Episode 7

The Last of Us has truly stuck with its reputation and upholds the standards held of the audience as the story progresses. Last episode  we found Joel being reunited with his brother Tommy as he and Ellie grew closer together even after his injury.

Episode seven starts off with Ellie tending to Joel as he is weak from blood loss and struggling to stay awake. As she tries to patch him up, Joel cries out in pain and to keep her safe, tells her to go and take his gun. She refuses as a pained and sorrowful look glazes over her face. As she’s looking for supplies, she approaches the door, which leads to a flashback of Ellie’s. 

Music is playing and Ellie is found jogging in a gym with other adolescents with her walkman and listening to music. She appears to be alone as we learn that her friend Riley has been missing for a few years. Which then results in Ellie being bullied by this girl and ends up with Ellie beating her in a fight. Later Ellie falls asleep in her room alone, however, someone sneaks into the room and scares Ellie. Which causes her to draw her knife, only to discover it was Riley. Relieved but enraged Ellie scolds her and argues with her as she’s been gone for some time and assumes she was dead. We later learn after the argument that while Riley was away, she was recruited by the Fireflies, which made Ellie even more angry. However, she is calmed as Riley explains to her that she has a surprise for her. 

The two sneak out and head to the abandoned and sealed off mall that apparently had infected in it. However, Riley reassures her that no infected are in the mall and leads her inside. After turning on the power, Riley and Ellie go on a little adventure and Riley shows her the “four wonders of the mall”. In which they took pictures, played in the arcade, rode on a carousel, and the food court. In one moment we can see Ellie gazing at Riley with some kind of attraction, sparking her sexuality. 

However, we learned halfway through that there was indeed one infected inside that had heard them and started heading their way. Unaware, they continue their adventure as Riley takes Ellie to her hideout and surprises her with a gift, a pun book. The two exchange laughs but are cut short when Ellie sees bombs and leaves her friend behind angrily. She regrets halfway through when she hears a scream and rushes to Riley. 

She found Riley alone in a Halloween store where a prop had screamed and apologized to Riley which made the two eventually make up. They put on masks and danced to the song Ellie had on her Walkman. Soon the two pause and share a kiss which reveals that the two had feelings for each other. Suddenly the stalker burst in and attacked the two where they both get infected after being bitten and killing it. In which they share their last moments together. 

This then flashes back to Ellie and Joel as she found a needle to stitch him up and healed him to the best of her ability. Saying that she won’t lose him too, showing how much she cared for him and saw him as a father. Here the episode ends and leaves the audience with a cliff hanger for the next episode.

Episode 8

 The episode starts off in a small community that is struggling with many of its community survivors in a (once) Colorado’s Silver Lake resort. The people of the faction are mourning Alec, in which Joel was killed. The people highly regarded Alec as a Hunter, as he was scouting out some food for his people while he was brutally murdered by Joel. David is looking for justice, as then he figures that Joel and Ellie are only a few miles away.

Ellie meets David, unexpectedly as Ellie stumbles upon their town as both Daivd, and his right-hand man, James (Troy Baker) are all chasing the same Deer for food. Ellie then makes a good deal with them at gunpoint that she would share the deer if they got medicine (penicillin) to treat Joel’s gut wound that is infected and swollen. While Ellie waits, David talks about him being highly religious, as he used to be an atheist before the black death. He and his people fled the Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone. While we question whether or not David wants to kill Ellie or let her into his group, he tries to talk to Ellie about wanting an equal as he says “ I’m a Shepard surrounded by sheep and all I want is a equal” Ellie doesn’t take up the offer and leaves with the medicine. 

David and his group come closing in, as he figures out that Ellie is the girl that is with Joel, Ellie leaves Joel with a knife and jumps on the horse to try and misdirect the hunters who are trying to find them. And yet unfortunately Ellie is captured, Ellie is found woken up in a cage, here she finds out that David and his people are cannibals. Joel is found woken up by hunters, with knife in hand in his half-sick state he is able to choke one man and kill him. We now cut to Joel again, as he is strong enough to tie up two of Davids men and torture them for the information, stabbing one of their leg and demanding him to mark where Ellie is, he does it. The second man begs for Jeol not to kill him and Joel ends up killing him. 

Ellie escapes the enrapturement as she told them that she was infected, and runs into the little cozy cabin restaurant, and throws a burning piece of wood which sets the place on fire. David becomes this Malicious monster who tries to kill Ellie, taunting her asking where she is as she hides. She ends up stabbing him once, and they struggle; she then gets the force and gets on top of David with the machete in head repeatedly hitting him with the Machete.

Ellie is distressed and crying as she walks out of the once-cozy restaurant, then Joel tries to get her attention by gently grabbing  her arm but she forces him away at first thinking it was another hunter. They embrace each other and Joel fatherly calls her ‘baby girl’ as he once did call his daughter Sarah.