Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us episode 3 and the game.The Last of Us episode 3 saw Joel stashing the assault rifle he picked up off the FEDRA soldier in episode 1, which will make game fans happy for a few reasons. The Last of Us episode 3 picks up with Joel and Ellie after Tess' sacrifice at the State House, continuing their journey to reach Bill and Frank's town. On the way, they stop off at an abandoned building in which Joel had stashed some supplies years prior.
After taking some time to where Joel's supplies were hidden, he uncovers them and retrieves what is there. After this though, Joel stashes the assault rifle which causes Ellie to ask why. Both the stashing of the gun received at The Last of Us episode 1's ending and Joel's reasoning as to why will make fans of 2013's The Last of Us happy, as it honors both the tone and style of the original game.
Joel Stashing The Gun Retains The Last Of Us’ Original Tone
In of retaining the original game's tone, The Last of Us episode 3 has Joel stash the gun to keep the survivalist aspect of the story intact. While it is not particularly something that matters all that much, it can be argued that Joel received the gun too easily which would undoubtedly make challenges from the original game easier. From Runners to Clickers and Bloaters, having an assault rifle in the game would have made it much less difficult rather than having the limited weapons presented throughout.
In having Joel stash the gun, The Last of Us episode 3 retains the game's original tone by having Joel now have to get by with what he has. This aligns much more with the game in which Joel only receives this type of weapon towards the very end of the story. While again, having this gun does fit a TV narrative more due to the lack of gameplay elements, the stash makes the world feel more dangerous as a result of Joel not having this weapon.
Joel's Decision-Making Honors The Last Of Us Game
Another way in which Joel stashing the gun honors the game is through his reasoning. Joel states to Ellie that there is not much ammo left in the world for guns of that style. This provides a neat nod to game fans from the creators of the show, much like The Last of Us episode 3's ending window shot, as well as maintaining a realistic dystopian tone.
Much of the game is spent traversing and exploring different environments in order to find any amount of ammo possible. Large amounts of gameplay revolve around the conservation of materials in the original Last of Us. Joel stashing the gun due to lack of ammo simply provides a neat Easter egg for fans of the game, who know all too well the struggle of finding ammo in The Last of Us.
New episodes of The Last of Us release every Sunday on HBO.