The Last Of Us 2 (Spoilers)

Fans of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us game series knew going into the HBO adaptation that changes would be made. While most of the TV show's first episode is recognizable to those who played the games, there are also some immediate differences. The storytellers made an intriguing decision with their timeline that, unfortunately, means fans are unlikely to see Joel sing Pearl Jam's "Future Days" to Ellie.

The Last of Us opens with Joel during the outbreak of the mutated Cordyceps fungus. Yet the circumstances are slightly different, because rather than 2013, the outbreak happens in 2003. Showrunner Craig Mazin may have made this change to set the outbreak closer to September 11, 2001. The September 11 terrorist attacks and the United States' response to them seem like the allegory the show's creative team is leaning into. And in the grand scheme of things, it's just a minor change affecting things like technology available and pop culture. Except, "Future Days" is a bit of pop culture Pearl Jam didn't get around to creating until 2013.