Last of Us Season 1: Episode 7 “Left Behind”: Left Alone
-For the Uncensored!
In Episode 7, “Left Behind,” the show receives its first royal treatment of the backstory of Ellie. She gets to experience her time in the Boston QZ, where she fights a girl named Bethany, and she gets thrown in the hole. Only she’s offered a chance to “play by the rules” and become an officer. What she does is simple. Ignore all of that when her best friend, Riley, returns, revealing that she’s a Firefly, and Riley takes her into a mall. It’s amazing to see how Left Behind keeps in tow with the original DLC released in 2014, alongside the original campaign of The Last of Us. She even laughs at the Victoria’s Secret, which she catches herself eyeing the girl, wanting to be pretty for a moment. Kind of losing herself. Only the famous carousel scene is presented in full glory. It’s really given the slow motion treatment. Riley and Ellie share a drink on the carousel. It’s rather sweet, until they bring up why Riley ran away. She was offered Sewage duty, “standing guard while people shoveled shit.”
Also, the facebook picture scene made it in, too. They go to the arcade, too. That scene even made it in, but the arcade isn’t working in the game. She has to imagine it in the video game. She gets in the car, but Riley magically opens the coin machine. But they get to play Mortal Kombat II. Which was not in the game, either. I think it’s because a game mentioning another game couldn’t mention the actual game.
Only Ellie finds out Riley has been making pipe bombs. “I would never use them on you or anywhere near you.” Only it’s Riley’s last night in Boston. Only she returns, thinking Riley is in trouble. When Riley details the way the Fireflies chose her, and Ellie says, “You mattered to me first.”
Only they mix the horror shop with the dancing scene, which leads us to the kiss, and then the sad part comes. They are attacked by a clicker. Only Riley is infected, and Ellie is too. Only she smashes the glass, and Riley presents two options. Suicide, “quick painless, no I don’t like option one, no, we just keep going.” But she forces Ellie to keep going, “whether it’s just two minutes or two days, we don’t give that up. We can just be all poetic and shit and lose our minds together.”
But it cuts back to Ellie trying to help Joel back when she saved him in the beginning. She can’t leave him. She cleans his wound. And dresses it with stiches.
Overall, the episode really does highlight Bella Ramsey as an actor, and how she can carry the whole episode. Naughty Dogg was right to give this to Bella Ramsey, as this didn’t overact or make herself any less real than she should. But there are quite a few things that come to mind. It’s actually an episode that’s worthy of high praise, but somehow, kept the same as every little plot turn in the show is turned upside down.
So, not giving it a break, either way.
Pros:
The Mall is fantastically detailed.
Bella Ramsey is fantastic.
Cons:
This part is kept pristine, while the rest of the show is turned upside down.
Final Analysis: 2/5
-Louis Bruno is the author of more than 20 books, including, The Michael Project, The Michael Project: Book 2: The Lost Children of Eve, Thy Kingdom Come, The Disintegrating Bloodline Part 2: Chaos, The Data Chase, The Disintegrating Bloodline part 3: Solvè, The Disintegrating Bloodline (and the original text re-released in 2019), Apocalypse Soldier, The Data Chase, Selection: The First Book of the Life and Death Saga, and Blinking Eyes: The Second Book of the Life and Death Saga, Hierarchy of Dwindling Sheep, The City of Sand, The God of Curiosity, To the Moon and Back, The Villain Lives and The Villain Lives: The Divided Pinpoint, Come Home, Young One, City of Sand: Book 1: The Holy Terror, and The Voices Are Alive. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Phoenix. His books can be found on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Lulu. He can be found on Gab, https://gab.com/thereallouistbruno, Minds https://www.minds.com/lbruno8063/. Instagram @lbrruno8063 and @louisbrunoofficialbook. Twitter: https://twitter.com/LouisBr88881650. He has written for the Intellectual Conservative and Ephemere. His newest book, The City of Sand: Book 2: Jerusalem Ignited, is out now: https://www.amazon.com/City-Sand-Book-Jerusalem-Ignited/dp/1365979660/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1G8HAWZP73ZFO&keywords=Louis+Bruno+City+of+Sand+book+2&qid=1675772880&sprefix=louis+bruno+city+of+sand+book+2%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-1. Also, if you can’t subscribe so that you can get members only content, please be sure to share the articles, as well. If you do Subscribe, you have long term access to the paid articles that some readers won’t get to see or access after the articles/books go private. If that doesn’t tickle your pickle, I am also selling merch from t spring, if you want to help support me in other ways. I sell hoodies, shirts, phone cases, and trying to find something there loved ones would like. Links here: https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/too-many-strings-not-enough. https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/duck-fuckery. https://thereallouistbruno.creator-spring.com/listing/headless-corpo. Every like, subscribe, share, purchase helps. Thanks for reading.