Fans anxiously waiting to learn Joel’s fate following last week’s cliffhanger won’t find much relief this episode, as it spends most of its 55-minute run time in the past. The Last of Us episode 7, “Left Behind,” rewinds the clock to a time before Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) worlds collided.
While faithful viewers might not look forward to another week spent on tenterhooks, the game’s biggest fans will appreciate the show thoughtfully adapting a side story that could’ve easily not made the cut. How does this week’s flashback episode fit into the larger story, and why will it feel like new narrative territory even to many who played the original game? Let’s head to the mall and find out!
Spoiler alert: The following contains details about The Last of Us season 1, episode 7, “Left Behind,” as well as the game DLC of the same name. Stop here if you have not watched the episode or wish to avoid spoilers from the game add-on.
DLC DETOUR
(Photo by Sony Interactive Entertainment)
It’s now the norm for video games to continue or expand their stories via downloadable content (or DLC), additional chapters or modes that arrive sometime after the game proper releases. Optional, typically standalone entries that are purchased separately, these DLC drops are sometimes shallow cash-grabs or extra material that doesn’t match the quality of the source material. DLC is also frequently ignored by more mainstream gamers who’ve played the primary story and have no desire to invest additional time – or money – to check out this peripheral content.
This week’s episode takes its name directly from the original game’s highly acclaimed DLC. Released about six months after 2013’s The Last of Us on PlayStation 3, “Left Behind” introduced Ellie’s best friend Riley and focused on the pair’s relationship as they explore an abandoned mall outside of the Boston quarantine zone.
While this week’s episode takes some liberties with these original events, it largely sticks to the narrative path players followed in the game. But again, for the more casual gaming crowd that maybe skipped, or wasn’t even aware of the DLC, this week’s chapter will feel as fresh as — though tonally familiar to — Bill and Frank’s fleshed-out story from episode 3.
A TALE OF TWO MALLS
(Photo by Liane Hentscher/HBO)
The absolute biggest difference between the two versions of “Left Behind” is that the TV take almost entirely excises the current-day events that immediately follow Ellie bringing Joel to relative safety after the attack at the university. The episode begins shortly after last week’s cliffhanger and also concludes in Joel and Ellie’s current timeline, with her stitching him up.
The DLC begins similarly, though the game’s Ellie brought Joel to an abandoned mall rather than an empty suburban house. But the game’s different setting cleverly kicks off a parallel story, which sees Ellie exploring malls in two separate timelines, albeit under very different circumstances. The game expansion jumps back and forth between the two settings and stories, spending as much of its 2-plus-hour playtime in present Colorado as it does in past Boston.
The former finds Ellie desperately scouring the shopping center for medical supplies to help Joel. She ultimately discovers a first-aid kit in a military helicopter that’s crashed through the mall’s roof, but not before going through hell to acquire it. She ultimately comes to Joel’s aid with supplies — just as she does in the episode — but the path to that end is packed with plenty of post-apocalyptic threats. With Joel sidelined, players control Ellie through this entire stretch of the game, taking out enough human raiders and fungal freaks to fill the mall’s food court.
In fact, as praised as the DLC is, it’s also received criticism for making Ellie too much of a badass. A lengthy section toward its end, just before Ellie reunites with Joel, sees her severely outnumbered, but still eliminating a dozen or so human and infected foes. But don’t let the disbelief-suspending gameplay dissuade you, as experiencing this version of “Left Behind” — especially after seeing the show’s fresh adaptation — will give you a new appreciation for Ellie’s desperate determination to help Joel.
