Latest news with #ThievesoftheCity
Elle
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
'The Last of Us' Fans Spotted a Subtle 'Game of Thrones' Easter Egg in the Season 2 Finale
As fans continue to unpack The Last of Us's season 2 finale, some eagled-eyed viewers have noticed a subtle nod to its fellow HBO series, Game of Thrones, nestled within the episode. The blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference takes place during a flashback of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) waking up on a couch with a book on her stomach: Thieves of the City by Ben Davidoff. It's a play on the 2008 book City of Thieves by David Benioff, who was a co-showrunner (alongside D.B. Weiss) of Game of Thrones, which of course also starred both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. For the uninitiated, City of Thieves is a World War II coming-of-age novel set during the Siege of Leningrad. In the original Last of Us video game, Abby is also seen reading the book as a deliberate nod to the story. Game director Bruce Straley confirmed in a previous interview that City of Thieves was one of the inspirations behind the PlayStation game. If HBO's The Last of Us continues to follow its source material closely, there could be another nod to Benioff's book in the upcoming third season. Lev, a young boy born to a Seraphite mother, teams up with Abby for a large portion of The Last of Us: Part II. Lev is also the name of one of the main characters in City of Thieves. The Last of Us's showrunner, Craig Mazin, is well aware of the GoT-TLOU overlaps. He recognized Ramsey right away when he started watching their audition tape. 'I was like, oh shit, it's Lady Mormont,' Mazin told ELLE back in 2023. Even though Ramsey's fame could've been a distraction Mazin was confident the actor was the right match for Ellie. '[In] my mind, I was like, if we don't cast Bella as Ellie, then I will go to my grave knowing that we could have made a better show than we did.'
Elle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
'The Last Of Us' Fans Spot Subtle 'Game Of Thrones' Easter Egg In Season 2 Finale
As some continue to unpick that The Last of Us season two finale, others have started registering the subtle nod to its fellow HBO bedfellow Game of Thrones nestled within the episode. The finale, which has left fans shocked after some of their favourite characters died, cut away at one point to a flashback of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) waking up on a couch with a book lying on her stomach. FIND OUT MORE ON ELLE COLLECTIVE And while the character's reading material might have passed some viewers by, others noticed that her book was a significant easter egg pertaining to another hit HBO series. The book on Abby's lap is Thieves of the City by Ben Davidoff, who is a co-showrunner (alongside its creator D.B. Weiss) of all eight seasons of Game of Thrones which of course also starred both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. For the uninitiated, the novel is a work of fiction and is a play on David Benioff's 2008 book City of Thieves — a World War II coming-of-age novel set during the Siege of Leningrad. 'Idk [I don't know] who else noticed this but in this finale of #TheLastOfUs Abby is reading Thieves of the City by Ben Davidoff which is clearly a fun nod to another big name in HBO programming and his book,' one eagle-eyed fan noted on X. The reference is a nod to the original video game, too. In the game, Abby is seen reading City of Thieves as a deliberate nod to its author. The video game creator has since confirmed in an interview that the book was one of the inspirations behind the game of The Last of Us. There's also a nod to Benioff's book in the confirmed upcoming third season. Lev — a young boy born to a Seraphite mother — teams up with Abby for a large portion of The Last of Us: Part II. Lev is also the name of one of the main characters in City of Thieves. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE. Naomi May is a freelance writer and editor with an emphasis on popular culture, lifestyle and politics. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard as its Fashion and Beauty Writer, working across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Acting News Editor at ELLE UK and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others.
Newsweek
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'The Last of Us' Season Finale: Hidden Meaning Behind Abby's Book
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Last of Us season finale took place on Sunday, and the hidden meaning behind a book Abigail "Abby" Anderson was reading in the final scene may have gone unnoticed by some fans. The Context The Last of Us is an HBO drama based on a popular video game of the same name. Following its release in 2023, it's become a major hit. The Season 1 premiere totaled 32 million viewers—"the largest audience for an HBO and Max debut season ever," Deadline reported. Left to right: Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal and Kaitlyn Dever arrive at "The Last of Us: Cast and Creators on Season 2" panel during SXSW on March 8, 2025, in Austin, Texas. Left to right: Bella Ramsey, Pedro Pascal and Kaitlyn Dever arrive at "The Last of Us: Cast and Creators on Season 2" panel during SXSW on March 8, 2025, in Austin, Texas. Mat Hayward/WireImage What To Know In The Last of Us Season 2 finale, Anderson—played by actor Kaitlyn Dever—was reading a book titled Thieves of the City by Ben Davidoff. While both the book and the author's names don't exist, they are based on a real novel and writer. The subtle gesture referred to the 2008 World War II historical fiction novel City of Thieves, which was written by David Benioff. Benioff is a novelist and screenwriter best known for co-creating HBO's Game of Thrones, based on George R.R. Martin's book series. Newsweek reached out to Benioff's representative via email for comment on Monday. On X, formerly Twitter, eagle-eyed X user @ScubaSteve1219 pointed out the blink-and-you'll-miss-it-moment. "idk who else noticed this but in this finale of #TheLastOfUs Abby is reading 'Thieves of the City' by Ben Davidoff which is clearly a fun nod to another big name in HBO programming and his book," they wrote. idk who else noticed this but in this finale of #TheLastOfUs Abby is reading "Thieves of the City" by Ben Davidoff which is clearly a fun nod to another big name in HBO programming and his book — Steve (@ScubaSteve1219) May 26, 2025 Two of The Last of Us' stars—Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel Miller, and Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie Williams—starred in Game of Thrones. While Pascal played Prince Oberyn Martell, Ramsey played Lyanna Mormont. What People Are Saying The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin spoke about the Season 2 finale, while hinting at a potential perspective change for Season 3, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Sunday: "We're clearly breaking quite a few rules, and I love that. And I love it because that is the point. This is not something we're doing as a gimmick. "The point of this story—and this is looked at from so many different angles in so many different ways—is that the entire concept of protagonist is flawed. The entire concept of villain is flawed. Our way of processing the world through heroes and villains is a mistake. It ends up creating these barriers between people that shouldn't be there. It ends up giving ourselves justifications and conveniences for bad behavior, and it ends up allowing us to judge others summarily for things that we don't quite understand the motivation behind it. "We know this is a challenging thing to keep track of emotionally. We understand people are going to be provoked. But part of this story is about examining why we're so comfortable with following one person's point of view about everything." The Last of Us' other co-creator Neil Druckman also teased details about Season 3 in the same Reporter interview: "We're telling you that next season, one, there's an epic nature to everything that's about to happen. But this other story is going to be really important coming backing to Joel and Ellie and everything we've seen so far." What Happens Next While The Last of Us Season 3 has been confirmed, a release date has not yet been revealed.
