“What Is It Like to…” – ‘The Last of Us’ Creator Declares the Prevailing ‘Metaphor’ of Episode 7

The Last of Us Episode 7 introduced viewers to yet another new character from the game. This character was Riley, and she was a Firefly. She comes back to bid her friend a final goodbye, and in a very grim way, she does.

But before that, they do a bunch of things that people do when they meet their long-lost pals; which is having fun. And Riley and Ellie had fun as they explored an abandoned mall and found a bunch of exciting stuff to do. And it appears that the series’ creator Neil Druckmann has some really interesting titbits to share about these scenes.

The Last of Us Episode 7 represents the apocalypse equivalent of skipping school!

Recently a clip surfaced of The Last of Us series creators and actors discussing the process behind making this episode. Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin explained the process of hiring an actor who could stand strong with Bella Ramsey performance-wise. And series co-creator Neil Druckmann explained the metaphor behind this particular episode altogether.

He started by saying that “The metaphor for this episode was, “What is it like to skip school in the post-apocalypse?””

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He relates the experience of these two characters with the experience people have when they actually skip school. They go around exploring the nearby malls or markets; they indulge in fun activities and such.

Riley and Ellie do something very similar. They enter an abandoned mall and start exploring it. They play arcade games together, explore the costume stores, ride a merry-go-round, and listen to some funky tunes.

Of course, the end of it all was not to everyone’s liking, yet the creators and writers succeeded in giving viewers a look at exactly what they had in mind.

Ellie and Rile are two characters that had a bond like no other. They both shared a crush on each other and tried to hide from each other in their own ways. Before anything could develop between them, tragedy struck!

A similar moment comes in Part 2

The Last of Us Part 2 has a couple of similar moments too. Let us not forget Joel and Ellie’s Museum visit and that huge aquarium which sure made an exciting playground! This is where the Last of Us holds all its power, in representing real human emotions and relating them to everything people experience in their lives.

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This episode was done brilliantly. Let us hope they do a similar thing for those moments in the sequel too!