Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 5, and The Last of Us Part II.
It’s no secret that music is a key part ofThe Last of Us. Season 1 referencedmany incredible artists, from Depeche Mode to Linda Ronstadt, so it’s only natural thatSeason 2continues this tradition. The iconic “Take On Me” scene from the games, for example, has already been featured, and now,the series has finally nodded to the artists with whom it has the most in common, and that’s Pearl Jam.
In this week’s episode, “Feel Her Love,” Ellie (Bella Ramsey) sings the intro to the tearjerker “Future Days,” and, later, “Present Tense” plays over the credits after a flashback with Joel (Pedro Pascal). The band’s ties to the games and the series go way beyond merely having a couple of songs playing occasionally, and directly inspire much of Ellie’s journey with Joel.
Episode 5 Features Two Pearl Jam Songs That Say a Lot About Ellie’s Journey in Season 2
When Ellie gets the guitar on the Pinnacle Theater stage in “Feel Her Love,” every fan ofThe Last of Usgets to theedge of their seat. Instead of a full performance, she can only bring herself to sing the intro to Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” — “If I ever were to lose you…” — and that was enough to have some of us shedding tears and make her reconnect with her purpose in Seattle. That’s because"Future Days" is her and Joel’s song, perfectly capturing their relationship as surrogate father and daughterin ways only good music can.
“Future Days” talks about the feeling of love and loss, and how these two leave a person feeling incomplete until they find someone who can give them a purpose. That’s exactly what Joel’s journey is about: he lost his daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker), in the original outbreak and was left broken, butfinding and connecting with Ellie in Season 1 made him whole again. The lyrics also express the fear of ever feeling broken again, hoping for “future days, days of you and me.” The song is featured inThe Last of Us - Part II, as Joel plays it to Ellie in one of themost touching scenesof the game.
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“It’s just really heartbreaking."
“Present Tense,” on the other hand, is new toThe Last of Us, but it’s no less meaningful. It plays over the credits in “Feel Her Love,” after the episode wraps with a flashback of Joel and Ellie back in Jackson, when everything was still great between them. The scene itself comes afterEllie tortures Nora(Tati Gabrielle) during her hunt for Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), and these two scenes, along with “Present Tense” in the credits, make for the moral of the episode:Ellie can’t have those good ol' days back, no matter who she kills or tortures. The song uses a tree against the wind to build the argument that it’s better to bend than to break, talking about the importance of living in the present instead of the past, taking lessons out of it, and continuing onward. One would think that Ellie could have assimilated that by now, but she was always a slow learner.
Pearl Jam’s Connection to ‘The Last of Us’ Is Deeper Than Just Their Songs Being Featured in the Video Games
“Feel Her Love” is the first time two Pearl Jam songs have been featured in the sameThe Last of Usepisode, but “Present Tense” is actually thethirdsong by the Seattle band to become connected to this franchise. Back in Season 1, Episode 7, “Left Behind,” Ellie listens to the song “All or None” while having PE class at the FEDRA school she goes to in Boston.It talks about the feeling of being stuck in life and not having alternatives, which is exactly how Ellie is feeling at that particular moment: she has no parents, virtually no friends, and no purpose, but all that changes very quickly after she meets Riley (Storm Reid) and, later on, Joel.
But Pearl Jam’s connection toThe Last of Usgoes beyond simply having a few songs featured in the games or the series. Back in 2020, Pearl Jam singer and lyricistEddie Vedderplayed"Future Days" during The Game Awards, and, shortly before,Troy Baker, who plays Joel in the games, explained that game developer (and showrunner)Neil Druckmann, is adie-hard Pearl Jam fan, used to sing this song to his daughter every day before she went to bed,establishing a direct connection between his own experience as a father and his creation with the game. Pearl Jam has been in the fans' minds as the go-to artist to listen to when playingThe Last of Usever since.
The Season 2 premiere is even called “Future Days,” referencing the song and how the whole context of Ellie and Joel living in Jackson is often associated with the song. There was some controversy around this, however, since, technically, there would be no way for the characters to have ever listened to the song —in the series, the outbreakhappened in 2003, and “Future Days” only came out in 2013as part of Pearl Jam’sLightning Boltalbum. Ellie even comes across aLightning Boltposter inPart II. Series creators Druckmann andCraig Mazin, however, werequick to dismissit at the time, saying that the song was too important for the story to be left out, opting to follow the route of poetic license instead of chronological fidelity, andd they are 100% correct there.
Pearl Jam Has Always Been the Perfect Band to Feature in ‘The Last of Us’
InPart IIand Season 2 of the series,The Last of Usmoves to Seattle for the core of its story, as Ellie and her girlfriend Dina (Isabela Merced) hunt down Abby for killing Joel.Many landmarksshow up, like the Pinnacle Theater and the Seattle Aquarium. Still, the game takes this connection to the next level by incorporating Pearl Jam into its soundtrack in such a significant way. The band is one of the most important members of the grunge movement that originated in Seattle along with Nirvana and Soundgarden, and it is the only one still active. More than its connection to the characters,Pearl Jam’s music is also relevant toThe Last of Usas another nod to Seattle, this time concerning its cultural and artistic relevance.
From an artistic standpoint, Pearl Jam is also a perfect fit forThe Last of Us. Eddie Vedder is known for his philosophical lyrics and his ability to tellstories through music, and the three songs featured in the franchise so far are perfect examples of his traits as a musician. Vedder’s lyrics delve into universal feelings, of course, but,in the context of the series, offerpiercing insightsinto the minds of Ellie and Joel. Even the melodies in Pearl Jam songs often start simple, sometimes with a single instrument playing (usually a killer guitar riff, truth be told) until they grow into heavier and powerful choruses, like the motives of the characters in their journeys.
Now, with so many of their songs being part of the world ofThe Last of Us,Pearl Jam has evenreleased an EPwith every song featured in the games and the series so far. It’s available to members of their official fan club and as aplaylist on Spotify, featuring the original version of “Future Days” fromLightning Bolt, “All or None” as heard on their 2002 albumRiot Act, a live version of “Future Days” recorded at the Ohana Festival in 2024, and “Present Tense,” from their 1996 albumNo Code. We can’t wait to hear “Future Days” played in full inThe Last of UsSeason 2, though.
Season 2 ofThe Last of Usis streaming on Max. New episodes air on Sundays.
