Game Of Thrones’ Season Premiere Included A Reference To PlayStation Game The Last Of Us

Warning: The following post contains mild Game of Thrones spoilers.

As you’ve likely heard from, oh, I don’t know, everywhere, Game of Thrones kicked off its much-anticipated seventh season on Sunday night. You may have missed it during all the drama, intrigue, and bloodletting, but the most anticipated TV episode of the year actually featured a pretty blatant video game reference.

In the episode, entitled “Dragonstone,” Jaime Lannister drops a line from the acclaimed PlayStation exclusive The Last of Us, remarking to his sister/lover Cersei that “We’re the last of us.” The line comes at around the 22:30 mark if you want to track it down. Besides being the title of the game, The Last of Us actually has protagonist Joel utter the line “You know Ellie, we’re really the last of us” at one point.

The Last of Us writer Neil Druckmann certainly noticed the reference…

And no, this wasn’t just a coincidence – Game of Thrones showrunner David Benioff confirmed during an after-episode behind-the-scenes featurette that he intentionally included the line. He’d noticed fans comparing the physical similarities between Jaime Lannister and Joel online, and decided to slip the line in as a fun Easter egg. I’m not sure if the two characters really that alike, but there are some glancing similarities.

Interestingly, David Benioff wrote the 2008 historical fiction novel City of Thieves, about two young men trying to survive the World War II siege of Leningrad, which Druckmann has cited as a major influence on The Last of Us. So, the connections between Game of Thrones‘ head writer and The Last of Us go way back.

Game of Thrones season 7 is currently airing on HBO. Meanwhile, The Last of Us Part II is expected to arrive on PS4 sometime in 2018.

[via WCCF Tech]