The Last Of Us Episode 7 Pokes Fun At The Twilight Movies (Just Like The Game Did)

With its timeless story, fantastic graphics, and lasting impact on its medium, it often feels like Naughty Dog's "The Last Of Us" just came out. Then something like "Dawn of the Wolf Part 2" comes back around and reminds us that oh, yeah, 2013 was a full decade ago — and we were all still talking about the "Twilight" movies.

"The Last Of Us" hit shelves in June 2013, seven months after the last installment of the Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson-led vampire saga brooded its way into theaters. The game was in development for years before that though, during the height of the Stephenie Meyer book series and subsequent adaptations' fame. And with an outbreak day set in 2013 (as opposed to the 2003 apocalypse date on the HBO show), it makes sense that when the world of "The Last Of Us" ended for the video game characters, "Twilight" was still very much a thing.

The game includes a wry nod to the vampire romance series with a scene in which Ellie and Joel see a billboard for a movie called "Dawn of the Wolf Part 2." While it sounds like a horror movie, the poster image makes it clear that it's actually an angsty love story: In it, a generic-looking dark-haired girl in a jacket (a Bella Swan stand-in if ever I've seen one) leans against the chest of a wolfish teenage boy. "These posters are everywhere," Ellie says, curious about a part of the pop cultural zeitgeist that means nothing to her thanks to her post-apocalyptic upbringing. Joel tells Ellie he saw the movie right before outbreak day, and she very reasonably assumes it's a horror flick. "Does he totally gut her by the end?" she asks, and Joel responds, "Nobody gets gutted! It's a dumb teen movie."

"Dawn of the Wolf Part 2" is a clever nod to the ways the end of the world would preserve even the most random pop culture relics in metaphorical amber for future generations, but it's also a chance for the narrative to poke at Joel's wounds. When Ellie asks who dragged Joel to the movie, he says he doesn't know, but we know it must've been Sarah. It's one of several subtle examples of the ways in which he's completely closed himself off from her memory in order to hold it together.

Despite the fact that there was no "Twilight" type film series in 2003, HBO's take on the game also includes a quick nod to the blockbuster franchise. In this week's episode of "The Last of Us," Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and her friend Riley (Storm Reid) spend time together at an abandoned mall, and we can see the very same "Dawn of the Wolf Part 2" poster in a quick shot near an empty movie theater box office. This time, however, it doesn't look like Joel would've caught the film in theaters, as the poster and marquee both simply say "Coming Soon."

Given that the Dwayne Johnson-led movie, "The Rundown," was number one at the box office when the world ended for the HBO show, maybe "Dawn of the Wolf Part 2" would've been a hit. I guess we'll never know, but it's still a total delight to see the game Easter egg on full display, proving that werewolf-human love stories really are timeless.