The Last of Us episode 7 presents Ellie with her ultimate test while Joel’s worst fear has come true: he’s injured and she has to keep him alive. Joel and Ellie’s bond over the last few episodes has strengthened and we get a glimpse of Ellie’s backstory. The episode introduces Storm Reid as Riley, Ellie’s first love and the person she lost. In a new featurette, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann elaborate on how that experience affects Ellie’s decisions now.

At the end of episode 6, Joel appears to be dying. When we return to find him with Ellie, he’s in terrible shape, and in fact, is telling her to leave him because he’s not going to make it. Mazin notes, “Ellie has to make that decision. In the moment she hesitates, we are brought back in time to an Ellie we have not met.” The moment has been recreated in a way that we feel like she’s going to leave Joel but she’s just recounting the past.

Druckmann explains, “We get to see what it is like to be a kid in this world. Before you get thrust on this crazy journey or find out you’re immune to cordyceps. You’re just a kid in a military school that feels like she doesn’t belong.” Of Ellie and Riley’ connection he says, “She has no connection with anybody else, except for this one girl that left her and she thought was dead because she was gone for so long.” Adds Bella Ramsey, “Riley is Ellie’s only friend, really, in the QZ. She also has quite a big crush on her. Their bond and their relationship is very real, pure and fun. They have a really interesting dynamic and I loved working with Storm to create that.”

The Last of Us Left Behind Storm Reid Riley Bella Ramsey Ellie
Image via HBO

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Reid plays Riley as someone who has an upper hand on Ellie, she can boss her around, tell her what to do and Ellie is quite vulnerable in front of her. Mazin tells, “We had to find somebody that was able to not only be on Bella’s level in terms of talent, but also was somebody that we think would have the upper hand on Ellie. And that’s a tall order.” Riley has been missing for some time, and we get to know that she’s taken in by Fireflies and will soon leave. Reid explains “This is Riley’s one last chance to show her love and appreciation before she goes away. Riley is kinda testing out the waters and seeing how Ellie feels and she has a little crush on her, so it’s kind of like a date but not really.”

“In that world having a crush on someone it’s still, like, a feeling that you can’t just turn it off because the apocalypse is going on and you don’t think you have a future together. Like, it’s something that’s still very much there,” adds Ramsey. Mazin says, “In this world, it’s often the case that the happiest moments are interrupted by the worst moments. And there’s this wonderful moment where Ellie realizes that Riley feels the same way about her that she feels about Riley and they kiss,” but then it’s taken away from her. Druckmann says, “Ellie gets to experience first love, first kiss, and then we snatch it away from her.”

Mazin explains, “They’re attacked and they are both infected. And they believe quite certainly that they are both going to die or turn into a monster.” He notes Ellie turns dark and violent in that moment, smashing the store up and screaming and just furious though “Riley is quiet because she has experienced loss.” The Ellie we’re seeing in that moment has “never experienced loss.” And Riley does say, “We’re all going to the same place. But we don’t quit on the time we have together.” Druckmann adds, visually “cutting that with Joel when he tells Ellie, leave me and pushes her away. But that memory is ringing in Ellie’s ears, and she knows that she’s gonna fight till the bitter end. ‘casue the person she loves the most now in this world is Joel. And She’ll go to any length to save him.” Mazin sums up Ellie’s mindset as:

Ellie is thinking about Riley and she’s thinking about the fact that Riley didn’t quit on her, didn’t walk away. Riley didn’t let Ellie kill herself. Ellie is not walking away from Joel. And she goes right back down there and says, ‘I am going to keep this moment for as long as I can. For as long as I have you, I’m with you.’

The Last of Us episode 8 drops March 5. You can check out the featurette below: