If you’d told me before The Last of Us aired that the big episode everyone would be talking about would be a flashback with a gay couple and a tragic ending, I would have said, ‘sure, everyone loves Left Behind’. It turns out though, that this episode was actually an in-depth look at Bill and Frank, whose story is minimised by the game and twisted into something cruel, yet celebrated as tender and meaningful in the show, almost as if to apologise for the game’s depiction. But that leaves the question - does The Last of Us have room for two?
The first season of The Last of Us is nine episodes long and seeks to tell the story of the first game entirely. The game takes between 15-20 hours to beat, and the series is affording itself half that time to tell the story. It seems in a decent enough position - episode seven will be Left Behind, eight will be David, and nine will be the hospital and finale. Some cuts have had to be made, and naturally elongated sections of gameplay have been trimmed to short action sequences, but if it does follow that plan I’ve laid out, you’d struggle to think of a major incident that didn’t make the series.
However, that won’t stop trolls from complaining. Now look, some people didn’t like episode three with Bill and Frank. They’re free to - not liking a television episode doesn’t inherently make a person homophobic. But the complaints that this was a filler episode, when the series is right on time anyway and has always been about the humans who have remained (the last of us), are empty and speak to - at best - a lack of understanding for the show’s key themes.
Get ready for all of that to repeat itself. We’re going to have another hour dedicated to gay lovers, and it will be another flashback episode that those acting in bad faith can decry as filler. Ellie is a main character, but Riley is not, and if you only care about raw action and progression to the end point, rather than character development, you can easily argue Left Behind doesn’t matter.
Left Behind tells the story of Ellie before she met Joel, and has her sneaking out of her compound with her friend Riley. While secretly exploring the mall, the two realise they have a romantic connection and unfortunately, also get bitten. They sit together, waiting to die together, and Ellie realises she is immune. As Riley fades away, Ellie remains, and eventually must flee alone.
It’s a crucial part of the story that explains how Ellie discovered her immunity and underlines why she is closed off and resentful of the world. Ahead of her relationship with Dina in the sequel, it also establishes her sexuality. It might be a flashback that doesn’t actively aid Ellie and Joel’s specific journey across the country, but it’s hard to argue it’s mere filler with no bearing on the story.
And still, people will. For those using ‘filler episode’ as a cover for homophobia, Left Behind may even be worse. Episode three featured two cisgender white male adults. Left Behind is two teenage girls, one Black and one played by a gender fluid actor. It’s basically a discrimination buffet waiting for trolls.
Of course, this reaction is predictable. I’m more interested in the rest of the viewers. I liked episode three, but did feel some of the reaction was a little overblown. Many of the reviews highlighted the episode specifically, and once it aired there was an outpouring of praise that became performative. It’s the sort of progressive action that’s easy - in much the same way trolls dragged episode three down, were some too keen to lift it up, to signify themselves as a good person who is as moved by gay love stories as by straight?
What will the reaction be to Left Behind? We don’t know how ‘good’ it will be, nor how much it will eschew the show’s violence as Bill and Frank’s love affair did. The trolls will not tire, and again I expect some review bombing, although this may be offset by the fact Left Behind is true to the game, impacts Ellie, and still features blood and bullets. Will progressives tire though? After making episode three the episode of the season, will we see the same performative outpouring of joy at queer lives being celebrated on screen? Or is that only allowed for certain types of couples, or only to be celebrated every so often?
Left Behind is one of the plot points I’ve most been looking forward to since I heard the show was being adapted. The addition of Storm Reid as Riley only heightened this. I’m fascinated to see what the show does with it, but more than that, I’m curious what the audience does too.