Another TLOU Game Star Appeared In The Finale, But You Probably Didn't Notice

Episode 9 of HBO's The Last of Us features yet another cameo from an original actor from the video game, but their appearance wasn't as obvious to viewers.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Episode 9 of The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II.

The series finale aired last night and concluded the first season adaptation, and alongside actor Merle Dandridge, who reprised her role as Firefly leader Marlene, Ashley Johnson, who originally played Ellie in the games, also returned but in another role--Ellie's mother, Anna. However, Johnson wasn't the only returning cast member in Episode 9.

It was confirmed (via Entertainment Weekly) that one of the nurses who were about to conduct surgery on Ellie at the end of the episode was actually Laura Bailey, who plays Abby Anderson in The Last of Us Part 2.

During the dramatic scene where Joel kills the main surgeon and takes Ellie from the hospital, the nurses are masked up and aren't recognizable. For fans who have played The Last of Us Part 2, it's ironic that Bailey would be playing a nurse in this scene, because Abby's dad, Jerry Anderson, is actually the leading surgeon who Joel kills.

Showrunner Neil Druckmann shared a behind-the-scenes photo of Bailey on the set of Episode 9, who is seen posed next to the surgeon's body, saying, "And the winner for funniest text of all time goes to Laura Bailey for sending me this gem!"

The episode makes a point of focusing on the body of Abby's dad during the sequence, so it's obvious the showrunners are setting up the events of Season 2--which has already been announced. Following the finale, both Druckmann and showrunner Craig Mazin said that the upcoming second season won't cover the entirety of Part II.