When the credits rolled on the first The Last of Us, most of us knew that "happily ever after" wasn’t in the cards for Joel and Ellie. But nothing quite prepared the world for the gut-punch that was the sequel. After the dust settles from that brutal encounter in the lodge, we’re left with a grieving Ellie standing before a simple wooden cross in a snow-dusted graveyard.
It’s a quiet moment. No sweeping orchestral swells, just the sound of the Wyoming wind.
Fans have obsessively picked apart this scene to see exactly what did Ellie put on Joel’s grave, and the answer depends entirely on whether you’re talking about the original Naughty Dog game or the high-stakes HBO adaptation. There’s a tiny, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it difference that actually changes how we view their final months together.
The Game vs. The Show: A Tale of Two Tributes
In the original The Last of Us Part II game, the scene is remarkably sparse. Ellie doesn't actually leave a physical object—at least not one she carries in her backpack. Instead, she kneels and touches the earth.
She scoops up a handful of dirt, pressing her palm against the mound as if trying to find some last scrap of physical connection to the man who was her father in every way that mattered. It’s raw. It’s messy. It’s very "Ellie." She isn't much for ceremonies or flowery words, so her tribute is as grounded as the man buried beneath her.
However, the HBO series decided to turn the emotional dial even further.
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In Season 2, Episode 3, Ellie does something different. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small pouch. She then sprinkles coffee beans onto Joel's grave. For people who only watched the show, it was a "cool, a gift" moment. But for the hardcore fans? It was a total tear-jerker.
Why Coffee? The Meaning Behind the Beans
If you think about it, coffee is a bizarre thing to leave at a grave in a world where people are eating 20-year-old cans of ravioli to survive. But for Joel, coffee was the ultimate luxury. It was his "old world" vice.
In the first game and season, there’s a recurring bit where Joel laments the loss of real coffee. He’s a self-proclaimed addict who constantly misses the "burnt shit" smell of a fresh brew. Ellie, being a teenager who never knew a Starbucks existed, thinks it smells like garbage.
By leaving those beans, Ellie is saying a few specific things:
- She acknowledges his humanity: In a world of monsters, Joel was just a guy who really wanted a cup of Joe.
- She confirms the "Inside Joke": It proves that despite the years of silence and the massive lie about the Fireflies, she still held onto the small, domestic moments they shared.
- The Cost of the Gift: As Tommy mentions in the game, Joel once traded "half his stuff" for a single bag of beans. Leaving them in the dirt is a massive sacrifice of resources. It's the highest honor she could give him.
Honestly, the coffee beans are a stroke of genius by the showrunners. It takes a survival item and turns it into a relic.
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The Items Ellie Kept (And Eventually Let Go)
While we’re talking about what stayed at the grave, we have to talk about what Ellie took with her. You can’t understand the grave scene without looking at the house.
Immediately after the funeral, Ellie goes to Joel’s house. She doesn't take his furniture or his clothes. She takes two specific things: his revolver and his broken watch.
The watch is the big one. It’s the same one Sarah gave him in the very first scene of the franchise. It’s been broken for twenty-five years. Joel wore it as a symbol of his failure to save his daughter. When Ellie takes it, she’s taking on that weight. She’s shifting from the "saved" to the "seeker of justice."
The Final Act: The Guitar at the Farmhouse
To really answer "what did Ellie put on Joel’s grave," you have to look at the very end of her journey. If the grave in Jackson was the start of her grief, the farmhouse is the end of it.
After her final fight with Abby in Santa Barbara—the one where she loses two fingers and can no longer play the guitar Joel gave her—she returns to an empty house. She tries to play "Future Days" one last time. It’s clunky. It doesn't sound right.
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She leaves the guitar leaning against the window and walks away into the trees.
Metaphorically, she is finally "burying" the last of Joel. She’s leaving the music, the resentment, and the trauma behind. She couldn't leave the guitar at the actual grave in Jackson because she wasn't ready to let go of the anger yet. By the time she leaves it at the farm, she’s finally at peace with his memory.
Practical Insights for Fans and Lore Seekers
If you're revisiting the series or playing through the Remastered version of Part II, keep an eye out for these subtle environmental storytelling cues:
- Check the Porch: In the final flashback, notice the coffee mug on the table. It’s a bridge between the "lying" Joel and the "forgiven" Joel.
- The Smell of Coffee: In the game's Seattle Day 1, Ellie and Dina find a coffee shop. Ellie specifically mentions how much Joel loved the smell. It’s one of the few times she sounds nostalgic instead of angry.
- The Flower Variations: Depending on the season in-game, you’ll notice different types of growth around the grave. It suggests that while Ellie left, the community of Jackson continued to tend to his resting place.
The items Ellie leaves behind are never just "stuff." They are the anchors of her identity. Whether it’s a handful of Wyoming dirt or a sprinkle of precious coffee beans, these gestures represent the moment she stopped being a cargo and started being a daughter.
Next Steps for You: To see the full emotional arc for yourself, you should re-watch the opening of Season 2, Episode 3 and pay close attention to the way the camera lingers on Ellie's hands. It tells a much deeper story than the dialogue ever could.