Did you catch the classic grunge hit, as well as some other Easter eggs, during The Last of Us’ Season 2 premiere yesterday (April 13)?
The second season of the video game adaptation officially launched yesterday on the streaming service Max. This next set of episodes will be inspired by the events in the game The Last of Us Part II, which came out in 2020, and the setting of the story takes place five years after the first season in Jackson, Wyoming.
Ellie Blasts a Classic Grunge Song During the Episode
There’s a particular scene during the episode that takes place in Ellie’s room, and Nirvana‘s cover of Shocking Blue’s “Love Buzz” blasts on the stereo while she cleans her gun at a workbench.
Nirvana, ‘Love Buzz’
The camera also pans over other parts of her room, where you can see a collection of cassette tapes, some vinyl records hanging on her wall, the cover of The White Stripes‘ 1999 eponymous debut on a shelf and a copy of Nirvana’s 1993 album In Utero in the background while Ellie speaks to Dina.
The creators of The Last of Us must really be into Nirvana, as a bit of their final song recorded with Kurt Cobain in 1994, “You Know You’re Right,” plays during the trailer for the second season of the show.
Thus, Nirvana’s first-ever single plays during the first episode, and their last-ever single plays during the trailer — those are some fun rock Easter eggs incorporated into such a huge show.
READ MORE: Rock Songs That Became More Popular After Being Featured in TV Shows + Movies
We’ve seen some songs really surge in popularity in the last few years on TikTok thanks to some television series, especially Stranger Things. It would be great to see Nirvana go viral again thanks to The Last of Us.
‘The Last of Us’ Also Features Pearl Jam Easter Eggs
Those who have played The Last of Us Part II may have also noticed several Pearl Jam Easter eggs incorporated into the game. There is a scene where Joel sings and plays the band’s 2013 song “Future Days” on an acoustic guitar for Ellie.
Although that scene didn’t make it into the first episode of the new season of the show, the episode was titled “Future Days” in homage to it. Plus, the band’s deep cut “All or None” played during one of the episodes of Season 1.
Additionally, there a Pearl Jam poster hangs on Ellie’s wall in the game, and there’s another scene that takes place later in the game in Seattle where a poster for Pearl Jam’s 2013 album Lightning Bolt is on display in an abandoned store.
Stay tuned to see if any other rock references make it into the coming episodes.
