Now that HBO’s “The Last of Us” (adapted from the game of the same name) is out, viewers are noticing a lot of similarities between this series and another famous one- “Stranger Things.” So let us talk about these similarities and figure out if they are intentional or not.

The Similarities Between Stranger Things And The Last Of Us

In The Last of Us game we see Joel, who loses his daughter named Sarah. This makes him a bitter and cynical man, Later on, he meets a girl who is about his daughter’s age named Ellie. A militia group named the Fireflies are interested in her because she’s special. We know that she’s immune to the viral cordyceps infection that has consumed a majority of the human population.

Throughout the course of the game, Joel becomes emotionally attached to Ellie and sees her as his daughter. So he protects her from the fireflies who basically want to exploit her. Also, he protects her from the infected. In “Stranger Things” we have Jim Hopper who loses his daughter named Sara. This makes him a depressed man who basically withdraws from society.

Later on, he meets El, who Dr. Brenner/ DOE is after because of her powers. Gradually, he takes care of her and protects her like his daughter. Also, he adopts her. Apart from this, he also protects her from anyone who is searching for her and also from the Mind Flayer/ Demodogs.

So not only are the names of the father figures a bit similar- Joel and Jim, the names of both of their biological daughters is Sarah too. So is Jim/El’s father-daughter relationship based on Joel/ Ellie’s?

Is The Game An Inspiration For Stranger Things?

In an IGN interview, the creators of “Stranger Things,” Matt and Ross Duffer said that the game was indeed an inspiration for the show. Matt specifically said:

“The Last of Us. I love that game and the storytelling in that game and a lot of the imagery.”

So it’s definitely possible that the relationship between Jim and El is modeled on Joel and Ellie. Also, the creators have admitted that apart from The Last of Us, games like Silent Hill and more were the inspiration for the series.

What are your thoughts about this? Let us know.

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