The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 steps away from the main storyline briefly, to give fans the Left Behind DLC story of Ellie and Riley.
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 is just 56 minutes long, but it gives viewers an important back story about Ellie. This is surely something that fans who have played the Left Behind TLOU DLC have been looking forward to. This episode mostly stays with Ellie during a flashback to the past when her and her friend Riley visit a shopping mall. What happens shapes who she is, and sets up for the entire series.
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 might be a bit slow for those who know the details and do not wish to rehash them, as it is basically a shot for shot remake. However, this is exactly why some fans will be over the moon about it. Here is our recap and review, complete with spoilers so you have been warned.
Warning: Spoilers for The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 Ahead
The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 starts off with the camera panning through houses and a blood trail leading up to one. We see Ellie and Joel’s horse in a garage and Ellie is trying to help Joel, who appears to be bleeding out. He tells her to leave him and go to Tommy, who will protect her. She reluctantly gets up, putting a jacket over him, and leaves. Joel cries as she walks away.
When Ellie reaches for the doorknob to the outside, viewers are sucked into a flash back, which is where we spend most of our time in The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7. We see Ellie in military school. She has a Walkman, which a girl grabs and tells her to pick up her pace. When Ellie threatens her, she says you don’t fight, your friend does, but she isn’t here anymore. Ellie then punches her right in the face and ends up in the Captain’s office.
He asks her what’s going on the last few weeks, to which Ellie replies that Bethany started it. The Captain says she’s in infirmary with 15 stitches and Ellie says good. She asks to just be put in the hole, but he says she has been three times recently and it hasn’t helped. So he is going to try something different.
He tells her she has 2 paths she can go down. She can become a grunt with grunt work, or can be an officer. He sees the leader in her, so which way does she want. She chooses the officer path and then asks for her Walkman back.
Next, we see her in her room reading comics. Also in the room is an empty bed, which she keeps looking over at. At 1:53 am someone opens the window in her room and it is Riley. Fans from the video games will be thrilled to see this, and will immediately know what is to follow. It might be difficult, but it will be worth it.
Ellie asks where she’s been, stating she has been gone for three weeks. Riley tells her that she ran off and joined the fireflies, but since she is there, is Ellie ready to have the best night ever. Ellie says no at first, clearly upset that Riley had left her behind. She uses the excuse that she has drills in a few hours where she learns to kill…fireflies, before deciding to go out with Riley to a surprise destination.
Along the way they find a dead body, which Riley says wasn’t there yesterday. He has a bottle of booze which they take and then he falls through the floor, which startles them both. They drink from the bottle, having a hard time swallowing it.
Ellie asks Riley why she joined the fireflies. She explains that Ellie was in the hole and she snuck out. Then a woman approached her and asked what she thought about Fedra. Riley was honest and said they deserve to be the ones who are punished. And then she was asked to join the fireflies.
Ellie And Riley In The Mall
Ellie and Riley jump across roofs until they get to the mall. Ellie says Riley’s out of her mind and that they sealed it off for a reason. Riley points out it’s not sealed off…. and they climb in through the roof. Riley tells Ellie to go down the hall, through a door, and then wait. Riley is in the breaker room and turns on the lights. Ellie sees all the lights of the stores and signs turned on and is in awe of it. Riley explains that she planned a night for them with the four wonders of the mall.
When they get to the escalator, Ellie loves it. She’s in complete awe. Ellie asks if it’s the first wonder and Riley says sure, why not? There can be five wonders then. Riley tells Ellie to close her eyes. She takes her hand to lead her through the mall. They get to a carousel which she turns on. As they ride on it, they drink some more.
Riley explains that she got her assignment for her 17th birthday and she got assigned to sewage detail. That is part of the reason she wanted to leave Fedra. Riley tells Ellie that she’s the one thing that she misses from that place. As they spend time together, their chemistry is more and more apparent.
They are now two wonders down, and three to go. Ellie asks a magic horse with lights, how does it get better than that. The next wonder is a photo booth, where they take some photos together. Again, the chemistry is there. And then, the motherload. An arcade.
Ellie says it’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. They get coins out of the coin machine. They find Mortal Kombat II (which they had the poster of in their room). The two play and have a blast. Camera pans out and goes down the hall to the toy store and we see an infected stuck to the wall. And he wakes up.
Ellie wins and the two get very excited and close, but nothing happens. They almost kiss but stop when Riley says it is time for the next thing. Ellie says it’s getting late. She needs to go and can’t get in trouble again. Riley says they have a few hours still and Ellie says they can go tomorrow. Riley ignores this and tells her that she got her a gift. They go to the food court, where it is clear she has been staying, and Riley hands the gift over. It’s the pun book that she’s been reading to Joel.
The two laugh and giggle as they go through it, but then Ellie finds a pile of pipe bombs. She asks if Riley made them and she says yes. Ellie figures out the fireflies posted Riley at the mall. She gets mad and goes to leave but then Riley tells her they posted her in Atlanta and it’s her last night in Boston. She explains that she asked Marlene if Ellie could go too, and Marlene said no.
Ellie asks why she invited her there then and Riley says she wanted to see her and wanted to say goodbye. Ellie says goodbye and walks away. Down the hall and out of the mall. However, she starts to cry and goes back in. As soon as she opens the door though, she hears screaming. Ellie runs after the sound until she enters a Halloween store. Turns out it was a decoration screaming, and Riley says, surprise, quietly. This is the fifth and final wonder.
The two talk. Riley says the fireflies chose her and she matters to them. Ellie says she mattered to her first. Ellie asks if she is sure about leaving and Riley says yes. Ellie says you’re my best friend and I’ll miss you. Riley says that the night is not over yet and she has one last thing planned.
She gives Ellie a werewolf mask and she has a clown mask. Riley plugs in Ellie’s Walkman and the two dance on the counters in their masks. Ellie takes off her mask, and so does Riley. Ellie says don’t go. And Riley says ok. She doesn’t even have to think long about it. The two kiss. All seems to be right in the world until the infected comes in.
Riley gets knocked down and Ellie fights the infected. Rily gets pushed against shelf and tendrils almost go in her mouth until Ellie stabs him through the head and celebrates. Riley starts to cry, but not in a happy way. She looks at Ellie’s arm. That is when Ellie sees a bite mark and starts to freak out. Then Riley shows her that she was bit too.
The cinematic choices at this point are brilliant. Viewers flash between seeing Ellie looking for medicine and supplies for Joel in the present day and breaking things in the mall while Riley just sits there and watches.
Ellie asks Riley what they should do now and Riley says there are two options. Option one is the easy way out. It is quick and painless. She doesn’t like that option. Option two is to keep going. It’s not over yet and they can live and be together until they change. Riley says they can lose their minds together. Ellie says what’s option three and then the two hold each other and cry.
Cut to present day where Ellie finds a sewing kit and runs downstairs to Joel. He’s in bad shape but still alive. She holds his hand, cleans up his wound, and then sews him up. The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 ends here. On a very deep and powerful note.
Overall Thoughts
This was a much anticipated episode of The Last Of Us, and while it arrived sooner than expected, it really delivered. Here we get to explore the relationship between Ellie and Riley. We learn a lot about her past, including how she got bit. It feels like it is ripped exactly from the video game, and while most players will love this, some might find it redundant or slow. Where we have seen slight changes in the past, this really is not the case, which is what can cause The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 to feel like we already saw it (because we did).
For those who have not played the game and do not know the story, The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 7 is sure to be a standout of the season. Finally explaining things they did not know. With just two episodes left, we are excited to see where this goes from here.
Rating: 5 out of 5
NEXT: The Last Of Us Season 1 Episode 6 Recap and Review
About The Last Of Us
THE LAST OF US story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
The Last Of Us season 1 episode 7 is now streaming on HBO Max.
