The Last of Us fans want the viral rabbit scene in the HBO show, but I don't think my heart can take it

The Last of Us rabbit
(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

The Last of Us fans are hoping for a specific scene from the game to make it into the HBO show, but I'm not sure if I could handle it. 

As evidenced by many discussions over on Reddit, a fair few The Last of Us fans are hoping that the iconic rabbit scene from the first game makes it into the HBO show. We won't spoil exactly what happens, but just know that it features Ellie, a bow and arrow, and a rabbit which resulted in this hilarious and heartbreaking meme.

Discussion surrounding this moment were rekindled when one Reddit user asked: "Am I the only one hoping they start an episode of the show with this rabbit scene? Just for the shock and meme." Fans quickly added their own TV interpretations of the scene to the fire, with one joking that HBO will probably "spend 10 minutes on the rabbit’s backstory to make it hit even harder," not unlike the treatment of Bill and Frank's storyline in The Last of Us episode 3.

am_i_the_only_one_hoping_they_start_an_episode_of from r/thelastofus

We already know that HBO isn't afraid of making references to the game, just like this deep-cut reference to The Last of Us Part 2 in episode 1. We also know that the game's developer, Naughty Dog, is in on the meme thanks to The Last of Us 2's viral rabbit easter egg. So it's not entirely unreasonable to hope that the rabbit moment will make it into the series in some form. But as someone who regularly checks whether or not an animal dies in a TV show or movie before I watch it, I'm dreading potentially having to sit through this scene again.

Now that The Last of Us episode 4 has officially aired, we've only got five episodes left before the series wraps up, at least for a little while. HBO renewed The Last of Us for a season 2 almost immediately after the first two episodes aired, which is great news for those hoping to see The Last of Us Part 2's story play out on a new screen.

Speaking of taking inspiration from the games: There's one clever feature in HBO's The Last of Us that I wish was in the games.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

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