The Last of Us Episode 7: Dawn of the Wolf Part 2 explained

The Last of Us Episode 7 follows Ellie and Riley as they explore a beaming mall, and they pass by a cinema – so, what is Dawn of the Wolf Part 2, and is it a real movie?

In our review, we said the game’s “most poignant backstory gets the treatment it deserves; beautifully adapted, engagingly performed by Ramsey and Reid, and a reminder that love left behind is never love lost.”

After picking up with Ellie dragging Joel to a nearby house, the episode flashes back to three weeks before the events of the show, with Ellie in FEDRA school. One night, her best friend Riley sneaks her out for the night and takes her to see the “four wonders of the mall.”

They ride a working carousel, take cute pictures together in a photo booth, and more. They also stroll past the mall’s cinema, which has some interesting listings – including Dawn of the Wolf Part 2.

Dawn of the Wolf Part 2 explained

Dawn of the Wolf Part 2 is not a real movie. However, it’s an Easter Egg from both The Last of Us Part 1 and 2.

At the beginning of the first game, a poster for Dawn of the Wolf can be seen in Sarah’s bedroom. Later, when Ellie and Joel are running around Boston, they catch sight of a large poster for the sequel.

“I saw this right before the outbreak,” he says. “You did? Does he totally gut her by the end?” Ellie asks.

“Nobody gets gutted. It’s a dumb teen movie,” Joel replies. “Who dragged you to see it then?” Ellie then asks, to which Joel says he doesn’t know – obviously, he saw it with Sarah.

In Part 2, Ellie finds an old poster for Dawn of the Wolf Part 2 on a bus stop in Seattle, but she doesn’t comment on it.

While the fictional franchise seems to be a light jab at the Twilight series, which was still immensely popular at the time of the original game’s release, some fans believe the poster deliberately foreshadowed a key moment in the second game – which we won’t spoil unless you want to know.

The Last of Us Episode 8 will be available to stream on March 5 in the US and March 6 in the UK. Check out the rest of our coverage here and the trailer for the weeks ahead here.