The Book Abby Reads In The Last Of Us Season 2 Finale: Hidden Meaning & Game Of Thrones Connection

The Last of Us season 2 finale shows Abby reading a book, and the cover and title have a notable connection to Game of Thrones. After seven episodes, The Last of Us season 2 has come to a close with a shocking finale filled with notable character deaths. This makes the final sequence even more jarring. Following the bloody killings and the show cutting to black as Abby fires her gun at Ellie, the last scene shows Abby waking up on her couch with a book on her stomach, displaying a relatively uneventful moment.

The Last of Us season 2's ending has its climax before the confusing moment, but Abby's final scene is going to be the one TV fans are most confused about. The story of The Last of Us Part II is told non-linearly, and this scene is actually set two days earlier. The on-screen text reads "Seattle Day One," while season 2, episode 4, was titled "Day One." This ending sets up season 3 to tell Abby's part of the story, and the book she's reading is a major giveaway for what her narrative will be about.

The Book Abby Reads Is A Funny Nod To Game Of Thrones' Co-Showrunner

This Fake Book References A Real Book

In The Last of Us season 2's final scene, Abby can be seen reading a book called Thieves of the City by Ben Davidoff. This is a made-up book written by a made-up author, but that's part of the joke. It's a reference to the 2008 novel City of Thieves by David Benioff, which is a World War II coming-of-age novel set during the Siege of Leningrad. However, most television audiences will recognize David Benioff as the collaborative partner of D.B. Weiss, the two of whom served as co-showrunners throughout all eight seasons of Game of Thrones.

The book's placement in The Last of Us is more of a reference to Benioff's book than it is to Game of Thrones, of course, but it's a connection between two massive HBO shows that won't go unnoticed. Benioff's name is well-recognized among television fans, as not only was he one of the writers in charge of one of the biggest TV shows ever, but he's also often one of the people held responsible for the divisive Game of Thrones ending. He and Weiss are now showrunners on the critically acclaimed Netflix sci-fi show 3 Body Problem.

The Real Book Was A Major Inspiration On The Last Of Us & Appeared In Part II

Benioff's Work Inspired The Last Of Us Games

The placement of Thieves of the City in The Last of Us season 2's finale is consistent with the video game, which saw Abby waking up in the same scene with a copy of the real book, City of Thieves. The decision to make a fake book for the TV show is likely because of The Last of Us HBO show's timeline changes, which saw the Infected outbreak happen in 2003, not 2013. This means that City of Thieves wouldn't have been written at the time the apocalypse began in the TV show.

City of Thieves was actually a major inspiration for The Last of Us, as per game director Bruce Straley in a 2012 interview by Games Industry. The creator cited the book as one of the main inspirations for the game, not in terms of narrative, necessarily, but in examining how the novel told its tale in a way that would make its readers emotionally invested in the characters and their goals. The book also explores a developing connection between two characters as they travel into dangerous territory.

Abby's Book Sets Up A New Character For The Last Of Us Season 3

Lev Is Named After A Character In City Of Thieves

One of the main characters in City of Thieves is Lev, a seventeen-year-old Russian boy in Leningrad during the siege. He and another boy are taken out of imprisonment by the police and sent on a mission to find eggs, so a colonel can have a cake made for his daughter's wedding. While gathering a dozen eggs might not seem like a daunting task to the average grocery store-goer, during a city siege, it's a terrifying task, which forces the two boys to journey through German lines, encountering Nazis and the horrors of war along the way.

Given that The Last of Us creators were so inspired by this book, it's no coincidence that Lev is also the name of a prominent character in The Last of Us Part II. Lev is a young boy who was born to a devout Seraphite mother. Throughout Abby's portion of the game, she befriends Lev and his sister, Yara, blurring what Abby previously believed about the group with which the W.L.F. is at war. As it's Abby reading this book in the show and the game, it's likely there as a hint at Lev's appearance.

Lev hasn't appeared yet in HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us​​​​​, but he'll likely become a prominent character in season 3, just like in Abby's recount of the Seattle days in the game. We'll be waiting for casting announcements for Lev and Yara in the coming months, as they'll be the main new characters to join the show for season 3.

Before The Book, The Last Of Us Had Several Game Of Thrones Connections

Several GOT Alum Are Working On The Last Of Us

Over a decade ago, long before Pedro Pascal was Joel Miller, and long before he was the biggest movie star in the world, taking on projects like The Fantastic Four, Avengers: Doomsday, and the next Star Wars film, he was Oberyn Martell, a new character in Game of Thrones season 4. In fact, both of The Last of Us leads were stars on Game of Thrones, with Bella Ramsey playing a small role in the later seasons as Lyanna Mormont. The two actors only appeared for a combined total of 30 minutes of screen time, yet both managed to be unforgettable.

The connections between Game of Thrones and The Last of Us don't stop there, though. Mark Mylod, who directed six episodes of Game of Thrones, also directed season 2, episode 2 of The Last of Us. Craig Mazin, the showrunner behind HBO's The Last of Us, also provided notes on the Game of Thrones pilot, helping develop the episode that eventually became "Winter Is Coming." Since Game of Thrones ended, The Last of Us has arguably taken its place as the blockbuster, Sunday night TV series exploring complicated morals in a world where no one is ever safe.