Warning! This article contains spoilers for both The Last of Us episode 4 and the original game.
The Last of Us episode 4 includes six moments that audiences need to remember, which will be very important to the show's future. The fourth episode of HBO's video game adaptation took Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to Kansas City as they travel across the country. It is through the detour in the story that The Last of Us takes a break from showing the horrors of the infected zombie-like beings that now plague the world and keep the focus on the human conflicts that exist in this world.
While The Last of Us features plenty of departures from the Naughty Dog games they are based on, they still provide an excellent baseline for where the series' story and its characters are ultimately going. The Last of Us episode 4 is loaded with Easter eggs to various moments from the games, but it also includes a few notable moments that foreshadow what is to come. Some are more obvious than others as they connect to essential parts of the video game, but hints of significant changes are also included. That is why these The Last of Us episode 4 moments are worth remembering for the future.
6 Ellie's Pun Book In The Last of Us Episode 4 Connects To Riley
The inclusion of Ellie's pun book in The Last of Episode 4 might seem like a harmless, sweet, and fun prop to include in the series. However, there is much more to the puns than meets the eye. In addition to being a way for Ellie to show her younger sense of humor, it is one of the most important moments in The Last of Us episode 4 because it connects to Riley. Riley is a character that has been referenced already in the series, and she is an old friend of Ellie's who dies shortly before the events of the show.
Ellie's pun book connects to Riley in The Last of Us because Riley is the one who gives it to Ellie in the games. Including "No Pun Intended: Volume Too" in the series is a good opportunity for the show to foreshadow their relationship and how Ellie continues to carry part of Riley with her. The games explored that Riley was more than just a friend to Ellie during their time in Boston. Riley was her first crush, and they were both infected at the same time - with Ellie surviving the matter.
5 The Last of Us Episode 4 Hints At Tommy's Life After The Fireflies
Another important The Last of Us episode 4 moment comes with the tease of Tommy's life after the time jump. It was already established that he was working with the group in Wyoming and that this was where Joel was heading to look for him. The episode includes more conversations between Joel and Ellie about this mission, where Ellie looks at a map of Wyoming trying to find out where he could be. She mentions a few cities around Cody, Wyoming, that could be where he is located, but it is Jackson, Wyoming, in the games. The most important detail of The Last of Us' future is the tease that Tommy quit the Fireflies.
The mention by Joel that his brother is no longer working for the Fireflies sets up Tommy's new life. In The Last of Us games, Tommy has joined a new community in Jackson when Joel finally finds him. This includes Tommy meeting the love of his life, Maria, and getting married. The Last of Us episode 4 sets up this portion of Tommy's life by teasing he has left the Fireflies at long last. It also puts Tommy in the right place where he can eventually give Joel and Ellie the location of the Fireflies lab in Colorado.
4 Ellie Shooting Her Gun In The Last of Us Episode 4 Teases Her Future
There is also plenty of foreshadowing in The Last of Us episode 4 thanks to Ellie's gun. She took a pistol from Bill and Frank's house at the end of The Last of Us episode 3, and she is quickly put in a position to use it when one of the Hunters attacks Joel. Ellie winds up shooting the attacker, but Joel steps in to make sure he is responsible for killing the man. This is followed by a mention from Joel that it is unfair that Ellie has to know what it is like to harm another person in this way at such a young age.
Seeing Ellie shoot her gun in The Last of Us episode 4 teases her future in the show and her willingness to resort to violence. It is quite clear that shooting this Hunter is something that still rattles Ellie and makes her emotional, but her continued exposure to life outside the Quarantine Zone and events that happen later in her life will continue to harden her personality. Bella Ramsey's character will be very familiar with violence when The Last of Us season 2 happens.
3 The Last of Us Episode 4's Cracked Floor Sets Up Bloaters
Another important moment in The Last of Us episode 4 comes with the cracked floor in one of the Kansas City buildings. Kathleen and Perry are shown looking at the cracked floor and seeing it move, teasing that there is something underground. This is a very clear example of foreshadowing the arrival of Bloaters in The Last of Us. This alternate form of the infected is incredibly strong and rare, making it a massive threat to everyone in the Kansas City QZ.
The Bloater teased in The Last of Us episode 4 will not take very long to materialize, as this one is confirmed to emerge during episode 5. This is not likely to be the only time that the horrifying zombie form appears in the show, though. After The Last of Us teased the existence of Bloaters through one of Ellie's lines in episode 2, they will be a repeat threat that she and Joel encounter as they continue traveling to Wyoming.
2 The Last of Us Episode 4's Hints At A Big Game Twist With Ellie's Gun
One of The Last of Us episode 4's biggest pieces of foreshadowing appears to come with Ellie's history with guns. After she shoots the Hunter attacking Joel, she makes a remark that this is not the first time she's had to do that to someone. Joel later attempts to gain more intel on what Ellie meant by that, but she quickly shuts down and tells him she does not want to talk about it. Instead of these moments setting up an event that directly happened in the games, it appears that The Last of Us episode 4 is teasing another Ellie change in its future.
The Last of Us games never confirmed who Ellie's first kill was or really explored her history with guns before meeting Joel. Episode 4's moments emphasizing some importance to this part of Ellie's backstory puts a heartbreaking twist on the table. The Last of Us could reveal that Ellie killed Riley after she got infected and killed her before she fully turned into a zombie. The games only showed them leaving the mall together after they were both bitten and did not reveal how Riley died. It now seems reasonable that Ellie may have killed Riley, making The Last of Us episode 4's moments about Ellie's past very important.
1 The Last of Us Episode 4 Introduce Henry & Sam
The Last of Us episode 4 introducing Henry and Sam is also a big moment that will impact the show's future. They enter the story as Kathleen and the Hunters seek Henry, who sold information to FEDRA that led to Kathleen's brother's death. They are attempting to make it out of Kansas City and find Joel and Ellie asleep in a building at the end of The Last of Us episode 4. Their introduction in this fashion is a clear sign that they are going to play a much bigger role in future episodes.
Henry and Sam will not be enemies of Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us, as episode 5 should see the group bond as they attempt to safely make it out of Kansas City. However, the games point to how they will have a significant impact on Joel and Ellie's lives. The quartet of characters fight off various opponents and infected together in the games, but a tragic twist awaits the group later on. As a result, Henry and Sam are important to The Last of Us thanks to how they help reinforce the dangers that exist outside a QZ.
New episodes of The Last of Us releases every Sunday on HBO Max.