Left Behind

To begin with, I had never been one of the Bella-haters with their "she looks nothing like the Ellie from the game" or "she seems like a different character" but she still had to prove (to me I mean) she was worthy of the part, at first she did it great at crafting an incredible and believable chemistry with the Joel character and now she's made very evident she's an amazing actress, with subtle performances that contribute to create the "childishness" of Ellie and raging and furious states where she demonstrates all the pain and suffering her character went through, overall she's made Ellie a multilayered character different from the one in the game but really believable.

This chapter on the other hand was good, not incredible, mostly a filler but it served as an Ellie back-story and it had a great atmosphere, an enjoyable episode that makes us understand why Ellie is so attached to Joel and won't abandon him as much as don't want to be abandoned by him.

During this episode we get a glimpse of Ellie's life before Joel. There were (and still are) many unanswered questions about her past so I think it was important to know a little bit more about her.

On this episode she finds herself with an intricate and difficult problem that concerns her survival and that of Joel. This conundrum triggers a memory from her past, a key part of her development as a person, said memory will allow the viewer to observe an oasis of fun, noise and party in the middle of the apocalypses, were, for a few moments, Ellie stops being a survivor to be what she is first and foremost: a teenager.

Like all of teenagers, she doesn't know exactly how to communicate what she wants and it's impossible not to relate to that feeling, that of a lost kid in the search of love and meaning.

Left Behind adapts the iconic dlc storyline incredibly well. Continuing that impressive balance of faithfulness and originality whilst depicting some of the most tender and heartwarming moments of the story so far which makes it all the more heartbreaking when these innocent moments are interrupted by the monsters of this world.

As with Bill and Frank's episode earlier on in the season, it may not drive the narrative forward on action alone but this definitely isn't 'filler' and is absolutely necessary to the story it's telling and has been integrated into the overarching story at the best possible place.

Bella Ramsey is perfect as usual with Ellie's optimism and fear of being alone still present and intact. Storm Reid absolutely shines as Riley with a confidence and soulfulness that matches the characters life experiences and her chemistry with Bella is instantaneous and so engaging to watch.

Liza Johnson's direction is amazing, the show has consistently been really impressive from a technical and visual standpoint but this one in particular is just absolutely gorgeous to look at from beginning to end and the mall set is insane in its scope and detail.

This isn't some made up filler for the show, if you've finished the main story in the game it only makes sense to play the flashback chapter 'Left Behind'. This explores Elle and Riley's friendship throughout the apocalyptic world, a treasure of wholesome connections that don't come into light anymore. A very important part of the game's overall development, happiness in it's heart from a world turned upsidedown.

I'm not saying this is the best episode, far from it. Although i will say it has major relevance to Ellie's journey. It may confuse a lot of people, mainly those who haven't even played the game. It does seem out of place but it's a flashback to how Ellie got infected. It is important, but could it have also worked as a short 20 minute segment? Maybe, although it still doesn't make it unnecessary.

I get it that you need slow paced episodes to have the action-packed ones feel more impactful. But this was just too much and a good foreshadowing of what we can expect of season 2. Again they missed the opportunity to show why Fedra is so evil and focused on emotional coming of age ideas for an hour. TBH what's so bad about Fedra? Like the Captain is mentioning, they are keeping everything together.

You can compare this one to Episode 3. Compared to that though, this episode feels boring and stretched. Ep. 3 featured little action but a lot of meaningful emotion, a well written and completed story arc and a story I had to think about for days. Ep. 7 didn't manage to do any of that.