There’s a Hilarious Easter Egg in The Last of Us Season 2 Finale That You Missed

It’s hard to find joy in the world of HBO’s The Last of Us. After all, once the Cordyceps infection starts to spread, society breaks down, forcing the humans still around to give in to their primal instincts. Joel knows what bad people are capable of, so he tries to keep his travel partner, Ellie, on track by never indulging in her antics. Slowly but surely, though, she wears him down, and by the time Season 2 rolls around, he’s the cool father figure who loves to mess around. Unfortunately, the good times don’t last because Joel dies at the hands of a group of former Fireflies.

Joel’s death confirms that there’s little to no happiness to be found in the world, and even though Ellie tries to run from that fact for a while, it catches up to her in the Season 2 finale. She kills Mel, who’s pregnant, and loses Jesse shortly after when Abby arrives in the theater to end the threat to her friends. However, despite all the darkness, The Last of Us Season 2’s last episode finds the time to sneak in a hilarious Easter egg.

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The Last of Us Won’t Let Abby Find Peace at Home

After killing Owen and Mel, Ellie isn’t doing too hot. She’s starting to realize that her quest for revenge is taking her down a dark road, so when Tommy and Jesse suggest heading back to Jackson Hole, she’s all about it. Ellie isn’t happy that Abby gets to live, but the conflict in Seattle is too much for the small group to handle, and staying any longer likely means death. Ellie doesn’t get away scot-free, though, because Abby makes her way to the theater, shoots Jesse dead, and holds Tommy at gunpoint before turning the weapon on Ellie. Before The Last of Us can reveal the aftermath of Abby’s last shot, it cuts to black and shows what Abby was up to three days earlier.

With the Jackson Hole mission behind her, Abby is back to her routine as a member of the Washington Liberation Front, aka the WLF. She’s grabbing a quick power nap when Manny walks in and lets her know that Isaac wants to talk to them. However, Abby can’t just stand right up because she has a book on top of her, “Thieves of the City” by Ben Davidoff. The scene draws attention to the novel for a few seconds, teasing that there’s more to it than meets the eye.

There’s Something Wrong With Abby’s Book in The Last of Us Season 2

A quick Google search will not yield results for “Thieves of the City” because it is not a real book. What will come up is a book called City of Thieves by David Benioff about two young people living in Leningrad, Russia, during World War II, who have to find a dozen eggs after ending up at the wrong place at the wrong time. One of the book’s main selling points is that the two main characters are polar opposites but come to love each other after going through a traumatic experience. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a lot like Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us, and that’s not a coincidence because the game’s creator, Neil Druckmann, credits City of Thieves as one of his inspirations.

Druckmann appreciates the book so much that he includes it in The Last of Us Part II when Abby is sleeping on the couch. However, things are different in the live-action adaptation, with Abby reading a book that pays homage to Benioff’s work without outright using it. It’s possible HBO just wasn’t able to secure the rights to use City of Thieves, which is funny because Benioff is one of the creators of arguably the network’s biggest show of all time, Game of Thrones. But when money is involved, relationships only go so far, leaving HBO to create a story of its own that probably follows the same outline as the original but makes some big changes along the way.

The Last of Us Season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.

Did you make note of the book Abby is reading in The Last of Us Season 2 finale? Why do you think City of Thieves didn’t end up in the show? Let us know in the comments below!