10 Things You Somehow Missed In The Last Of Us
3. The Goodbye Girl
It's practically impossible to avoid asking the question. What possible thematic parallels could a 1977 romantic-comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss bear to a brutal post apocalyptic drama featuring rabidly infected former human beings, unhinged revolutionaries and cannibals?
Episode 6 sees Ellie watching a film with a large group of settlement members, having recently arrived at Tommy's community with Joel. Starring the aforementioned Dreyfuss, the picture in question is The Goodbye Girl - the unlikely tale of an actor who begins sharing an apartment belonging to a single mother and her young daughter, as well as the familial relationship that eventually ensues between the trio.
See where this is going? The choice of background movie, while seemingly innocuous, is completely intentional. Craig Mazin had watched the film when he was growing up and specifically wanted to include it, arguing that the tale of a young girl gaining a father figure she never had suited the context of the show perfectly.
It's yet another textbook example of the sheer depth that The Last of Us' characters and narrative provide in terms of artistic license.