The following story contains spoilers for The Last of Us Episode 7.
We’ve gotten to the point in The Last of Us where breaking from the main story is less of a surprise, and more just the way the show is structured. Episode 3, which told the story of Bill and Frank (Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett) came to most as a genuine surprise. Episode 5, which took us inside Henry and Sam‘s (Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Woodard) story, provided some wonderfully illustrative character depth. Now, Episode 7, titled “Left Behind,” brings us back in time to a key point in Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) life, introducing us to an important person from her past just as she faces a potential breaking point with someone important in her present.
The Last of Us hasn’t gone full Lost—which split every episode between a character-centric backstory plot and a present-day on-island plot—but the post-apocalyptic present sure does lend itself nicely to this setup. But without being beholden to each episode having the same kind of structure, co-showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are able to keep viewers on their toes, never quite being able to anticipate what kind of episode could be coming when they tune in to HBO.
“Left Behind” picks up not long after the the concluding moments of Episode 6, “Kin,” which greatly strengthened the bond between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie and left the former in rough shape when the credits began to roll. Joel is struggling, and Ellie is doing her best to get him safe and stable.
The episode once again proves The Last of Us‘ greatest feature: its ability to reinvent itself into something new each and every week. With much of “Left Behind” being a story set in a closed off mall with the presence of looming infected (zombie-adjacent at the very least), there are obvious influences coming from both George A. Romero’s original and Zack Snyder’s 2004 take on Dawn of the Dead. But the story also follows the “one magical night” kind of romantic structure that comes from Richard Linklater’s ’90s staple Before Sunrise, where Ethan Hawke and share a long evening together before destiny forces them to go their separate ways.
There’s a lot to like here, and it starts with Ellie caring, deeply, for Joel. Which, we are led to presume, reminds her of something else…
Back to the QZ
We flash back to an undisclosed moment in the past, where Ellie is listening to music while running (slow) laps in the FEDRA school’s gym class. Another girl in her class, Bethany, is not happy with Ellie slowing the rest of the group down, and calls her out for it, eventually teasing her about her friend not being around anymore—we don’t initially know what this is referring to. Ellie does, though, and attacks and beats the crap out of Bethany.
We then cut to Ellie, getting talked to FEDRA’s officer in charge of the school system (Almost Famous‘ Terry Chen), for beating Bethany so badly she needed 15 stitches. He also makes the case that she could have a better life if she would simply apply herself and get her “assignment” (which, we learn in the episode, comes at age 17) to become an officer herself. Bleak! Ellie seems receptive to the idea.
Meet Riley
Later on, Ellie is sulking when her old friend Riley (Euphoria and Missing star Storm Reid) surprises her by coming in through her window. And Riley has a surprise: she’s joined the Fireflies. Ellie doesn’t believe her initially, but then she flashes her newly-obtained gun, and, well, Ellie doesn’t have much of a rebuttal to that one.
Reid has been a prolific and strong young actress in recent years, and “Left Behind” may be the best thing she’s done yet. The friendship between the two is entirely believable, and, while we’ll get there later, the sparks are flying and there’s clearly at least the thought that these two friends could perhaps be a little more.
Journey to the Center of the Mall
The meat of the episode, though, centers on Riley taking Ellie on a surprise adventure to somewhere that Ellie is entirely not suspecting. Riley takes Ellie first through an abandoned house, where they see a dead body—which allows Riley to refer to the fact that it’s not the first dead body she’s seen. There was, of course, her parents. It’s a chilling and tragic reminder that the young people in The Last of Us‘ post-outbreak world have been exposed to all kinds of heartbreaking things that people twice or three times their age would struggle to deal with. But they’re left normalizing this strange, horrific world.
Riley eventually leads Ellie to an abandoned mall, which was previously thought to be shut down. Before they make their way in, Riley promises to show Ellie “Four Wonders,” which Ellie can’t resist. Riley tells Ellie to run into the mall first, and after she does so, she powers the whole place up; you don’t realize how much these young people who’ve never known the kinds of things we take for granted are missing out on until you see them enamored by the spectacle of things as simple as the lights of a mall.
Ellie gets in and is absolutely flummoxed by the idea of “moving stairs,” aka… an escalator. She asks Riley if this is the first wonder, and, not wanting to ruin the fun, Riley announces that, OK, fine, there are five wonders now.
The episode makes it’s way through the mall, as Ellie and Riley’s chemistry (again, as friends with the inkling of more) is palpable throughout. They make their way from wonder to wonder, starting at a carousel that plays a delightful little rendition of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven,” before making their way to a lovely photobooth session (“Is that a time machine?” Ellie asks when she first sees it).
They find their way to the mall’s arcade, which, yes, is pretty awesome even when there’s not an outbreak of sickos. Like, if you put me in an arcade right now with unlimited money and all the games I wanted to play, I would be psyched. It’s funny to think about how the games we’re attracted to in arcades are so often influenced by the media we love—NBA Jam, Marvel Vs. Capcom, Pac-Man, things of that nature—and how Riley and Ellie are drawn in and having fun even without any of that. The two are having a god damn blast with Mortal Kombat (a throwback to when Ellie told Joel she’s seen one before in Episode 3) despite having never seen another one of those before in either of their lives.
Before Riley can show Ellie the last wonder, she essentially tells Ellie that the reason she planned this adventure was that the Fireflies are sending her out of town, to Atlanta; Ellie is furious and briefly storms off.
But she’s not gone for long. The two, meeting at the fifth wonder—a halloween store of sorts—dance to an Etta James song, and have a great time. The two have a heartfelt conversation once again, eventually leading to Ellie asking Riley not to leave; the two get closer and closer and share a kiss. Riley doesn’t need much convincing. She’s going to stay.
….Until an infected, teased a little earlier in the episode, bursts through, fighting with both girls. Ellie manages to kill the infected, but the cost is major: both Riley and Ellie have been bitten. We know, now, that Ellie is immune, but you can only imagine the utter fear and heartbreak that both must have had in this moment, and Ramsey and Reid do a fantastic job in expressing that. They think over their options, mulling what to do next.
Back to Joel
The end of the episode intercuts Ellie’s past experience facing death with Riley with her present experience facing death with Joel. The situations are almost analogous, but present Ellie is doing anything she can to avoid going through any sort of loss again. She finds thread, and while she’s no pro, is willing to stitch Joel up to the best of her ability before losing him.
We’ve only got two episodes left in Season 1 of The Last of Us, but there’s no question that whatever happens next, Joel and Ellie are going to be goddamn inseparable. These two matter to one another.
Evan is the culture editor for Men’s Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn’t.
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