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What Song Was Played in the Final Scene of HBO’s The Last of Us Premiere, & What Does it Mean?

There's more meaning to Joel's music than a simple preference to genre.

Joel and Ellie Image Source: HBO

HBO’s TV adaptation of The Last of Us’ popular video game franchise has premiered, bringing back all of the beloved characters from the post-apocalyptic world. Episode one saw Joel and Ellie meet for the first time, and during some time spent together enthusiastically, it was discovered that Joel’s radio and the music that broadcasts contain a secret code. During the final scene of the premiere, Joel’s radio flicked on and began playing a song that may indicate what’s to come. Here’s everything you need to know about what song was played in the final scene of HBO’s The Last of Us premiere, and what it means.

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Joel’s Radio Code With Frank and Bill, Explained

Upon discovering a book lying around Joel’s apartment, whilst the two begrudgingly kill time until nightfall, Ellie begins ficking through the pages and discovers a sheet of paper that details a code allowing Joel to communicate with Bill and Frank through music broadcasts. The code is as follows:

  • Song from the 60’s: Nothing in
  • Song from the 70’s: New stock
  • Song from the 80’s: X

Yup, that’s right. Next to 80’s is a red X marking. This grabbed Ellie’s attention too, and she was later able to trick Joel into revealing to her that a song from the 80’s means trouble or danger. During the final scene of The Last of Us’ episode one, as Joel, Ellie, and Tess are escaping from their run-in with the FEDRA Guard, Joel’s radio lights up and a song begins playing from none other than the 80’s.

Specifically, the song in question is “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode. If Ellie was right about Joel’s code, then it seems trouble and/or danger is occurring with Bill and Frank, and Tess, Joel, and Ellie could very much be heading right towards it. Right now, what kind of trouble and the extent of the danger the trio are about to face is left unknown, but considering all of the possibilities of this post-apocalyptic world, there may be some dire situations on the horizon.

That’s everything you need to know about what song was played in the final scene of HBO’s The Last of Us premiere, and what it meanss. For more helpful entertainment news, lists, and guides, feel free to check out the rest of our content here at Twinfinite. We have a variety of The Last of Us topics that are sure to help you survive the apocalypse, such as what the Zombies are called, where does HBO’s The Last of Us take place, and who is Marlene? explained.

About the author

Grace Black

Grace is a writer, digital artist, and character illustrator from New Zealand with a love for fiction and storytelling. Grace has been writing for Twinfinite for seven months and in the games industry for a year. She's a horror enthusiast, occasional anime enjoyer, and die-hard Ghost-Type Pokemon fangirl. Her favorite video games include Overwatch 2, Life is Strange, The Last of Us, and Pokemon - all of which she will never tire of.

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