The Last of Us episode 7 spoilers follow – including its ending.
Aside from a throwaway mention in the show's epic premiere, The Last of Us hadn't yet given the space to explore Riley's story – until now. And, true to form, what an absolutely devastating episode it was.
While Ellie is faced with the reality of a bleeding-out Joel, she's confronted with a choice: leave him behind, surely to die, and fend for herself, or stick around and try and save him. He, of course, tells her to leave. But as she grabs her backpack and makes for the door, she's transported back a few weeks to the last time she was forced to walk away from someone that she cared for.
Riley and Ellie's is a classic tale of teenage first-time love. Named as each other's best friends, something deeper is bubbling under the surface; there's a coyness, an unspoken draw, that permeates their every interaction.
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Building on the legacy carved out by Bill and Frank's episode, theirs is another very different queer love story that's been handled with the utmost care.
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The HBO series is at its best when it offers respite from the apocalyptic backdrop against which it is set. Ellie and Riley are afforded a night together in an abandoned shopping mall, a storyline that's commonplace in lower-stakes teen dramas.
Aside from the fact that the building has visibly long-stood abandoned (it also has more fungus growing out of the walls than we'd like), the episode plays out without much in the way of nasties.
But no matter how much we enjoy our time with the characters, it has to come to an end sometime. The world is still overrun by fungus people, and not even we can escape them for too long.
After Ellie kisses Riley, a move which convinces her to turn away from the Fireflies and find meaning in her old life in the QZ, they're ambushed by an infected. They each do their best to fight it off, and it looks for a moment that our protagonists have succeeded – finally, a win for the good guys. Until it isn't.
Ellie looks down to find blood on her arm, before Riley also points to a nip on her hand. They have each been bitten, and we see as the emotions overwhelm them while they process exactly what that means. Their futures, both together and individually, have been wiped out in an instant.
Once again though, The Last of Us doesn't follow the path we expect it too. Instead of repeating the brutality of Sam and Henry's final moments, which pointed a lens right at the devastation, we are instead invited to fill in the gaps for what might be the very last interactions between Ellie and Riley.
We are watching everything unfold with the knowledge that Ellie is to discover her immunity. We've seen the scar in that exact spot on her arm, and we know that she's currently in a cabin with Joel on a mission to use that information for the good of humanity.
Riley, sadly, isn't so lucky. The pair vow to spend "every second" that they could together, before succumbing to their fungal fate.
We know that there would have come a moment where Riley turned, leaving Ellie behind.
But we don't get to see it.
At first there's a feeling of frustration; just like the girls themselves, we want to spend as much time with them as we can. But upon reflection, The Last of Us actually opted (this time around) to spare us from experiencing the tragedy along with its characters – and often our imaginations can be so much more effective and emotive anyway.
Refusing to show us the precise moment that Ellie faced an infected Riley, with nothing but a handgun for protection, doesn't take away from the powerful horror of their fate. In fact, it just further reinforces the sense of loss that the storyline itself evokes.
The Last of Us airs on HBO in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW in the UK.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK's biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world's oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
