*Spoilers ahead for “The Last of Us” episode 7*

“The Last of Us” episode 7 is titled “Left Behind,” after a DLC from the original game. This DLC is a downloadable expansion to the game, and focuses on Ellie and her old, briefly mentioned friend Riley. It delves more into Ellie’s past and gives players an insight to her life before and who she is (a lot of people appreciated the flashback of her attending a gym class and getting into a fight, which was not featured in the game). This DLC takes places only three weeks before the events of the game.

Once again, actress Bella Ramsey proves herself as the perfect Ellie, as she captures the character’s emotion and mannerisms flawlessly. They got Ellie’s pining for Riley down to a tee; the subtle glances and apparent nervousness made everything clear pretty quickly.

One piece from this episode that was found to be interesting was the small moment of vanity Ellie shows. After seeing the Victoria’s Secret with Riley, she checks and fixes her hair in the window reflection when Riley isn’t paying attention. Watchers were intrigued by this, because it differs entirely from Ellie’s personality. Up to this point, she was shown as unconcerned with her appearance. In fact, the game features an interaction between Joel and Ellie where they see an old picture of a model. Ellie verbally wonders why women cared about their looks, and even refers to the idea as “stupid.” It shows the humanity she has, in a way; deep down she just wants her crush to find her attractive, and that’s something a lot of people can relate to.

The cinematography was another beautiful detail. The scene where Riley turns all the lights on the mall in was simply stunning. One thing “The Last of Us” has always executed well is the small moments of beauty within it, and the show adapted that wonderfully. Not only that, but the carousal sequence was just as pretty and adorable for the romance blossoming between the girls; like the other characters, it made Riley’s death that much more devastating. Overall, it was very aesthetically pleasing and emotionally impactful.

Rating: 4/5 stars.