With back to back gut wrenching and incredible episodes, this HBO series has proved all skeptics and critics wrong. I mean you know a quality show when you see one and The Last of Us is definitely up there with the most quality shows ever made. It doesn’t matter if you have played The Last of Us games or not, this show is clearly for everyone. With the execution, direction, and performances we have seen so far and the solid source material backing it, we sure are in for a exhilarating ride. Now without further ado, lets dive deep into our verdict for HBO’s The Last of Us Episode 7 and beware that some major spoilers for the episode follow below! Review Marathon – Episode 1 / Episode 2 / Episode 3 / Episode 4 & 5 / Episode 6.
The Last of Us Episode 7 Review – Sinfully Sluggish and Devoid of Meaning
Rating – ★★★1/2
Not that this episode was bad but it surely was the weakest one so far. Since I haven’t played the games, I cannot and will not comment on how it was worse/better than what happened in The Last of Us DLC. So, keeping that aside, most of the viewers and fans can agree that episode didn’t quite hit the mark. It tried to be Episode 3 (Long Long Time) but failed miserably as it had absolutely nothing to say and didn’t at all move the plot forward. Episode 3 worked so well thanks to the committed performances by the Nick Offerman and Murray Barlett as well as showcasing a hopeful and meaningful love story. Episode 7, however, failed to do so.
What it did succeed in doing was offering some meaningful insights into Ellie’s personality as well as history. But the entire episode could have been wrapped up in barely 20 minutes and we all had to sit through thrice that. This is the first episode in the series which felt like a filler and failed to do what it was supposed to do – warm our hearts. Sure, some of you might have related to it and loved it, but I simply failed to connect and find it as beautiful or as meaningful as Episode 3. Throughout its runtime, I couldn’t find myself caring for Riley at all and found her to be very uncompelling barring the final few moments.
Even though I failed to connect with Riley, she was portrayed quite well by Storm Reid, and some memorable lines. Her choice and reasons for letting the fungus slowly take over her than killing herself was quite fresh in the entirety of Zombie genre. It hit quite hard when she said she’d rather live an extra few hours or days with Ellie than die right then. This is exactly why I rated the episode 3.5/5 even after not liking most of it. The ending made a huge impact on viewers emotionally, so it did succeed that ways. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the episode was sinfully boring and I for one, do not get bored easily. This was the first episode of Last of Us which failed to hold my attention.
Now add to that, the fact that this episode has absolutely no impact on the current events and fails to move the story forward. In the final moments, it showcased Ellie’s increasingly developing care and daughterly love for Joel but except for that, it did no good to the plot, pacing, or character development. But at the same time it did manage to answer some of the questions about Ellie’s past and made us connect and empathize with her even further. However, as I said, that could’ve been wrapped up in 20 minutes and we could have seen the current story progress in rest of the runtime. Also, this episode wasn’t VFX or location or action heavy, so that leaves us little to no scope for appreciating the technical prowess this show has boasted off so far.
Final Verdict – The Last of Us Episode 7 is the first episode in the season to qualify as a filler episode with an extremely slow pace and nothing much to say, barring a few beautiful dialogues. That said, it does manage to offer some useful insights into Ellie’s past and make us a little more aware about her motivations. Gist of the story – Joel gets some stiches!
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