Top 10 Things You Missed in The Last of Us Episode 7

During the course of the seventh episode, Ellie gets playfully attacked by her friend, receives a black eye and gets a bite from an infected. While all of those incidents are fully explained, we’re missing key details about one of her oldest marks. Ellie has had a distinct eyebrow scar since the beginning of the show. However, we only get a very vague nod to what caused it. This roundabout answer is a reference to another franchise running joke. Gamers have been curious about what exactly happened to Ellie’s eyebrow since 2013. Although creator Neil Druckmann has been asked about it, he only hinted that the story would be revealed at a later time. We can only hope Ellie won’t pull a Joker and will actually tell us the tale one day.

When Riley hints that she’s been saving a present for her best friend, Ellie makes a few guesses as to what it could be. The water gun she mentions is a great reference to the source material. In “The Last of Us: Left Behind” DLC, Riley surprises Ellie by bringing water guns to the mall. Once they come out, gamers are treated to a fun section where they have to try and drench the Firefly who brought the toys. We think the show cut this story beat in place of the video game scene. While the arcade cabinets are busted in game, they’re fully functional in the series. And in our opinion, a book of puns made for a more pun-derful gift anyway.

Music is incredibly vital throughout the seventh installment of “Last of Us”. Right before Ellie and Riley share their first kiss, they play the Etta James cover of “I Got You Babe”. This is the exact same song that you’ll hear in the game when the two have a romantic moment. Outside of that lovely musical beat, we also hear “Take On Me” during Ellie’s adorable escalator ride. The catchy tune was perfect for two major reasons. Firstly, you can see that Ellie is a fan of the group by freezing at the right moment and looking at the cassettes in her room. The presence of the song harkened back to the first episode of the show. Back then, Ellie discovered that Joel had a secret communication system where an 80s song symbolized that there was danger ahead. Having 1984’s “Take On Me” play in the background was the show’s way of letting us know that the mall wasn’t as safe as it seemed.

Ellie once again established that she wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself by getting into a fight with Bethany. Although this scene isn’t depicted in the game, we do see a similar scenario play out in another piece of “The Last of Us” media. In the first “American Dreams” prequel comic, Ellie arrives at a new military school. It doesn’t take her long before she gets into a fight with some teens who tried to grab her belongings. Just when things look grim, Riley rushes in and takes down the angry assailants. The show notably hints at the fact that she did the same for Ellie in the world of the show several times. It’s just one of the many great deep cuts the series has given us.

While he’s not onscreen for a long time, Ian Rozylo had a huge impact on the plot by playing the infected man that bites both Riley and Ellie. This isn’t the first time that he’s been cast as a creepy antagonist. However, we have to give a special shout out to his role as King Herod on “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”. In one episode, Rozylo plays a slimy looking villain who attacks Sabrina and Nick while they’re having a relatively nice night out. The actor clearly has a knack for playing gross looking antagonists who ruin people’s dates. If you see Rozylo’s name on a cast list, there’s a good chance a romantic night will end on a sour note.

The scene where Ellie called Riley out for harboring Firefly bombs was as tense as it was heartbreaking. While the new freedom fighter had good intentions, her best friend pointed out that innocent people were likely to get hurt whenever these explosive tools were used. Their conversation was a great nod to two major scenes. In the comics, the duo gets caught in the crossfire of a conflict between Fireflies and local soldiers from FEDRA. Riley then reveals that she has smoke bombs at the ready. While Ellie is reluctant, she ends up throwing one at soldiers. Outside of the comics, the bomb scene in episode 7 provides another reference to the show’s premiere. Riley insists that the bombs weren’t meant to hurt civilians. However, we saw people get injured firsthand due to an explosive during the premiere. This scene served as proof that both the Fireflies and FEDRA have innocent blood on their hands.

Although Riley said the mall had five wonders, there was a sixth hiding in the background. When they walk by the small movie theater, you can see a poster for “Dawn of The Wolf Part 2”. This poster notably inspired a funny and emotional moment in the first game. When Ellie sees the movie title, Joel lets her know that it’s a teen flick that sounds a lot like “Twilight”. The funny reference gets sad when Ellie asks why he knew so much about it. “Dawn of The Wolf: Part 2” is undoubtedly a tragic reminder of what Joel lost. However, we’d be lying if we say we didn’t want to see it just to know if their wolf character is more or less interesting than “Twilight’s” Jacob.

Gamers may have picked on the fact that “Left Behind” is both the title of the episode and the name of the DLC story that fully introduced Riley. It’s one of several fun nods to the show’s gaming roots. After a Mortal Kombat poster appeared in the dlc, it became a main centerpiece in the episode. Ellie’s treasured SONY Walkman pays homage to the game company that was once the exclusive home of “The Last of Us”. But the sneakiest Easter Egg came when the immune survivor was meeting with a FEDRA Captain. When he uses his keys as a metaphor, you can spot the Naughty Dog Logo. Thanks to that company’s work with SONY, we got the game that inspired a thrilling and layered series.