'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 1: Why 'Curtis and Viper' is important (2025)

The Last of Us Season 2 hits us hard with the Easter eggs in the very first episode, and one of them is a particularly moving mention.

In episode 1, when Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) are getting ready for their afternoon patrol, Dina remarks on Ellie's heavily armed get-up. "Look at you with all that hardware; you look like Curtis and Viper," she says. "You know, those movies Joel likes?"

When they turn up to the start of patrol, Jesse (Young Mazino) makes a similar comment about "Ellie over here looking all Curtis and Viper."

But what exactly is Curtis and Viper in The Last of Us, and where have you seen it referenced before? The answer is a punch to the heart.

What is Curtis and Viper in The Last of Us?

Curtis and Viper is a fictional '80s action series in The Last of Us games and TV series. They're indeed movies Joel loves — in fact, he used to watch them with his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker). The franchise appears in the HBO series in Season 1, episode 1, right before the outbreak of the Cordyceps pandemic in 2013. Sarah borrowed her neighbours' DVD copy of Curtis and Viper 2 for her father's 36th birthday, the same day everything goes to to hell.

In the games, Curtis and Viper comes up in The Last of Us Part II in a scene where Ellie describes the movies to Dina when they're on their Alpine patrol, looting supplies from abandoned buildings. She says she's thinking of inviting Joel to watch one together as a peace offering, then goes on to describe the plot of Curtis and Viper 2.

"OK, so two former commandos that go rogue to fight bad guys. And I think in this one they go up against Russian spies or something," Ellie explains. "Alright, so the young one, Viper, he's a trained ninja — and he's a complete badass."

"So, how old is he in the first movie?" asks Dina.

"Uhhh, 10," replies Ellie.

Ellie also finds a poster for Curtis and Viper 4 in The Last of Us Part II which prompts her to say aloud, "It's your favourite."

So, there you have it. Ellie's Curtis and Viper vibe in Season 2, episode 1 is a fun, extremely niche node to both the first season of the show and the games, and a reminder that nothing in this show is a throwaway reference.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays 9 p.m. ET on HBO.