Some promises echo louder than the chaos around them. One of the most heartfelt moments in HBO’s The Last of Us Season 1 wasn’t a gunshot or a clicker scream. It was Joel quietly promising Ellie that he’d teach her to play guitar. It was subtle, almost throwaway. But fans—especially those who played The Last of Us Part II on PlayStation—heard it loud and clear.
And now, with Season 2 tuning up its emotional strings, everyone’s wondering: is it finally time for Ellie to strum her first chord?
The Quiet Power of a Simple Promise
In the aftermath of cordyceps hell, promises are rare currency. They carry weight, meaning, and sometimes, music.
Joel, usually gruff and guarded, opened up in that now-iconic moment from Season 1. He told Ellie about music, about guitars, and about the joy they used to bring. You could almost hear a phantom melody playing between them.
That wasn’t just exposition. It was foreshadowing—and a whole lot of heart.
In the game The Last of Us Part II, Joel gifts Ellie a guitar. He plays Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” for her. It’s tender, raw, and unforgettable. That moment becomes a touchstone for Ellie. Music becomes her thread to Joel, to memory, and even to grief. So the guitar isn’t just a prop. It’s a symbol.
But here’s the snag: the HBO show timeline starts in 2003. “Future Days” came out in 2013. In this world, Pearl Jam’s emotional ballad never existed. So what now?
So, What Song Could Fill the Void?
The showrunners face a fascinating challenge. They can’t use “Future Days”—at least, not without rewriting time itself.
That means they’ll need a replacement. And not just any tune. It needs to be a song that hits like a gut punch, something intimate and fittingly anachronistic. It needs to be old enough to exist in the show’s new 2003 timeline. But it also needs to feel like Joel and Ellie.
The original game’s choice was so perfect, fans might balk at any substitute. But that just raises the stakes in the best way. If Ellie does pick up a guitar in Season 2, what she plays will matter.
A lot.
More Than Just Music
Let’s pause for a second. Because while we all get excited about Easter eggs and lore, this is bigger than game references.
The guitar matters because:
- It represents hope. Music means joy, creativity, and the stuff that makes us human.
- It anchors Joel and Ellie’s bond. It’s about trust, time, and a softer future.
- It echoes trauma and healing. In the game, every strum carries emotional weight.
So when we finally see Ellie strum a few chords—maybe alone in a cabin, maybe around a fire—it won’t just be pretty. It’ll break hearts.
Jackson: Strings Attached?
We’re now in Jackson, Wyoming—the snowy settlement that’s as close to paradise as this world gets. If you blink, you might miss a detail or two.
So here’s a tip: keep your eyes peeled for a guitar in the background. Propped on a wall. Leaning against a bunk. Sitting in a corner, waiting for its cue.
Because if the show wants to echo the game’s emotional trajectory, this is the place to start. The town offers a rare sense of safety. It’s where characters grow, reflect, and rebuild. It’s the perfect place for Ellie to learn something that isn’t about survival.
And let’s be honest—after all the loss, violence, and tension, we’d all love a quiet scene. Just a girl and her guitar.
Fan Radar: Already Buzzing
Fans are already tuned in (pun completely intended). Reddit threads, TikToks, and Discord servers are flooded with speculation.
Will Joel gift her the guitar in Episode 1? Will she find one by accident? Will we get a moment of musical magic mid-season?
Nobody knows. But the excitement is very real.
Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann: No Strangers to Symbolism
The creators behind the show aren’t just winging it. Neil Druckmann, the game’s original writer and co-creator of the show, knows exactly how much the guitar means.
In interviews, both he and Mazin have spoken about balancing faithfulness with adaptation. They tweak details—like timeline shifts—but keep the emotional core intact.
So it’s hard to imagine they’d leave this thread dangling.
The guitar’s arrival might be delayed, or different, but it’s coming. The emotional groundwork has been laid. Joel’s soft smile when talking about music? That wasn’t filler. That was setup.
A String to Hold Onto
Season 2 is gearing up to be a heavy ride. We know it. The story gets darker. Stakes rise. Hard choices loom.
But this promise—this small, sweet thing—offers something rare in the TLOU universe: gentleness.
So whenever that guitar appears, it won’t just be a callback. It’ll be a lifeline.
Ellie might play something quiet. Something broken. Maybe she plucks a note or two. Maybe she struggles with chords. But whatever it sounds like, it’ll say more than words ever could.
In a show known for gut-wrenching moments, the soft ones sneak up on you. They hit differently.
So brace yourself. The guitar is coming. And when it does, Joel’s promise will echo louder than ever.
