If you thought the emotional pain had to ease off after the devastation-fest that was The Last of Us Season 2, episode 2, this week’s episode clearly had other ideas.

Because although episode 3 may not have been quite as gut-churning, there were still plenty of moments to catch us out — from Tommy’s (Gabriel Luna’s) comment about Sarah (Nico Parker) to the subtle tweak to the show’s opening credits.

Another of these moments saw Ellie (Bella Ramsey) visiting the grave of Joel (Pedro Pascal), and marking the moment with a gesture that links back to Season 1. So what exactly does Ellie do, and why is it significant? Let’s break it down.

What happens in The Last of Us Season 2, episode 3?

After sneaking out of Jackson with Dina (Isabela Merced) to track down Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) and her crew, the pair stop at the graveyard 10 miles south of Jackson that Tommy told Ellie about earlier in the episode. In the morning sunlight Ellie finds Joel’s grave, which reads “Beloved brother and father.” She crouches, opens a small sack, and sprinkles some coffee beans onto the soil.

Then she smiles, shakes her head, and places a hand on the earth. When she leaves, she has tears in her eyes.

The coffee beans clearly represent something important to her, but given that it’s been a while since Season 1 aired, you’d be forgiven for forgetting exactly why.

The answer lies in Season 1, episode 4, and one of the many formative bonding moments in Joel and Ellie’s relationship.