We see more of Ellie’s backstory than ever before.

By Louise Griffin

Published: Monday, 27 February 2023 at 12:00 am

---

**Warning: Spoilers ahead.**

The more episodes of The Last of Us we see, the more our hearts shatter. We’re sensing a pattern here.

Episode 7 of the HBO show picked up after a dramatic end to episode 6, which saw Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) life on the line after he was stabbed in the stomach.

Ellie (Bella Ramsey) just about got him out of there, but now it’s down to her to either get him some help, or save him herself.

While Joel is in a bad way, the majority of episode 7 is a flashback to Ellie’s life before she met him, when she attended a FEDRA school.

We also get introduced to new character Riley, played by Storm Reid, who’s impacted Ellie’s life in a big way.

Plus, the episode features some hints about where Ellie’s story could go in the future.

Read on for everything you need to know about The Last of Us episode 7.

What happened in The Last of Us episode 7?

The Last of Us episode 7 begins with Ellie hiding a seriously injured Joel out in an abandoned house. She desperately attempts to stop his bleeding, with Joel urging her to leave him behind and go back to Tommy (Gabriel Luna).

Ellie throws a blanket over Joel and heads for the door and the flashback begins.

After getting into a fight in gym class, a younger Ellie is taken to the principal’s office. He explains that she has a choice – she can either continue to get into fights and have “the life of a grunt” or she can work hard and become a FEDRA officer in the future. She promises to do better.

Cut to later that night, Ellie’s in her room when her friend Riley (Reid) sneaks in. Riley had disappeared three weeks ago without a trace – so she’s got a lot of explaining to do. Omitting some key details, she said she “ran away for a bit” before revealing that she joined the Fireflies.

Riley asks Ellie to come with her for “the best night of her life”. Ellie refuses before finally agreeing. Still furious, Ellie follows Riley into an abandoned building where they see a dead body – and steal some alcohol from the man.

Riley explains that she got inducted into the Fireflies after an older woman, who we later realise is Marlene (Merle Dandridge), saw her sneaking around and argues that FEDRA are “fascists”. Ellie isn’t so sure, telling her that FEDRA “holds everything together.”

Jumping across roofs, the pair make their way to the mall, which Ellie believes is “full of infected”. Riley argues that it’s not even completely sealed off, and powers the place up, leaving Ellie stunned. Riley promises to show Ellie “four wonders of the mall” and, to the sound of A-Ha’s Take On Me, Ellie discovers escalators, nearly falling to her death.

Holding her hand, Riley takes Ellie to an intact carousel, powering it up. The pair enjoy the ride before it shuts down, with Ellie asking Riley if she really believes she can change things with the Fireflies, before urging her to come back. Riley reveals that she was given her assignment – sewage detail. She said that after she ran, the harder it was to come back, and that Ellie is the one person she misses.

The next wonder is a photo booth with the pair taking pictures together, before Riley leads Ellie to an arcade. She teaches her how to play Mortal Kombat II – but it quickly becomes apparent the two of them aren’t alone in there, as we see an infected waking from its sleep.

HBO

Ellie decides she wants to leave, reasoning that she doesn’t want to get in trouble. Riley convinces her to stay by telling her she got her a gift – her beloved pun book. Wandering about, Ellie finds homemade bombs, asking Riley if she made them. Riley confirms she did and insists that she would never use them near Ellie. Ellie realises that Riley didn’t find the mall, but was posted there by the Fireflies.

Ellie starts to leave, before Riley reveals that the Fireflies are sending her away. With the pair of them close to tears, Riley admits she wanted to say goodbye. Ellie storms off, before going back for Riley. She hears screaming but realises it was just a Halloween prop, with Riley showing her an abandoned costume shop.

Riley says she wants to belong to a family, like she did previously – something she thinks Ellie doesn’t understand. Making sure Riley’s certain with her decision, Ellie tells her she’s her best friend, before Riley decides to show her one last thing, handing her a wolf mask and putting on a clown mask.

Playing Etta James’ I Got You Babe, the pair dance together, before Ellie pulls off her mask and tells Riley not to go, before kissing her. She apologises, with Riley asking: “For what?”

However, the pair suddenly hear a sound, with an infected bursting out onto them. Riley shoots at it but it manages to pull them both to the ground, knocking Riley out. Ellie tries to fight it off with her knife, before Riley comes to her aid. Ellie finally manages to stick a knife in its head, triumphantly laughing. But Riley’s not laughing with her – she looks at Ellie’s arm and the pair both realise she’s been bitten. Riley reveals she’s also been bitten.