The Last Of Us Season 2's Curtis & Viper Reference Is Heartbreaking For Two Reasons

The Last of Us’ season 2 premiere makes a couple of throwaway references to the in-universe movie franchise Curtis & Viper — and those references are heartbreaking for two key reasons. The Last of Us season 2, episode 1, “Future Days,” picks up five years after season 1. The surviving Fireflies are plotting their revenge against Joel, but he’s more focused on the rift that formed in his relationship with Ellie during the time jump. Over the course of season 1, Joel and Ellie became the best of friends. But now, Ellie doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him.

When Dina stops by to pick up Ellie for patrol and finds that she’s armed to the teeth, Dina jokes that she looks like Curtis & Viper. When Ellie rides out on her horse Shimmer to start the patrol, Jesse makes the exact same reference. This might just seem like a throwaway joke poking fun at this kid who’s armed herself like John Rambo for a routine sweep of the surrounding area. But it actually goes a little deeper than that. It’s not just a video game Easter egg; it’s a window into Joel and Ellie’s soured relationship.

Curtis & Viper Is Joel's Favorite Movie Franchise In The Last Of Us

Curtis & Viper Is An '80s Action Movie Series Like Lethal Weapon

Sarah holds the DVD for Curtis and Viper 2 in The Last of Us season 1

In The Last of Us universe, Curtis & Viper is an ‘80s action movie franchise like Rambo or Lethal Weapon — and it’s well-established that it’s Joel’s favorite. In The Last of Us Part II, when Ellie and Dina are on patrol, Ellie casually mentions that she’s thinking of asking Joel if he wants to watch Curtis & Viper 2 with her. Later in the game, she spots a poster for a Christmas-themed sequel called Curtis & Viper 4: The War, the Merrier hanging in a theater and remarks that it’s Joel’s favorite.

Joel’s Curtis & Viper fandom has been adapted into the TV show, too. In The Last of Us’ very first episode, Sarah gives Joel a Curtis & Viper 2 DVD for his 36th birthday. When Dina tells Ellie that she looks like Curtis & Viper, she mentions that she and Joel are thinking of doing a marathon of the Curtis & Viper franchise the following night. She invites Ellie to join them in an attempt to mend the rift between them, but Ellie doesn’t seem too enthused about the idea.

The Last Of Us Season 2's Curtis & Viper Mention Gives Joel & Ellie Another Shared Connection

Joel sitting with Ellie in The Last of Us

The true heartbreak of The Last of Us season 2 (at least so far) is that Joel and Ellie aren’t on good terms. Joel is desperately trying to reach out to Ellie and connect with her, but Ellie is hesitant to embrace his love. It flips their dynamic from season 1, in which Ellie wanted nothing more than to feel loved and Joel continually pushed her away. When Ellie coerces him into letting her go on patrol, Tommy points out that she and Joel are the same person: they’re both infuriatingly stubborn.

Ellie clearly enjoyed the films, because she dressed up like the characters without even thinking about it.

But that’s not the only thing they have in common; they’re also Curtis & Viper fans. Joel used to watch these movies with his daughter Sarah, so it would make sense that he watched them with Ellie at some point in the five-year time jump, especially if even Dina knew they were his favorites. And Ellie clearly enjoyed the films, because she dressed up like the characters without even thinking about it. Curtis & Viper must’ve made a lasting impact on her, too, so her refusal to join Joel and Dina for a marathon shows just how bitter she is.

How Curtis & Viper's Story Mirrors The Last Of Us Itself

It's About An Adult & A Kid Going On An Action-Packed Adventure Together

Joel and Ellie talking in The Last of Us season 1 finale.

In the game, when Ellie tells Dina she’s thinking of watching Curtis & Viper 2 with Joel, Dina asks what it’s about. Ellie explains that it’s about two former commandos who go rogue to fight bad guys. In the second movie, they take on Russian spies, and in the fourth one, they somehow get into a Christmas-based predicament. Dina admits that she’s more interested in the franchise than she thought she would be (just like she is in the TV show), so she asks Ellie some follow-up questions — and her answers reveal a meta parallel in this story-within-a-story.

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Ellie explains that Viper is a ninja who’s just 10 years old in the first movie. So, the Curtis & Viper movies are about an adult and a kid going on an action-packed adventure together. Sound familiar? It’s basically The Last of Us if it was a cheesy ‘80s action flick instead of a zombie-infested post-apocalyptic drama.