The saddest Easter egg in A Quiet Place II might dredge up painful memories, but it also sets up the franchise's future. In John Krasinski's post-apocalyptic world, Earth is occupied by blind monsters who hunt purely on sound. The population is forced into silence, and those who can't keep quiet become prey. The mime community is thriving. This concept is perfectly demonstrated via A Quiet Place's opening, in which the Abbott family are scavenging a local store for supplies. Their young son Beau picks up a rocket toy, as children do, and when the plaything begins beeping and whirring, Beau is swiftly devoured by the nearest extra-terrestrial nastie.
Though A Quiet Place II is predominantly set after the original movie, the sequel's first scene is a flashback to the very beginning of the apocalypse. Fans finally see how the monsters initially attacked our humble planet, and the carnage they created as panicking citizens wildly made all kinds of noise. Comprised of several long one-take shots, A Quiet Place II's intro revisits the town from the beginning of the first movie when life was still normal, allowing John Krasinski to reprise his on-screen role before slinking back behind the camera.
Before everything goes sideways, Krasinski's Lee picks up some oranges for Marcus' upcoming baseball game. Not only does he get them from the same store his family scavenge in the first movie, but the rocket toy responsible for Beau's death is clearly visible on the shelves. Lee passes the item, naturally paying it no mind, and goes about his daily business for a few moments more before the attack commences. This Easter egg will inevitably regurgitate that sense of disbelief and shock audiences felt when A Quiet Place boldly killed a child within the first 15 minutes. It's an unpleasant callback to the first movie's most horrifying moment, and a subtle hint of the tragedy to come in the Abbott family's future.
But A Quiet Place II's rocket reference isn't merely a cheap tug on the audience's emotions. The toy's placement is a timely visual reminder of the stakes in a landscape where noise can get you killed. Krasinski is sending viewers a clear message here: no one is ever safe. Moreover, the rocket gives some idea of how Earth went from baseball games and bus rides to blood and barbarism. The rocket is one of precious few connecting threads between the normal world and the post-apocalypse, commenting on how quickly everything can turn upside-down. It's a message that takes an even more pertinent meaning given recent events in real life.
The rocket's return in A Quiet Place II could also be interpreted as a continuation of themes at the very heart of Krasinski's story. So often in A Quiet Place, small actions create larger, unforeseen ripples. Regan giving Beau the toy leads to his death, Lee trying to improve Regan's hearing inadvertently creates a weapon against the monsters, Lee's final words to Regan define her arc in the sequel, etc. That Lee comes so close to the rocket toy in A Quiet Place II's flashback is another of these fine margins. Had Krasinski's character accidentally knocked the rocket over and broke it, or placed it onto a different shelf, or perhaps even bought it there and then, he might've averted his son's death. Lee was mere inches from preventing the worst day of his life, and that only makes Beau's death even more tragic.
The rocket effectively triggers A Quiet Place II's entire story. The toy leads to Beau's death, Regan feels immense guilt, her father absolves her, and now Regan is inspired to take her monster-beating method to other survivors, potentially making her Earth's salvation. Beau predicted a rocket ship would be how they all escape, perhaps he was right. In any case, it makes sense that such an important, albeit unassuming, item would have a presence in A Quiet Place II.