Future Days in The Last of Us: The song missing from the HBO series

From the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us, it’s clear that the timeline of the series has shifted with the video game. For Season 2, one question that kept popping into my head was how this time shift would affect the details of the story. Well, it’s not that the world shown in the video game has advanced much, but there are details that could change narrative elements.

This weekend, the second season of The Last of Us kicked off with an episode titled “Future Days.” Aside from marking the time jump, it’s a direct nod to a Pearl Jam song that appears in The Last of Us Part II, in that intimate moment where Joel sings for Ellie.

Future Days, the song that is no more

This song, which closes the album Lightning Bolt (2013), is one of the most emotional in Pearl Jam’s catalog. When Joel dedicates it to Ellie, he’s not just telling her that he loves her; he’s confessing that she’s the only thing that gives his existence meaning. “If I ever were to lose you, I’d surely lose myself” -the phrase Ellie repeats, guitar in hand—is more than a lyric: it’s a testament. And with it, the presence of the band becomes important when Ellie arrives in Seattle.

But there is a problem. The HBO series, in adapting the story, decided to move the start of the apocalypse to 2003. This means that Lightning Bolt was never filmed. Neither Future Days nor any of its notes.

This led to the question: if the show wanted to recreate the same kind of emotional bond between Joel and Ellie through a song, which one could take the place of Future Days? If such a thing existed. With that in mind, I relied on my group of Pearl Jam fan friends to answer this question. Of course, a framework was set: any possible song would have to have been released before Outbreak Day, limiting Pearl Jam’s catalog to between Ten (1991) and Riot Act (2002).

The Candidates

Thumbing My Way (Riot Act, 2002)

An acoustic ballad that captures the feeling of being walking wounded but moving forward. The lyrics suggest someone lost, trying to find direction in the midst of pain. Not exactly a declaration of love, but a whisper of vulnerability. It could function as an intimate reflection of Joel trying to reconnect with his humanity.

Off He Goes (No Code, 1996)

A story about someone who doesn’t know how to stay. The song tells of the coming and going of a lonely figure, unable to stay close to those he loves. It could be a way of showing Joel before Ellie: a man living on the edge, running away from emotional attachments. If Future Days is a promise, Off He Goes would be the confession before that promise.

Parting Ways (Binaural, 2000)

Dark, slow, marked by the sound of strings that seem to break. This song has a funereal air, as of a final separation. Its inclusion would be more dramatic than tender, but if the aim is to underline the impending tragedy, it has the necessary weight. It would not be the song that unites, but the one that remains when all is broken.

All or None (Riot Act, 2002).

Already used in the series, specifically in the Left Behind episode, this song is pure memory. It has that quiet emotional charge that allows you to hear what is not said. Its previous appearance may rule it out as “the song,” but it makes it clear that the spirit of Pearl Jam is already deeply intertwined with the audiovisual narrative of The Last of Us.

Despite these choices, one answer emerged that was blunt: “There is nothing that can replace it." And maybe that’s the right answer. Pearl Jam has a lot of sad songs... but in the context of The Last of Us Part II, Future Days is a unique choice.

Special thanks in this text to Javier González, Christian Gamboa, and Mique González, whose fanaticism for Pearl Jam brought this article to life.

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