How The Last Of Us Episode 7 Compares To The Original Video Game
We took a trip back in time in episode 7 of "The Last of Us," revisiting the fateful night of Ellie's infection just three weeks before the start of the season. The episode was the adaptation of "Left Behind," the DLC (downloadable content) for the first game. For the non-initiated, DLCs are playable add-ons to an existing title released sometime after its initial launch. (Yes, they cost money and yes, they are a debated topic in the gaming community!) They are usually reserved for popular games, released as both a treat for fans salivating for more gameplay and extended profit for game studios. New fans are lucky, though — the recent re-release of the series for PlayStation 5 has "Left Behind" included.
Since it is supplemental content, playing a DLC is not necessary to enjoy or understand the main plot of a game; indeed, they are often separate stories unto themselves. But, including "Left Behind" in the HBO version of "The Last of Us" is in line with the creators' commitment to adapting as much from the game as possible. I'd argue this episode functions as filler for the season, but filler is not bad! We saw a tenderness and vulnerability in Ellie not yet explored, as well as the confirmation of Ellie's sexuality. It functioned the same way as the DLC did, despite tweaking some details for television.
Joining the revolution
When we come to the flashback in the game, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) already knows about Riley's (Storm Reid) Firefly initiation. In fact, this is where the flashback begins, with Ellie asking Riley how she joined. Riley explained that one day she followed a man named Trevor (whom Ellie had bitten in the past, because of course she did) into an alley. She was ambushed by Fireflies and Marlene, who asked her what had taken her so long to join them. In the show, however, Marlene (Merle Dandridge) approached Riley, recruiting her right away.
Riley didn't know Marlene when this happened, whereas she did in the game. In fact, all three of them knew each other. This is proven in the game with how Riley speaks of Marlene to Ellie without any formality, at one point even saying, "You know how Marlene is. Nothing is easy with her — everything's a test."
It is perhaps because of her familiarity with Marlene that Ellie had a less abrasive reaction to Riley leaving her for the Fireflies in the game. She is more playful in her digs at Riley about being a Firefly and even asks Riley if she should join. This advance was denied by Riley, who told Ellie that Marlene wouldn't allow it. She wanted to keep Ellie in military school, safe and out of trouble.
Given that none of these connections exist in HBO's universe, it makes sense why the new Ellie is more biting with her remarks about Riley's decision. I do hope Marlene's connection to Ellie's mother is explored before the season ends. In line with the show's theme of making impossible decisions, I think it would make Marlene's ultimate fate more complicated if it is made explicit that she does care for Ellie as she did in the game.
Scenes from a mall
One satisfying parallel from the game removed from the show was Ellie's physical location during the flashback. In the game, she leaves the injured Joel (Pedro Pascal) in a secluded room in an abandoned mall, and she ventures far from him around the mall to look for medicine for his injury. The mall setting of the present-day portion of the game makes a natural transition to the mall flashback, but in the show, she is instead in an abandoned house. What's more, she never goes further than a separate floor from Joel to search for medical supplies for him.
The episode takes its time getting to the mall. Without exploratory gameplay to account for, much of the beginning of the episode with Ellie at school was inserted to fill things out. Once Ellie and Riley get to the mall, all of the memorable scenes from the game are there: the carousel, photo booth, and electronics store were maintained from the game. Still, the writers did make a handful of changes to the quirkier parts of their expedition.
Savoring the last dance
One change occurred during the photo booth scene, and it was necessary due to the show's change to the apocalypse timeline. In the game, the booth prompts them to "share to Facebook." Ellie asks what "a Facebook" is, to which Riley posits that the machine would perhaps print their faces in a book. As the game's outbreak occurred in 2013, Facebook was reaching peak popularity. The show's outbreak happened in 2003, meaning Facebook was merely a thought in Mark Zuckerberg's head at that time. Thus, one of the funnier gags from the game was omitted.
The last stop of the mall tour in the electronics store was also amended. Ellie and Riley visit a Halloween store in the game where they try on scary masks. Later, they visit an electronics store where they plug Ellie's Walkman into the sound system to play Etta James' "I Got You Babe." The mask scene was longer and separate from the electronics store scene. The show, however, condensed these scenes into one, having the girls dance to the song in the store with their masks on.
Additionally, when Ellie asks Riley to stay in the game, Riley takes off her Firefly pendant, prompting Ellie to kiss her. Riley does no such thing in the episode. Just as the show's Ellie is more adamantly opposed to Riley's Firefly membership, Riley is equally as steadfast in her decision to join their ranks, unlike in the game.
Lastly, the girls are bitten by a single clicker, rather than overwhelmed by a horde as in the game. The dialogue between the two after they discover their fate is essentially the same across both versions. We never see Riley turn, a choice that forces players and viewers alike to draw their own conclusions about how that night ended.
Saving Joel
To give the DLC at least a little action, the game saw Ellie stealth travel and kill her way through infected and bandits in her quest to get medical supplies for Joel. What's more, Joel never told Ellie to leave him in the game as we saw in this episode. Adding that layer to the series — having Ellie actively choose to stay by Joel's side as she did in episode 6 — reminds the audience that these two have imprinted on one another.
Narratively, the DLC and series adaptation serve slightly different purposes. The DLC sought to provide a backstory on how Ellie got bit and to show someone that Ellie lost in her life the same way we saw with Joel. The series used the story of "Left Behind" to directly mirror Riley and Joel in Ellie's world.
When both girls sit together after they've been bitten, dreading their deaths, Riley interlaces her fingers with Ellie's. When Ellie comes back to stitch Joel up at the end of the episode, Joel does the same thing to her, reminding her of the devastation she felt in losing her best friend. This desperate gesture from Joel solidifies to Ellie that the love she feels for Joel is as powerful as her love for Riley.
She won't let Joel slip through her fingers if she can help it. As Tess said so poignantly at the start of the series: save who you can save.