mall madness

‘The Last Of Us’ surprises with a coming out, more heartbreak, and gay fans have a LOT of feelings

By · 8 comments · Updated on March 14, 2023
Image Credit: ‘The Last Of Us,’ HBO

Spoilers ahead for The Last Of Us Episode 7, “Left Behind.“

Seven episodes into HBO’s apocalyptic drama, The Last Of Us, we know by now: Don’t get too attached.

Outside of our heroes Joel (number one daddy/ally Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (rising nonbinary star Bella Ramsey), pretty much every character we’ve grown any sort of attachment to has died—most of them by the end of the episode.

So, we braced ourselves when we realized the show’s latest outing—”Left Behind”—would be another extended flashback, this one depicting Ellie’s fateful night out at the mall with her friend Riley (played by Storm Reid, who you’ll likely recognize from Euphoria and those inescapable “Stop scrolling!” ads for the movie Missing On TikTok.)

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Were our eyes deceiving us, or is ‘The Last of Us’ about to get even gayer?

We’re taken to the not-too-distant past where Ellie is in FEDRA training, that famous attitude of hers on full display. One night, her long-missing pal Riley climbs through her window, reveals she’s joined the rebel militia group the Fireflies, and coaxes Ellie to go on a surprise adventure with her.

They end up at a dormant mall—a setting with a lot of history in the zombie and teen romance genres—where Riley has planned to show her friend its four “five wonders,” starting with a working escalator.

For a while there, it’s pure teenaged bliss: Arcade games, stolen glances, silly photobooth pics, hand-holding, carousel rides to lullaby versions of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” It’s beautiful, really, and most anybody who remembers harboring warm, fuzzy feelings for their friend when they were a baby gay can relate to the emotion the episode so perfectly captures.

But we know what to expect with The Last Of Us, so the dread gradually creeps in—and that’s before we see an Infected dude stir awake deep in the American Girl Doll store. Creepy!

After Riley reveals the Fireflies are relocating her to Atlanta, Ellie attempts to run away in frustration, but can’t leave that easily. She finds Riley in a Halloween costume shop, and the two reconcile, donning monster masks and dancing to Etta James’ cover of “I Got You Babe.”

They take their masks off and Ellie goes in for a kiss—it’s magic. Ellie apologizes, but Riley’s right there in the moment with her. In that instant, the possibilities feel endless for our young heroes; they have each other and nothing else could matter. “What do we do now?,” Ellie asks with the widest grin.

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Bella Ramsey plays teenager Ellie in the post-apocalyptic drama.

Right on cue, that’s when the Infected barges in. After a tussle, Ellie stabs with mushroom man in the head, but it’s too late: They’ve both been bitten. Obviously, Ellie’s still alive in the present timeline, so we know how this goes: They decide to wait out whatever time they have left, together.

Thankfully, The Last Of Us spares us from having to watch the moment where Riley turns—a rare moment of mercy from the show.

There have been a few subtle hints at Ellie’s queerness throughout the series, but, to video game loyalists, none of this comes as much of a surprise. Much of the episode is pulled directly from The Last Of Us: Left Behind, a 2014 expansion pack to the original game.

And though it was another example of the series dangling queer joy right in front of us before taking it away, it does, at least, give its LGBTQ+ characters some agency. Like Bill and Frank back in episode three, Ellie and Riley decide to make the most of their remaining time together, and it’s bittersweet to seem them carve out moments of peace and happiness in this unforgiving world.

Once again, the episode has left Gay Twitter™ in shambles, with responses that have been hysterical—in every sense of the word. Here are just a few of our favorite reactions to the latest The Last Of Us:

The next episode of The Last Of Us will air Sunday, March 5 on HBO and stream on HBO Max.

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Back in 2015, Luna was hanging out shirtless in another HBO drama.

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