In “Left Behind,” the seventh episode of “The Last of Us,” we have a flashback to the last instance in which Ellie genuinely cared for someone.
Joel and Ellie had arrived at the campus where Tommy (Gabriel Luna) had claimed they might find the Fireflies when we last saw them in Episode 6, “Kin,” of Season 1. Nevertheless, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) ended up running into some men who ended up stabbing Joel, sending them fleeing while Joel was seriously hurt. When the episode ended, Joel had fallen off the horse, and as the credits rolled, a scared Ellie begged him to get back up. “Left Behind” mostly tells the story through a flashback as we witness the last time Ellie cared about someone, instead of concentrating on Joel and Ellie following this incident. When the writing and story are this strong, there’s not much incentive to modify what worked before. “Left Behind” may be the closest the show gets to actually repeating a section of the game.
Two Directions Ahead
Joel and Ellie are discovered camped out in the garage of an abandoned suburban home. While Ellie is trying to stop Joel’s bleeding, he tells her to leave him, grabs her, and demands that she go to Tommy up north. Joel sheds a tear as Ellie puts his jacket on him and exits the house.
We then switched to a flashback of Ellie running laps in the gym while listening to Pearl Jam’s “All or None” on her Walkman cassette player in the Boston quarantine zone. Ellie’s headphones are ripped off by Bethany, a classmate, who tells her to speed up. Ellie says she doesn’t want to fight about it. But, the young woman claims that Ellie doesn’t fight; rather, her friend does, and the friend is no longer present. Ellie, however, shows the girl incorrectly by hitting her in the face. Ellie ends up in Captain Kwong’s office, now sporting a black eye, where he claims that while Ellie isn’t often well-behaved, these recent weeks have been even worse. As Ellie responds “excellent,” Kwong informs her that Bethany has fifteen stitches and is in the hospital. Ellie then requests that Kwong simply throw Bethany in the hole. But, Kwong claims that the hole is ineffective, so he will try something new: He will tell her the truth.
Ellie is intelligent, but Kwong says she has two choices in front of her. If she continues along the first road, she will continue to act and live like a grunt. For the rest of her life, she will work lousy jobs, consume lousy fare, and obey lousy orders—probably from Bethany. Ellie may have chosen the alternative by swallowing her pride, adhering to the guidelines, and becoming an officer. Good meals, your own room, and the opportunity to tell the Bethanys of the world to screw it are all advantages of choosing this road. Ellie asks why he cares, to which Kwong responds that if they fail, the entire QZ fails, regardless of what anyone may think. Ellie responds that the latter option when Kwong suggests that she might be a leader and asks her which road she would like to choose. Kwong gives Ellie her Walkman back after she requests it.
Ellie’s Best Night Ever
Later that evening, while reading her Savage Starlight comics in her room amid the rain, Ellie glances across the room to discover an empty bed. Someone enters Ellie’s room when she is sleeping several hours after the lights are off. Ellie kicks the person off and pulls her switchblade on her as she does so. The person had placed her hand over Ellie’s mouth. When Ellie recognizes Riley (Storm Reid), her former roommate and the buddy who fights, Ellie inquires as to Riley’s whereabouts. Riley has been missing for three weeks, and Ellie claims she believed she had passed away. Riley claims to be alright and that she merely took a brief detour, to which Ellie responds that Riley ought to have informed her closest friend about it.
When Ellie doesn’t believe Riley when she says she joined the Fireflies, Riley demonstrates her rifle. Riley promises to tell Ellie everything, but only if Ellie makes a commitment to join Riley for a few hours and have the time of her life. Although Ellie initially refuses, they both know that she will eventually accept. Riley remarks that Ellie is “always so odd about it” as she urges Riley to turn back while she changes. Riley also notices that among Ellie’s cassettes is one from the band a-ha, a minor nod to The Last of Us Part II. Ellie should trust Riley with her life, according to Riley, who also warns that their destination is a secret. The two escape through the window and head out on their adventure around two in the morning.
Riley advises Ellie to pick and select her fights after the Bethany match as they descend to the streets while dodging patrols. They ascend seven levels and climb through a window before discovering a body. Riley claims that the body wasn’t there yesterday and that it appears the man combined alcohol from before the outbreak with prescription drugs. Just as the man is about to fall through the crumbling floor, Ellie grabs the bottle, startling the two before making them laugh. Ellie asks Riley whether that was the first time he had seen a dead body as they both exchanged drinks from the bottle (remember in Episode 4 when Ellie sampled Joel’s flask and claimed it was still gross?). Riley says her parents, not her. Riley agrees to let Ellie hold the gun after Riley makes fun of her and her recitation of the Firefly rules. Ellie then comments on how shockingly hefty the gun is.
What happened, Ellie wonders, did she start dating a Firefly guy and decide to turn a terrorist? Riley smirkingly replies, “Yup,” but goes on to explain that one night Ellie was in the hole and that’s how he got out. A woman in her 40s or 50s (whatever, she was ancient) approached Riley while she was snooping around and complimented her on her cunning. As Riley expressed her disapproval of FEDRA, the woman said if she wanted in, she was in. Now that she has said yes, she is a Firefly. Ellie continues reciting Kwong’s words about how FEDRA binds things together and questions whether Riley’s rejection of FEDRA is so straightforward. As they hop from rooftop to rooftop in the QZ on their way to their objective, Riley declares that as much as she enjoys arguing, they are on a mission.
Ellie sees that there are more lights when they stop for a break. According to Riley, more housing is needed because there are more people. Hence, according to Ellie, FEDRA isn’t wholly evil. Ellie responds by querying whether the Fireflies still employ bombs in response to Riley’s assertion that FEDRA is fascist scumbags. Ellie calls Riley’s advice to stay away from people while they are around propaganda. Ellie advises agreeing to disagree, but Riley argues it’s good to not know everything and that they are here. Ellie claims Riley is crazy and that the mall was sealed off because it was teeming with infected after Riley took her to an abandoned mall. Riley sneakily responds, asking why it isn’t sealed off if it is reportedly sealed off.
Take Me On
Riley says that the mall was also connected when FEDRA connected the new apartments to the energy grid as Ellie and Riley descend a hole. Ellie is instructed by Riley to exit one door, turn right, exit another door, and then notify her when she has arrived. Riley turns on the light just as Ellie arrives, allowing her to witness the illumination of the entire deserted mall. Ellie is silent for a change, speechless in the wonder at the start of the greatest night of her life. Riley assures Ellie that only the two of them can see the lights outside. Riley will tonight show Ellie the Four Wonders of the Mall since Ellie hasn’t seen anything yet.
Riley initially introduces Ellie to an escalator as “Take on Me” plays on the soundtrack. The “electric steps” startle Ellie, who giggles and jumps up and down in delight. Riley responds, “Well, there can be five,” when Ellie inquires if this is one of the wonders. Riley observes that the mall isn’t exactly crowded with infected as they go through it. Ellie queries why some of the shops are yet packed while others aren’t. Riley claims that her mother told her that during the outbreak, some establishments were broken into while others weren’t and that customers took what they required or desired. Ellie observes that while The Body Shop is still filled with goods, Foot Locker has been completely empty. Riley finds it hard to believe anyone has ever desired something like that as they subsequently look at a nearby Victoria’s Secret store. Riley then chuckles and claims that she was attempting to picture Ellie wearing something similar. Ellie examines the mirror of herself more closely as Riley leaves.
Riley then asks Ellie if she trusts her and states that Ellie must close her eyes. When Riley leads Ellie into the mall, Ellie extends her hand and cracks a small smile. Ellie is shown a functioning carousel by Riley when he commands her to open her eyes. The two board as a straightforward instrumental rendition of “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure plays through the carousel after Riley turns it on. Riley notices Ellie staring at her as they both mounted their horses. The two giggle as they exchange the alcohol bottle once more. The two of them share a lovely moment where they may both temporarily revert to their youthful selves.
The carousel then abruptly comes to a stop. Riley becomes irritated by Ellie’s lack of belief that they can liberate this location and remarks that it has been done at previous QZs (didn’t work out so well in Kansas City unfortunately). Ellie then inquires as to whether Riley actually departed because she believed they could liberate this location. Ellie, though, asserts that Riley might return and that he or she might represent the future and be in charge of running the show. Ellie is due to turn 17, which is when employees in the QZ receive their assignments, and Riley speculates that Ellie might be in charge of things. Riley claims that Kwong assigned her to watch over the sewage as people shoveled feces. The QZ views her in this way. Riley claims she has no idea why she kept Eliie in the dark and that she simply went away in a panic. The more time she spent away, the more difficult it was to return. Riley says Ellie is the one thing she misses about that place, and Ellie responds that she understands. Ellie appears to feel a little better after that revelation. Riley then explains that it’s time to leave because there are still wonders to see.
Perfect victory
Then Riley brings Ellie to a functioning photo booth and pays the $5 for their pictures. Riley responds that she was waiting to do it with Ellie when Ellie asks whether she has done this before, which is another revelation that, based on the expression on Ellie’s face, is almost as nice as the miracles. Together, the two strike silly positions, and during one particularly spooky one, Riley accidentally lingers too long cheek to cheek with Ellie. Riley hands Ellie the pictures to keep after they take a look at the pictures.
Riley cautions Ellie to pay attention before they visit the following wonder. Ellie rushes to Raja’s Arcade as soon as she learns what the next one is. Ellie stands outside and declares it to be the most beautiful thing she has ever seen with all the games going, the lights on, and the noises playing. Ellie is amazed by all the potential games, but she is disappointed that they won’t be able to play any of them without coins. Riley opened a change machine that dispenses tokens, but he had previously worked that out. Riley claims that yesterday she spent an hour cracking it open for this instant. Riley leads Ellie to the game’s crowning achievement, Mortal Kombat II (which Ellie pointed out in the gas station in “Long, Long Time”), while holding coins in his hand. These duo can truly compete against each other in Mortal Kombat, as opposed to in Left Behind, where Ellie and Riley had to visualize playing The Turning, a Mortal Kombat-like game, in the show. Riley chooses Mileena while Ellie goes with Raiden. They clashed buttons, but Riley emerged victorious and demonstrated Mileena’s fatality when she sucked up Raiden and spat out his bones. Ellie comments that Riley doesn’t do everything without her after Riley responds that she has visited the location a few times. While they carry on playing, our camera pans out of the arcade to reveal a lone infected that has just been awakened by Riley and Ellie’s sounds at a neighboring doll store.
The Last Wonders
Ellie, playing as Baraka, finally prevails after a few more rounds, and she executes her own fatality. They go a little too near once more and break off the moment as they applaud the harsh maneuver. Riley responds that they still have a few hours even though Ellie points out that it is getting late. Ellie claims she doesn’t want to cause trouble once more, but she will still be present on Monday. Ellie has a gift, Riley responds. Ellie seemed to be motivated enough to keep walking through the mall as a result. After arriving at the food court, they enter a taco restaurant and jump the counter. Ellie notices Riley’s belongings at the back, and Riley explains that this is where she has been primarily residing. Riley then takes out the present, which is No Pun Intended Volume Too, the joke book that Ellie will later read to Joel while they are traveling. Ellie is horrified once more as the two laughs together while reading the awful jokes. Ellie scans the area as Riley waits for her turn and notices that Riley is storing a large number of grenades. Ellie inquires if Riley uses them to blow up soldiers when Riley acknowledges that she manufactures them. Ellie then realizes that Riley wasn’t the one who discovered this mall; rather, the Fireflies had sent her here.
Ellie departs, telling her best friend “fuck you” and claiming that none of this was about her. Riley chases her down and tells Ellie to go. She will be assigned to a position in the Atlanta QZ. Ellie wanted to go with Riley, so Riley asked if she could join, but Marlene, the woman who recruited Riley, says Ellie couldn’t go. Riley says that she will be leaving Boston tonight. After taking it all in, Ellie approaches Riley and queries why Riley brought her here. She wanted to see her, according to Riley. Riley says she wanted to say goodbye as Ellie responds “And?”. Ellie asserts that it is; she just did it, despite Riley’s claim that it is difficult. After saying goodbye, Ellie departs alone and walks through the mall.
Ellie almost goes back the way they came, but she stops and turns around. Ellie begins to run in the direction of the shouting she hears. But she discovers that the source of the screaming was a Halloween retailer. Riley, who says “surprise…the fifth marvel,” is also there when she enters. Riley claims that she saved this for last since she believed Ellie would enjoy it the most. Riley returns the book to Ellie, who is still unhappy, and she sits close to her friend. Ellie describes her emotions, saying that she initially believed Riley to be dead until she returned and gave her this incredible fucking night. Riley then decided to leave again, this time permanently, to join a cause that Ellie doesn’t even believe Riley understands. Ellie, according to Riley, doesn’t know everything, and Riley wants that feeling of belonging and having a family again. She may be wrong about the Fireflies, but Riley was their first choice, thus she matters to them. Ellie, however, asserts that Riley came first in her priorities and expresses her desire to strike Riley. Ellie accepts Riley’s assurance that she will depart. Riley is Ellie’s best friend, and she will be missed, she claims.
Riley claims that there is still more to come in the evening. Riley confesses that she stole Ellie’s Walkman, which Ellie claims she was probably going to return and tosses a wolf mask at her. While the Etta James cover of “I Got You Babe” is playing, Riley connects the Walkman to a speaker. Ellie dons the wolf mask, Riley dons the clown mask, and they both get up on the counter of the shop and begin dancing. Ellie, though, begins to sag and removes her disguise. Ellie begs Riley not to go, and Riley complies. Riley also removes her disguise. Riley gets kissed by Ellie, who then says, “I’m sorry,” to which Riley responds, “For what?” The two exchange smiles and laughter as they are content to still have each other. Riley replies that they’ll figure it out when Ellie asks what they should do next.
We are all poetic and collectively go insane
But, as soon as they hear a noise, Riley pulls out her rifle and an infected starts to pursue them. The infected knocks them both down as they both run through the Halloween shop. Ellie stabs the infected in the side while trying to fend him off with Riley gone. The infected attempts to trample her, but Riley whacks it with a bat. Ellie grabs her switchblade and stabs the creature in the head, killing it for good while it struggles with Riley. The exhilaration of the situation overcomes Ellie, who is unaware that she has been bitten. Ellie yells, “No!” and practically tries to rub the bite mark off. Riley then confesses that she has been bitten on the hand, which is even worse. Both of them are doomed.
Back to the apparent departure of Ellie, we cut to Joel shivering in the basement. She walked upstairs, it turns out, in a frantic attempt to find something to assist Joel. Ellie damages the Halloween store at the mall after returning there in a fit of rage. Riley explains that in her opinion, they have two choices: either they take the easy way out and shoot themselves (which Riley doesn’t like), or they continue on. Ellie relaxes and takes a seat next to Riley. They persist rather than give up. They can spend that period of time together whether it is for two minutes or two days. Riley is unwilling to abandon that. Just being “all lyrical and crap and losing our minds together” is acceptable. What is the third option, Ellie queries? While the two sit there crying, Riley offers her apology.
When Ellie returns to the present, she searches the home and discovers a needle and some thread in a drawer. Running back down, she grabs Joel’s hand. She was unable to save Riley, Sam, or Joel, but she was able to save Joel. Joel averts his eyes in discomfort as she inspects the incision and starts to close it. She’s located the family Riley was referring to, and she’ll now struggle to keep him alive.
