topped man standing back to back with a ninja wielding a samurai sword as the cover art. And while this movie doesn't actually exist, it's a clever reference to a scene and dialogue in "The Last of Us Part II," as illustrated by this clip on YouTube.
As Dina and Ellie are out scavenging, the former asks the latter what her plans are for the evening. Ellie replies that she hopes to watch "Curtis and Viper 2" with Joel, adding that both she and Joel are big fans of action movies from the '80s and that she has been wanting to watch this particular movie for a while. Although this scene occurs far in the future from where the television show begins, it is still a great nod for long-time fans of the video games. Whether or not Joel and Ellie will ever watch this DVD together in the series is debatable, but at least there is yet another consistency between HBO's "The Last of Us" and its inspiration.