A number of changes have already been made during the process of adapting The Last of Us from video game to television. Some are big, some are small. The most notable is episode 3 of the series, which took two side characters and created a feature length love story. In episode seven, 'Left Behind', viewers are treated to Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Riley (Storm Reid) enjoying an evening of innocent fun and hesitant romance on an after-hours sojourn to a decrepit shopping mall in Boston.
The pair spend the evening having the kind of fun that adolescents were unable to do in the post-apocalyptic world, taken down by the Cordyceps virus, as they do some window shopping, play some arcade games, make fun of Victoria's Secret, take pictures in a photo booth, and share a tentative first kiss. The attachment to Riley will prove an important linking tool to Ellie's dependence and love for Joel as the show progresses back to present day.
In the Left Behind downloadable content to The Last of Us, both characters are ambushed by a horde of infected late in the game and trapped as they share their final moments together - or so Ellie thinks. As we know, Ellie will survive the encounter but Riley's fate is certain, even if it's unseen.
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Discussing the architecture of the scene on The Last of Us Podcast, producer Neil Druckmann explained why the creative team had made the change - and more specifically, why they wanted to highlight that it wouldn't take a horde of infected to ruin your life, but just an encounter with one when your guard is down.
The infected attack is different from the game. In the game, there’s no indication until much later that there are infected, and it’s clear there are a lot more infected that ambush the player. We have the characters comment on how it should be full of infected, but Riley is correct when she says it’s not. There’s only one, that’s all it takes, and what wakes him up is the sound of their joy and laughter and fun. As much as we can, we give our characters the things they want the most, and punish them for getting it. One of the fears you have in this world is that you’re never safe enough to have fun, to fall in love and to have a first kiss.
The Last of Us airs Sundays at 9pm on HBO. Check out the trailer for the next episode down below.
