The Last of Us’ best story hits harder a decade later in episode 7

A second episode that is mostly self-contained of Last of UsThe second one is a hit with audiences. It’s become a bit of a thing for the HBO show, but episode 7, “Don’t Be Left Behind,” is a little different: Fans have been anticipating this particular one since the adaptation was announced. Left BehindA downloadable extension included an additional story. Last of UsIt was quickly considered the most important part of the game. A decade on, it certainly feels like the story’s most heartbreaking moment.

On screen, it is basically a beat-for-beat retelling of the expansion’s story (though the show’s timeline means the gags about Facebook and the ephemeral nature of social media are missing), with Ellie suddenly responsible for a wounded Joel and flashing back to events before the two ever met. Here in the past we’re introduced to Riley, her best friend who might just be more than that, as the two sneak out at night to visit an abandoned mall. Riley is determined to give Ellie the most memorable night of her lives by giving her a tour through various sites that these post-apocalyptic youngsters have never seen. This includes a functioning merry-go round and a photobooth.

Like in the game, the underlying tension — or at least the non-pandemic-related tension — comes from whether either of the two really recognizes that this is a date. It’s a genuine portrayal of burgeoning desire as they wrestle to ascertain whether the other is interested, and it rings all the truer for its queerness. It can be difficult for adolescents to understand the concept of same-sex attraction. This is especially true in an environment that does not encourage nor teach homosexuality. It’s the struggle to exist in that circumstance that has “Left Behind” hitting me harder than it did the first time around.

Seven episodes into the show, it’d be pretty reasonable to be suspicious of this happy time the two share, even as they playfully argue about their respective positions in the two combating factions of their city. Both are bitten and infected at the end, effectively giving them death sentences. Even though we know Ellie survives, it’s a crushing scene. Because if nothing else, it’s clear Riley doesn’t. They both face impending doom, Ellie furious and Riley more mature. Storm Reid and Bella Ramsey deliver performances that are as somber as the ones of Ashley Johnson or Yaani King, conveying the awful injustice of these children coming up against unjustly cruel people (much like another show last year).

Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO

Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO

Ellie’s rush to action and anger is established almost from her first scene in the show. At least we now understand where some of this comes from. There’s no way to reconcile the trauma of expecting to die alongside the girl you love, only to lose her while you have to live on. The weight of this has clearly been on Ellie’s shoulders for the entire show, and it fuels her turbulent relationship with Joel. In each other, to different degrees, they both see the people they’ve lost. Even the smallest changes in the adaptation can make all the difference in how this friction is presented. HBO’s Joel is not only more likable but more emotionally honest. In the episode’s previous episode, Tommy had a heart-to–heart conversation with Tommy. This was quite a contrast to the violent encounter that Tommy and Ellie had in the source material. His argument with Ellie, however, later makes it clear that he still cares about her. Without that mean, selfish streak from the game, the show seems less inclined to be critical of Joel as a character, a huge part of what drove Ellie’s transformation as a character over the two games. That leaves Ellie’s character looking a bit more childish around him.

That makes the timing of “Don’t Be Left Behind” all the more important: The game notably told the Left Behind story after Joel and Ellie’s story was finished. The expansion was more about offering a counterpoint to Joel’s more selfish interpretation of love than it was filling in backstory. Ellie already had recalled the events of Don’t Be Left BehindPlayers knew the ending of every game in the main one. For the show, “Left Behind” feels like a revelation. Although it doesn’t present Riley as an obvious contrast to Joel anymore, it makes Ellie realize why the loss of Joel is so frightening. While the show often comes across to me as schmaltzier than the source material, this episode remains tragic, and vital for contextualizing Ellie’s past and future struggles.

In 2013, it was extremely bold to tell a complete story about a game that revolved around the theme of a relationship. It was a first for mainstream video games to include a queer love story in the game’s core. It’s not as novel now, a decade later and on television, but it remains a poignant, moving little arc. The ending was so compelling that it made me smile. Riley dedicated her remaining time to Ellie.

Photo: Liane Hentscher/HBO

It’s a stark contrast to Bill and Frank’s arguably saccharine utopia in episode 3. Where they were able to carve out a perfect space for themselves in spite of the world around them, Riley and Ellie can’t escape it. It is no longer their idyllic and picturesque sunlit home. Instead, Riley and Ellie find refuge in a decaying mall at the dark of the night. Bill managed to build a small town over many years. But they only have time for a few hours. Whether you feel Bill and Frank’s story was an important counter to media where queer stories often end in tragedy or pure fantasy, Don’t Be Left BehindHe is definitely more dependent on the tropes which define these stories (namely death). Riley does indeed die. But, despite this implicit tragedy Don’t Be Left BehindAvoids all the obvious. We don’t see Riley’s death or a mourning Ellie. Both the episode and game focus solely on Riley’s death and Ellie’s moments of survival and joy. But a decade on, it’s the harsh reality of their circumstances that separates it from Bill and Frank’s story.

Ellie decides to fight for Joel’s survival and not abandon him by the end. Hope triumphs. For now, at least. But with its new place in the story, “Left Behind” becomes its most urgent part. As I watched these two young girls being torn apart and their desperate circumstances, I couldn’t help but think of all the queer lives fighting for their dignity and freedom every day. Ellie’s struggle throughout the show is now reframed as a traumatized queer girl’s battle for some kind of peace. This makes it seem like an opportunity missed, as she has never had the chance to meet Bill or Frank. But it’s a telling one: This is Last of UsUnfortunately, too many roads lead towards tragedy. Ellie’s journey, as those who have played the game know, is no exception. Ahead is the darkest chapter in her story so far as she encounters David and his group of survivors, catching her alone without Joel’s support as she’s forced to do whatever it takes to survive. Beyond this first season awaits the events of the game’s sequel, where Ellie still doesn’t find any peace.

And unfortunately, that’s not an unfair reflection of the world right now. It’s not uncommon for children to be scared and seek out help from others who may have the answers. As a queer woman in my 30s, I’m so frightened for them, and it’s that same kind of fear I felt watching the latest episode of Last of Us. Although the story remains mostly unchanged, its themes over 10 years have become even more relevant. Where I once latched onto the love expressed by Riley, now it’s the tragedy of it I can’t let go of. It was always a heartbreaking story; it’s just all the more so for a decade passing without us being able to secure a better future for younger generations. “We fight for every second we get to spend with each other,” Riley tells Ellie in both versions. “Whether it’s two seconds or two days, we don’t give that up.” Hearing it a decade later for a second time, knowing everything that’s to come in the story, I just found myself so sad that Ellie, and the young people like her, have to fight at all.