The Romance Between The Last of Us and Mortal Kombat Continues

[Gambid]

The currently running HBO Max TV Series The Last of Us, based on Naughty Dog's hit game series by the same name, delivered last night one of its very excellent episodes. Left Behind, which is the 7th episode of the series, focuses on Ellie's past, her time with FEDRA and her relationship with her best friend Riley.

In an earlier episode Ellie is shown to have a very strong connection to the Mortal Kombat franchise and especially Mortal Kombat II. This time we get to see why. Earlier in the episode while we are in Ellie's room we get a glimpse at one of the walls and right in the middle of the frame we are greeted by one of the original Mortal Kombat II posters:

This was however not enough. Later in the episode, an original Mortal Kombat II arcade machine plays a vital role in the plot and the fate of the two girls. Ellie and Riley enjoy several fights while we get to see the classic arcade game in one of the best TV Shows in recent years. Raiden, Mileena, Baraka all show up on screen for a brief cameo

This episode is written by Neil Druckmann who is also the writer behind the two The Last of Us games that the show is based on. On Twitter, Ed Boon decided to show his excitement for last night's episode and share a clip from it:

I don’t remember the last time I was hooked on a show as much as THE LAST OF US.
So seeing Mortal Kombat featured as prominently as it was last night was a huge thrill.

To his tweet, Neil Druckmann answered with:

Was waiting for you to see it! Thanks for making all the times I skipped school so awesome!

This is a dynamic in the industry I would personally love to see more often. Congratulations to Neil Druckmann for this very excellent episode.

Did you like this episode of The Last of Us? We personally cannot wait to see what happens next. More excited we are however to see how Mortal Kombat will reciprocate the shown love.

This episode marks the third time Mortal Kombat has been referenced in The Last of Us. Have a look at these previous articles for more details on the previous two guest appearances:

- Mortal Kombat 2 Reference In The Last Of Us Remake
- Another Mortal Kombat Reference In The Last Of Us Media

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[Roy Arkon]

That was awesome to see for sure, and yeah it will be really interesting to see if NRS/WB ever do something like that to the Last of Us, perhaps in MK12.

[Gambid]

Yep, even though the fact that it is a Siny franchise might limit them as Mortal Kombat also comes out on XBox. Unless they do something very small or console exclusive.

[Roy Arkon]

Oh yeah didn't think about that, so maybe it would be something small, if anything.

[Gambid]

Yep, that is what I think so too. Or may be in a medium that is not the game. For example in the next animated movie.

[Noob Saibot]

I just finished watching the episode, as I didn't really have the time before. Seeing mk2 in it was so awesome.