The seventh episode of the critically acclaimed show, The Last of Us, has dropped and it has left us with a mix of emotions. “Left Behind” features Ellie and her friend Riley, played by Storm Reid, as they explore an abandoned mall and explore the wonders of life. This episode gives us insight into what happened before Joel met Ellie. It also shows us how Ellie has a crush on Riley. It also gives us a glimpse into Ellie’s past and how she may have had to defend herself against Riley after she turned.
The Last of US Episode 7
The episode starts with Ellie taking Joel into an abandoned house and searching for anything to help stitch him up. He tells her to just leave, go back, get Tommy, and forget about him. Ellie freezes and then we enter a massive flashback which is the meat and potatoes of this episode. Riley shows up in her room in the middle of the night and declares that she’s become a firefly. This is shocking to Ellie because she’s been trained to one day fight that very thing.
Riley takes Ellie on a series of what she calls wonders and Ellie is shocked by so many things that aren’t necessarily on Riley’s list of Wonders. We get to see an electric staircase, an escalator, a carousel that still works, a photo booth, a Halloween shop, and more. We also get to see the relationship between Ellie and Riley grow as they explore the mall.
Ellie’s Crush on Riley
Throughout the episode, viewers begin to really see that Ellie has a crush on Riley. And is trying to figure out if she can communicate that. This episode also gives a little more sad context to a scene earlier in the show where Ellie stumbled across a Mortal Kombat 2 cabinet and here we get to see her and Riley be playing that for a while and really enjoying it.
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The Stray infects and attacks them. Ellie will be fine, but when Riley gets bitten, it reminds us of Ellie’s earlier admission about the person Joel killed not being the first.
This episode was written by Neil Druckman, and it was a great mix of production design, acting, and writing. It was great to see the youthful Glee and excitement that Ellie and Riley had for things that we all have right now and take for granted. It really does kind of ground you and remind you to enjoy the things that are happening around you because you might not always have it.
The only real concern is that there are two episodes left and if season one is to complete the game, the last two episodes will have to be super long. We will just have to wait and see how the show progresses.
Overall, this episode was a great mix of emotion and insight into the characters. It was great to see the relationship between Ellie and Riley grow and to get a glimpse into Ellie’s past. We can only hope that the last two episodes will be just as good.
