‘The Last Of Us’ recap: Ellie’s heartbreaking history with Riley revealed

episode 7 of The Last of Us It starts with a trail of blood in the snow that leads to an abandoned house. Ellie managed to bring Joel there alive. He begs her to leave him and go back to Tommy. She covers him with a blanket and leaves the basement.

The show flashes back to when Ellie was on QZ. She fights with one of the girls and has to meet the captain. She tells her that she can choose to follow the rules and become an officer or go unnoticed. “There is a leader in you. And one day it may or may not be your turn,” she says. Ellie takes the keys she gives her.

In the middle of the night, Riley returns and surprises her. She has been gone for 3 weeks. Ellie asks Riley where she’s been all this time. Riley reveals she has joined the Fireflies. Riley begs Ellie to come with her for a few hours. Ellie hesitates, but she can’t refuse. The girls steal some alcohol after coming across a dead body.

Ellie asks Riley how she became one of the fireflies. Riley explains that she ran away and ran into an old woman. After revealing her thoughts about Phaedra, the fireflies carried Riley away. But this is not the point. Riley plans an emotional night for Ellie at the mall.

Riley wants to show Ellie the “four wonders of the mall”. Ellie is in awe of the escalator of all things. They see abandoned shops, some cleaner than others. Riley takes Ellie to a working carousel.

“You’re the only thing I miss about the damn place, if that matters,” Riley tells Ellie. The girls have fun in the photo booth before going to the arcade. While they are having fun, one of the only infected people in the mall wakes up.

There’s a moment where it looks like Ellie and Riley might kiss, but the two stop short of going there. Ellie then tells Riley that she needs to go back. Before leaving, Riley takes Ellie to her location, a restaurant in the food court. Ellie discovers the hand grenades Riley made and realizes Riley is stationed there.

Ellie leaves. Riley confesses that she’s leaving. They’re sending her to a place outside of Boston. “I asked her if she could come in so we could go together, but Marlene said no,” Riley reveals. This is Riley’s last night in Boston.

“Why did you bring me here?” Ellie asks. Riley replies, “Because I wanted to see you.” Riley wants to be able to say a real goodbye. Ellie says goodbye to Riley and starts leaving the mall. She decides to go back. Suddenly, she hears a scream.

Luckily, it was just a Halloween car that Riley turned on. It is the latest mall wonder. Riley and Ellie get a chance to talk more. “You don’t know what it was like to have a family, to have a mother,” Riley says. “She Belonged to them and they want it back. Fireflies may not be what I think they are, but they chose me. I am important to them.

Ellie tells Riley, “You were important to me before.” When Riley points out that this is the right decision for her, Ellie accepts her choice. “You are my best friend and I will miss you,” Ellie says.

Riley has one last thing to show Ellie. He throws Ellie a wolf mask, while she puts on a scary clown mask. They listen to music and throw a dance party. Ellie tells Riley not to go. “Okay,” Riley replies. Ellie kisses Riley.

Suddenly, they hear something in the distance. Riley tells Ellie to get ready to run. The infected man attacks Ellie and Riley at the Halloween shop. The infected manages to knock Riley out. During the fight, Ellie stabs the infected in her head as she chases after Riley.

Ellie soon realizes she has been bitten. Riley discovers she has the same fate. Ellie starts breaking things and believes their lives are over. Ellie still doesn’t know she’s immune. Riley says they have two options: kill themselves or carry on until time runs out. They start crying together. We all know how that ends, sadly.

In the present day, Ellie doesn’t leave Joel behind. She goes looking for anything she can use. She finds needle and thread. Ellie refuses to leave him and he won’t leave her. Not if she had anything to do with it. She begins to sew it up with a needle and thread.

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