Left Behind
The Last Of Us' 7th episode begins with a blood trail that leads straight into an abandoned house. Joel isn't in a good shape, but Ellie convinces her to leave, covering him up with a coat and going upstairs to get supplies.
Ellie's background is shown in the video below, describing her walkman as a ripoff, and Bethany as a child, who cuts the cord off her head in a similar way. Captain Kwong admits that she has several choices in her future. She either becomes a delinquent or she can serve as an officer in a more positive way.
Ellie's friend Riley sneaks in through the window and confronts her in the middle of the night. She's been gone for three weeks and Ellie is unsatisfied with Riley. She wants Ellie to come out with her and promise the best couple of hours of her life.
Ellie and Riley find some alcohol and they drink together. Riley explains how the guards are fascists and how her disdain for them was enough to persuade Marlene and the other Fireflies to join their cause.
Ellie is shocked, believing the mall is crawling with Infected. Riley though replies, and the mall isn't really sealed off as such. A beautiful, electric parade just for them.
The duo are engrossed in what they're doing, including taking pictures in the booth, playing on the arcade, and playing several rounds of Mortal Kombat II. The duo is so engrossed in what they're doing that they forget that there's an unaccounted for Infected that is waking up, with tendrils spreading across the ground.
Riley appears to have been living in a mall for a long time, given that there's a sleeping bag and a bunch of gear in the back. When Ellie discovers a bunch of homemade grenades, she realizes that Riley has been lying to her.
Riley admits that the Fireflies sent her to the Mall. It's only a temporary position, since she'll be sent to an airport in the morning. She wants Ellie to accompany her as this is her final night in Boston.
Ellie and Riley end up dancing around on countertops wearing masks on. This eventually leads to the pair kissing and confirming their feelings for one another. However, something unexpected happens: one of the Infected! It begins with Ellie and Ellie, and ends with Ellie stabbing it in the head.
Ellie is bitten as a result of this, while Riley is also scratched in her hand. We then turn our attention to the present.
Ellie stitches up Joel and does everything she can to assist him. However, he is losing his balance and requires antibiotics.
While I appreciate the desire to expand the story for Ellie a bit more, this also highlights one of the show's main flaws: the pacing.
It's also unfortunate that in our show abouT the infected, we've seen the Clickers once, had a cameo appearance from one Bloater once, and have rare instances of the Infected scattered throughout perhaps three of the seven episodes so far. That doesn't exactly bolster the tension or suspense, although many shows like The Walking Dead have successfully blended action, drama, and strong themes.
The show feels stale with two irrelevant episodes that could be deleted completely and without losing anything. However, episode 7 by comparison has very little to offer. Sure, Ellie and Riley chat about the Fireflies for 50 minutes, but beyond that, there's nothing to this episode.
The Last Of Us would not even make the top 5 in the post-apocalyptic field right now, if any. We'll have to wait and see if the remaining episodes make the trip.
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