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Who knew a synth-pop hit from 1985 had the power to be so moving? Warning: Spoilers for The Last of Us, Season 2, Episode 4, “Day One,” ahead.
In “Day One,” the latest episode of The Last of Us, audiences got to witness a beautiful moment between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) as the two sought cover in an abandoned music store in Seattle, where they’ve arrived to seek revenge for the death of Joel (Pedro Pascal).
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While the pair awaited nightfall in order to make their advance on the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), the militia group to which Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her cohorts belong, they explored the space. Dina attempted to play the drums while Ellie thumbed through a collection of old records then made her way to the second floor, where a room full of guitars awaited her.
As Ellie looked around, it was clear that memories of Joel were flooding her mind. Especially when she sat down to quietly play a song, a slow, sweet version of the hit 1985 tune “Take on Me” by Norwegian band A-ha. For viewers, it was a touching moment—especially once Dina came into the room and was visibly moved by Ellie’s vulnerability in the moment. For the show’s creators and fans of the video game, it was a clever callback to a fan-favorite moment from The Last of Us Part II.
In Max’s making-of featurette at the end of the episode, “Inside Episode 4,” The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin reminds us that Ellie’s performance, more than just being an Easter egg for the video game, is also a callback to Season 1, when Joel offers to teach Ellie how to play the guitar, and she says “that would be great.”
“We find out that Joel did teach her how to play guitar,” says Mazin, “and he taught her really well. And Dina arrives and sits down. And this is a moment that is from the game directly.”
Co-creator/co-showrunner and game creator Neil Druckmann then shared that “It was optional in the game, [so] it was possible to miss it.” But players who did discover it went wild over the moment.
“It was such a fan favorite, and we loved it so much—me and Craig—we had to bring it over,” explained Druckmann.
“It’s a really beautiful performance, not just from Bella and how she’s playing it and singing… this very iconic song from A-ha. But a really beautiful performance by Izzy,” said Druckmann. “We get to see there’s something else going on. She’s having such a strong emotional reaction to seeing Ellie play this song.”
Merced described the scene as “very special. It was one of those days that just felt really magical and easy,” she said of shooting the music shop moment. “Bella played beautifully. I was serenaded the whole day? Come on, that’s… awesome.”
Liane Hentscher/HBO
The “Take on Me” option from the game also had a major fan in Kate Herron, who directed the episode. “I’m a massive fan of the game,” Herron explained, “and I was so happy to have ‘Take on Me’ in my episode because that’s, like, one of my favorite moments. Ellie is basically putting their heart on the line.”
Herron went on to explain that Ramsey already knows how to play guitar, “so that was a gift,” she said. “So Bella learned the song [and] that made such a massive difference I think.”
It’s also a beautiful way to memorialize Joel. When Dina remarks that Joel taught Ellie well in terms of how to play guitar, they smile and agree: “He did.”
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