Editor's note: The following article contains spoilers for Episode 7 of The Last of Us.
It took some time, but HBO’s The Last of Us finally gave Ellie (Bella Ramsey) her own episode. And while the series has been teasing Ellie’s survival guilt for a while, Episode 7, “Left Behind,” gets to the core of the issue by showing the girl’s previous relationship with Riley (Storm Reid). By looking at Ellie’s past, Episode 7 explains her present decisions, as the girl puts herself at risk to help Joel (Pedro Pascal) after he was almost fatally wounded.
We already know Ellie was born after the world was nearly destroyed by the Cordyceps infection, and that she has no family. Previous episodes also told us that, before being bitten by an Infected, Ellie was also being trained to become a FEDRA agent. Now, Episode 7 explains what life was like for Ellie before she became an asset to the Fireflies, while revealing who the girl’s first love was and how she got separated from her crush. It’s another heartbreaking chapter in Ellie’s story, one that’s essential to understanding the character’s motivations.
Riley Takes Ellie to the Mall
Most of Episode 7 happens after Riley returns to FEDRA’s academy to spend one magical night by the side of Ellie. Riley escaped the academy in the middle of the night, leaving Ellie behind to deal with bullies and strict rules. Three weeks later, Riley is back, revealing she’s been enlisted into the Fireflies. While Ellie is angry at Riley for leaving, she still agrees to follow her friend to an abandoned mall. FEDRA shut the building down due to the supposed presence of Infected. However, after a change in the power grid of the Boston settlement, Riley managed to turn on the electrical supply of the place. Now, the mall is a haven of bright lights and empty stores that Riley and Ellie can explore together while glimpsing at the lost wonders of the past.
While spending time at the mall, Ellie and Riley discuss FEDRA and the Fireflies. Ellie knows FEDRA’s means are hard to defend, but she believes they are holding the settlement together. For Ellie, sticking with FEDRA also means having a better future, and in The Last of Us universe, it’s easy to understand why people can hold tight to any sort of comfort, regardless of the moral price they have to pay. Meanwhile, Riley has shifted alliances after being chosen by the Fireflies, who made her feel welcome for the first time since her parents died. Riley's vision of the Fireflies is naive since she believes there are no casualties caused by the revolutionaries' actions, all while she’s keeping guard of an explosives stash. Still, the Fireflies fight for freedom, while FEDRA is concerned with control.
Ellie and Riley’s political discussion helps paint The Last of Us world with many shades of grey. Both girls have understandable reasons to ally with one of the two primary political players. Both sides of the conflict are also responsible for death and destruction, even if the Fireflies seem to have the upper hand regarding morals, at least so far. But Ellie’s and Riley’s disagreement is also significant to underline the most crucial truth of all: all these political discussions seem petty in the face of death, especially when love feels like it’s escaping through our fingers.
At the end of Episode 7, Ellie takes a leap of faith and kisses Riley. To her surprise, Riley corresponds to Ellie’s affection, which could be the start of a beautiful love story. Unfortunately, they are attacked by a clicker attracted to the noises at the mall. Riley and Ellie manage to join forces and kill the Clicker. However, they are both bitten in the process. By the end of Episode 7, we learn how Ellie got the scars on her arm. But we also understand why the girl is so afraid of loss.
While Ellie is immune, Riley isn’t. So the first person Ellie loved romantically has died a horrible death, as the Cordyceps slowly replaced her body tissues. What’s worse, once the two girls are bitten, they decide to fade away into oblivion together, enjoying every last second they have. Nevertheless, after agreeing to stay by Riley's side until they were both dead, Ellie unexpectedly survived, and it’s hard to shake that kind of trauma. No wonder the girl is doing whatever she can to save Joel from his deadly fate.
How Does Ellie Get Bitten?
At the beginning of Episode 7, we learn Ellie managed to carry Joel on horseback to an abandoned house they can use as shelter. Joel is bleeding his guts out, and it seems like he might die any minute. Using what can be his last breath, Joel urges Ellie to take the horse and go North, back to Jackson, where his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) can protect the girl. Ellie knows that Joel is correct and that she probably can’t survive alone. She also knows that Joel is in horrible shape, and they don’t have the supplies to keep him alive. Even so, after thinking about Riley and what happened at the mall just a few months earlier, Ellie decides to stay by Joel’s side.
At the end of Episode 7, Ellie finds the tools she needs to stitch Joel’s wound in a bloody moment that’s hard to watch. Her desperate action is deeply connected to the tragic demise of Riley, as Ellie doesn’t want another loved person to die while she keeps living on. A few episodes back, we learned that Ellie’s biggest fear is being the last person standing in The Last of Us broken word. That fear seems to have emerged mainly from the death of Riley, but it also shapes her relationship with Joel. And as soon as Ellie decides to remain with Joel, instead of running away to safety, she takes a huge step toward becoming the fighter she’s slowly becoming.
New episodes of The Last of Us come to HBO and HBO Max every Sunday.