Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Last of Us, episode 7: “Left Behind.”
The LGBTQ+ community was sent into a frenzy after HBO aired The Last of Us‘ latest episode, “Left Behind.” Gamers who had indulged Naughty Dog’s PlayStation franchise already knew exactly what was coming, but first-time viewers were enlightened to discover that Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is gay and “Left Behind” explores — what we assume to be — her first crush on her best friend Riley (Storm Reid). As Ellie and Riley dance along to Etta James’ rendition of “I Got You Babe,” there’s some tension in the air as Ellie’s romantic feelings for Riley come to a head. After plucking up the courage to do so, Ellie shares an intimate kiss with Riley, who doesn’t seem to rebuff her affections. Needless to say, things don’t end well for Ellie and Riley, but the significance of Ellie accepting her sexuality will play an important part in the second season, based on The Last of Us: Part II.
Although it’s the pivotal moment of the episode, the kiss sequence actually isn’t the most celebrated scene in “Left Behind.” That honor goes to the smaller, more relatable moments that surround the incredibly relatable experience of discovering one’s sexuality and the confusion, uncertainty, and excitement that comes along with it. In fact, the so-called “most accurate lesbian scene” of all time depends on personal preference, since no two explorations of one’s sexuality/gender are identical. Although it came across as discounting the LGBTQ+ themes in The Last of Us, HBO avoided labeling Ellie and Riley’s relationship as anything more than just “best friends,” but we’re jotting that down to more of an effort to conceal the main events of the episode rather than shun them entirely.
It wasn’t the kiss that caught everyone’s attention, but rather the gradual development of Ellie and Riley’s mutual crush on one another. It’s been made stereotypical of lesbians (according to lesbians themselves) that when two women are crushing hard on one another, neither of them ever makes the first move. That reluctance to break the friend mold results in a sort of ‘purgatory’ that lesbians find themselves in. It’s both hilarious and infinitely painful at the same time.
If anyone has ever seen the iconic Vine pertaining to homoerotic tension, they’ll understand exactly what this quote refers to. And it fits Ellie and Riley’s relationship a little too well.
There’s also a lot of buzz surrounding the subtle scene of Ellie changing at the beginning of the episode. She asks Riley to turn around and not look, which apparently resonated with a lot of lesbians (and other sexualities including an attraction to women), who related the exchange to their own experiences growing up. There always seemed to be a certain aura surrounding nudity that forbade queer women from changing around one another for fear of rejection, derision, or worse. Obviously, Ellie feels that her crush on Riley makes things a little more awkward… and we’ve all been there.
HBO’s The Last of Us really has it all. If the central plot involving Infected and a stubborn father-daughter duo isn’t your thing, well… we have lesbians, too.