Warning: spoilers ahead for The Lasts of Us episode 7.
Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and her closest friend Riley (Storm Reid) embarked on a trip that ended in fear in The Last of Us episode 7.
Yet, it looks like an Easter Egg was sneaked in that relates back to the first episode, perhaps revealing the story’s trajectory without many people realising it.
As Riley, who has joined the Fireflies, slips Ellie out of Fedra military school to go to the empty mall, a flashback tells how she endured the bite from an infected, which led to her discovering that she was immune to Cordyceps.
Despite arguing about Riley’s decision to leave the Boston QZ with the resistance organisation, they both end up admitting their romantic affections for one other by sharing a sweet kiss outside the shopping centre.
In a happy moment, Ellie and Riley ride a carousel while the song Just Like Heaven plays in the background… Yet, a hidden code revealed in the season premiere has prompted viewers to believe that the music chosen may have been a hint for the episode’s finale.
Shortly after smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie first meet, she deciphers the code that he has on his radio in his room within the Boston QZ, finding out that if a music from the 1980s is playing, it signals ‘danger’.
This was proven in episode three, when Joel and his smuggling accomplice Tess (Anna Torv) met Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) for the first time, and decided to collaborate to transfer products to and from the quarantine zone.
Frank devises a code for the radio, with 60s music indicating no new stock, 70s indicating fresh stock, and 80s indicating danger.
Just Like Paradise, the song playing when Ellie and Riley were on the merry-go-round, was released in 1987, maybe foreshadowing to the peril they would encounter at the conclusion of their mall excursion, when an infected assaults them.
This Easter Egg was discovered by Reddit user @myboyatc, who wrote: ‘While Riley and Ellie ride the carousel, the tune playing is “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure. This song debuted in 1987.
‘The music code amongst Bill, Frank, Joel, and Tess used 80s music as the code indicating danger. Ellie and Riley are completely oblivious of the danger lurking in the mall.’
As they initially entered the shopping centre, they heard A-Take ha’s On Me, which was released in 1984.
As joyful as the 80s songs are, they portend dread and sorrow in the world of The Last Of Us.
After all, the flashback sequence in episode seven finishes with both Ellie and Riley getting bitten and believing their fates are set.
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW.
Source My Celebrity Life.