Episode 7 of 'The Last of Us' is a vision of what could have been

[Editor's Note: The following review contains spoilers for "The Last of Us" Season 1, Episode 7, "Left Behind".]

Much of the conversation surrounding "The Last of Us" centers around what gets lost after the world changes. There is societal collapse, transformation, widespread death and a fundamental shift in priorities. But for all that's missing in a post-epidemic world, the series' latest episode "Left Behind" gives way to a kind of wonderment that wasn't really present in the Before Times. Some of the only bright spots in the series have come from Ellie (Bella Ramsey) being in absolute awe of something she's never experienced before. We saw her trying to figure out football, planes and monkeys. There are tragic reasons why all of these things are new to her, but that sense of discovery the show draws from her situation is what is able to balance out the harshness at times.

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As the season prepares for the home stretch, “The Last of Us” takes a quick trip down memory lane. “Left Behind” is the simplest episode of the season so far, putting the gist on just one night. Disappointed with the conditions at her FEDRA-run school, Ellie weighs her options and the limited number of life goals set for her. One fateful night, her best friend Riley (Storm Reid) returns from a mysterious absence to show Ellie a secret corner of the Boston QZ. In the wee hours after curfew, Ellie and Riley tour the highlights of an abandoned mall and discuss their respective futures. Just as the two begin to explore what those futures together might look like, an attack from an Infected leaves them both bitten.

In Joel's (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie's conversations about losing loved ones and having no one left alive to care for, this is the story that was promised. Freed from the heavy burden of having to connect Ellie's past and present, the episode can focus on showing what keeps her alive. The simplicity of the hour gives "Left Behind" a chance to rest. If nothing else, Ellie and Riley's adventure allows director Liza Johnson to add some literal electricity to the show: neon lights, fluorescent bulbs, a flickering GameStop sign. There was an abstraction in Joel's outline on capitalism and contact sports last week. Here, there's a more tangible secondhand thrill to seeing someone experience an exciting new corner of everyday life for the first time (one that also has escalators).