Ellie’s song in The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 4 has a special connection to Joel (which fans might not have noticed)

In The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 4, a silent scene is more devastating than any gun battle. In the remains of a destroyed music shop, Ellie discovers a guitar—dirty, slightly out of tune, but deeply meaningful. She plays the chords to A-Ha's Take On Me and sings softly to Dina, her voice low and remote. To the average viewer, it could very well be a haunting remake of a classic '80s tune. But this scene? It's full of emotional baggage.

The game's fans probably sat up a bit straighter. This isn't just borrowed from The Last of Us Part II—it's a nearly one-to-one reproduction of Ellie's acoustic set in Jackson, where she plays the same song for Dina. Not merely fan service, this adaptation binds past and present. The song, the guitar, the performance—they all point to one individual: Joel.

Take On Me is more than a song in The Last of Us

The selection of Take On Me isn't an accident or a nostalgia play—it's complex. In the game, Joel instructs Ellie on how to play the guitar, imparting one of the few serene pleasures remaining in their shattered world. By the time Ellie performs this song to Dina, it's no longer about music. It's about memory. That guitar she holds? It used to belong to Joel. Each strum is a whisper of him. Each lyric is like a letter she never was able to send.

So when Ellie performs Take On Me on the show, it is a tribute—not to Dina or to the past, but to Joel himself. This musical moment turns a pop hit into a character device, one that says a lot about who Ellie is today and how much Joel's absence still shapes her.

Joel's presence in The Last of Us is felt without a single flashback

What's remarkable about this scene is the way it conveys Joel's presence without ever actually showing him. No flashback, no dream sequence, no awkward dialogue. Just music and a guitar. And yet, it suffices. That is the beauty of good symbolism. The camera pans on Ellie's face, her attention to the strings, her voice trembling ever so slightly. It's loss, it's remembrance, and it's love—all ensnared in a soft melody.

Joel may be out of the picture, but his shadow reaches into every aspect of Ellie's journey. His lessons to her and the music they shared are still as vibrant today. And this performance is evidence of that.

A seamless adaptation with emotional accuracy

This moment is taken directly from The Last of Us Part II, but it never feels out of place or forced. Rather, it is the perfect fit. The show doesn't just reference the game—it pays homage to it. The scene is quiet, but it's emotionally resonant in a way that action-heavy episodes can't quite keep up with. It's a turning point, not in terms of plot, not in terms of action, but tonally. It illustrates Ellie attempting to keep something good in a world that just keeps stripping things away.

By adapting this moment so precisely, the showrunners prove they understand the deeper layers of the source material. It's not about just replicating what fans love—it's about translating the feeling behind it.

Not just filler—A bridge between grief and growth

To some, a girl playing the guitar might seem like filler. But in a series like The Last of Us, nothing is ever just filler. Music has always been a means for Ellie to cope, to connect, and to keep going despite what she's lost. Her rendition of Take On Me is not merely an emotional outburst—it's a narrative connection. It bridges her past with Joel to her uncertain future with Dina. It also enriches her character without one line of exposition.

That's why this scene is so effective. It's subtle but incisive, soft but forceful – a moment of vulnerability that tells us everything about what Ellie has become.

Also read: The Last of Us Season 2: HBO drops release date updates for the upcoming chapter of its post-apocalyptic drama

Edited by Deebakar

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